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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Sayonara interview with Steve McFarlane
- The Social Committee's Halloween Party
- From the Clubhouse
- Phil on the Tokyo music scene
- Larry's Philippines TravelMemoirs
- Brad "s " Be Thankful"
- Will"s " Rice Hockey"
- Hirose-san's " Homework"
- Lorna 's " Abe, Shamisen Master"
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FROM THE
EDITORS
Greetings
all !
This is a special double issue(Nov/Dec),so we have added extra
pages to accommodate all the articles that were sent in. Thanks
again to all the contributors. Apologies go out to Van for a technical
error I made in publishing her article in the October issue. So,
we are reprinting it in this issue.
We'd like to wish Steve McFarlane all the best in his future endeavors
back in Canada. Take care big guy!! Gambatte!
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Sayonara
Interview with Steve McFarlane
WE ASKED
STEVE ....
What is
your most treasured memory of your time in Japan?
Steve says "Hard
to say. Maybe David Parkinson's goodbye party in Shuzenji. About
15 of us ended up in the ryokan's outdoor onsen, drinking and
singing until about 5:00 a.m."
What is
your funniest memory?
Steve says "Again, hard to say. Maybe coming home on the
train from a meeting in Ohama when I lived in Iwanami. It's one
of those 'you had to be there' tales."
Do you have a "warm fuzzy" memory?
Steve says "Christmas dinner in Haibara a few years ago is
a good memory for me. We had a turkey dinner with all the trimmings."
What do you think you will miss about life in Japan?
"Lots of things. Having a job. Mt. Fuji. Some favourite cafes.
Oshibori (hot towels in restaurants). The 100 Yen shop. Oigawa
park in Shimada. The list goes on."
What won't you miss?
"Lots of things. Earthquakes. Typhoons. Giant cockroaches
in my living room. Dealing with Mrs. Sato, the Haibara factory
housing manager, about people who put the wrong trash out on the
wrong day. The list goes on."
What are
you looking forward to in Canada?
"Seeing my family and friends. Going to the library. Non-smoking
sections in restaurants."
Do you
like nattou?
"I'd rather eat the pork curry at the Haibara cafeteria than
eat nattou."
Any regrets?
"I never got to Hokkaido. I couldn't do more cycling this
year because of rain. I'd go on but I don't want to sound too
negative. I had a great time in Japan and some amazing experiences
and I don't want to dwell on the things I missed."
Any achievements or points of gloating pride you would like to
share?
"I survived riding to Hamamatsu and back in one day. It was
about 120km and took just over five hours, with four climbs over
the Makinohara ridge."
Do you have any parting advice for those left behind?
"1. Learn as much Japanese as you can. Even if you never
become fluent, you need to be able to read a train schedule and
a menu, get a hotel, go to the doctor and order pizza.
2. If you have spare cash, send it home and get it working for
you there. Three ATM withdrawls wiped out over two years worth
of interest in my bank account.
3.Make a list of things you want to do and start doing them now.
Time runs out more quickly than you might think."
Life after FIA - is there one?
"I'll find out starting on Dec. 6. If anybody is aware of
companies hiring in Toronto, give me a call."
Can you use chopsticks?
"Yes. Actually, I could use chopsticks before I came to Japan."
Tell us
something that we don't know about you.
"I make a really good curried beef stew."
When does the unofficial history of FIA come out?
"My final meeting presentation will have some stories about
the old days."
What aspects of life in Japan would you like to be able to implant
in Canada?
"Oshibori. More politeness in shops. Trains that run on time.
More kiosks and vending machines."
Were there any episodes where you wish you had had a camera? If
so, then give us the details.
"Last year, I went with Hirose-san and her husband on one
of the JR Walks in Fukuroi. We ended up at a cosmos flower festival.
It was really beautiful but, of course, my camera was sitting
at home. Hirose-san and her husband took some pictures and gave
me copies later which was very kind of them."
What are you taking as special souvenirs? How
about the leaving present?
"A trainer years ago had a model of a Tokaido line train
car and I always thought that was pretty cool. I've been building
up a collection of toy trains so that I have one example of each
line I've been on. Given all the travelling I've done for work
and vacations, it's quite a collection (special note to Julian:
I even got the Aikan line). Kind of geeky, I know. I have a noren
I bought in Tokyo some years ago. My leaving present will be a
camera lens to replace one that wore out recently."
If you had your time in Japan again, what would you do differently?
"Study Japanese harder. With my schedule, I move around a
lot and it's difficult to find time for a regular study programme."
Any final remarks?
"I came over with the idea that I would stay one year, avoid
unemployment at home and maybe have a bit of an adventure. It's
been a little longer than that but I've had a great time."
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Halloween
Thanks
For
the people that attended this year's FIA Halloween Party thanks
a lot for attending and making it a good time. Special thanks,
to Chris and Wendy, who put a lot of effort into setting up the
room for the kids and adult party. Steve Durst for his excellent
Japanese skills to host the kids party. And to Will and Van, for
getting the adult party going with the latest drinking game "Bowling
for Beer". As for the few students who attended I know they
had a great time because I heard about it for the next week. One
student especially, kept asking me, "Paul, do all Australian
girls start screaming and jumping around like they just got released
from prison, every time they get drunk?" I assured her that
it was only once a year thing for most of them but it does occur
occasionally from time to time after several chu-hi's. And for
the people who didn't attend the party, which was most of you,
thanks a lot for the beer!!!
Yours truly, Paul
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From the
Clubhouse
The end of
the year is near and so is the end of an era. Steve McFarlane
will be heading back to Canada after 15 years working for F.I.A.
We will have a chance to give Steve a decent send off at December's
meeting but I just wanted to say, thanks, and wish Steve all the
best for the future.
To everyone in the company, thanks for all your efforts over 2003.
I hope everyone enjoys the break and if you are traveling, please
take care.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
See you in 2004
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COOL, CALMLY AUDACIOUS,
AND COLLECTIBLE - by Phil
The Concise Oxford
Dictionary defines "cool" as "fashionable",
"with street credibility", and "calmly audacious".
I want to pose the question: "Who is the coolest guy in Japan?"
Certainly FIA has some calmly audacious contenders: Misters Butkovich,
Lynch, and Durst would all be high on the list. But I am misleading
you a bit - I 'm really thinking "Who is the coolest Japanese
guy in Japan? Clearly, that would be Shacho and shame on you if
you were thinking of Papaya Suzuki. So then the real question
is: "Who is the second coolest Japanese guy in Japan?"
That would be Haino Keiji.
Haino is a Tokyo musician
who has been playing for over thirty years and has well over 100
albums to his credit. But cool?? Well, let's start with the "Haino
Look". The first thing you notice is Haino's hair - there
actually should be a song called Haino's Hair. I suspect his charisma
stylist must use a German army helmet to mold the front and sides:
straight bangs an inch or so above his eyebrows, and straight
across on the sides, a few inches below the ears, with the rest
of his mane flowing well below his waist. He's had the same hair
style for the past 30 years, though I will be able to say the
same myself in another 20 years or so. Then there's the shades.
Day or night, inside or outside, anywhere, anytime, Haino sports
his big 70's style shades. He must have bought them in bulk at
Costco circa 1974. Legend has it that he was actually born wearing
sunglasses. For most of us, when Dame Fashion tells us "Black
is OUT, Canary Yellow is IN", we toss the black duds and
go out and buy canary yellow ensembles. Not so, Haino. For him,
black is always in: pointy black boots, black leather pants (no
matter how scorching the weather is), black pirate shirts, etc.
To get the full Haino Look effect, you have to see him arrive
at a show in winter, when all of the above is complemented by
his knee-length black fur coat and black cane with gold lion's
head handle. 
Ok, so he's got the
Look, but can he play? Maybe I should say what he plays first.
His main instrument is guitar ( a black, natch, stratocaster),
but he also plays flute, harmonica, drums, various percussion
instruments, electronics, the tar (a banjo-like Iranian instrument,
the etymological and musical ancestor of the guitar and sitar),
rudra veena (a kind of barbaric Indian bowed instrument), the
hurdy gurdy (a medieval cross between an organ grinder and a violin;
cue Donovan joke here), and who knows what else. The less said
about his singing, the better. Let's just say it takes a bit of
getting used to. He yelps quite well though. When in Tokyo, he
plays almost weekly, lots of solo shows, or improv duets with
all kinds of other players, from guitarists to traditional Japanese
instumentalists, and in various group settings. He is rather ferocious
and unyielding with those he plays with. He is quite talented
and has a distinct style, though very unconventional and often
quite noisy. You wouldn't mistake him for Eric Clapton. He has
a limited but fanatical worldwide following and often plays outside
of Japan. Would most of you enjoy a Haino concert: absolutely
not. But he wouldn't be cool if everybody liked him.
My fondest memory
of seeing Haino was at 20000V in Koenji last summer. I believe
he used every volt they had. Often multi-group shows in Japan
have a theme and title. Destruction Chaos Vol 6 showcased the
aptly named sub-genre "Japanese Noise". Haino headlined
a noisefest including: Mothra, Magickal Garden, Sugarsnake, and
The Incapacitants (one of whom once tried to incapacitate me,
but that's another story). He isn't formally a "Noise"
player, but can certainly fit in if he wants. After his paint
peeling set, I still remember the blood trickling from my ears,
and the fuzzy buzzing sound that was all that remained of my hearing
for the next few days. My impaired hearing was actually quite
helpful in teaching, since my students had to repeat everything
at least three times for me to catch it.
Now, I want you to stop reading for a moment, go and get your
calendar, find December 13, and pencil in "Bowels of Noise".
No, Larry is not having another barbeque. That is the title of
a six band noisefest at Shibuya Ax. Haino won't be there, but
the Incapacitants will. A word of advice: do not stand in front
of the stage during their set. Look at it this way, if you head
to Bowels, not only will you add to your cool quotient, but you
won't have to listen to any Christmas music. In fact, you won't
have to listen to anything at all. You won't be able to hear.
So, if Mr. Butkovich insists on wearing nothing but black leather
pants, or if Mr. Lynch shows up to team teach dressed up in a
black pirate shirt, or if Mr. Durst starts to sport James Brown
sunglasses every minute of the day, or if I ditch my Papaya Suzuki
wig and get me some Haino hair, you'll know we've become Haino
wannabees. And so we should. We would be even more cool.
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Generic
Travel Memoirs - by Larry
I just returned
from the Philippines where the weather was hot but not
too humid. The Filipino people are very warm and friendly
and generous; one day and old man gave me a mango.
I had the opportunity to take in one of their many traditional
festivals in which people wear colorful costumes and dance down
the street doing that thing they do with their hands. It
was very beautiful. The flight over was interesting. Ordinarily
I'm seated in the section of the plane reserved for delirious
screaming infants or sometimes even loud, singing evangelical
Mexicans. This time I was surrounded by gorgeous Filipino
hostesses of varying genders.
I really like
the Philippines and have been there three times
already. It is very easy to travel around the country because
most people can speak English. Since it was Halloween
while I was in the Philippines, I put on my plastic
chonmage and my bright pink leather mawashi and walked
down the street at night dressed as a sumo wrestler, soliciting
treats from the various merchants. As one does.
The Philippines
is a paradise for people who like fresh fruit and monkeys.
Unfortunately, I have a very sensitive stomach and often fall
prey to various gastrointestinal ailments and this vacation was
no exception. I became quite sick the last few days and in the
end, when I arrived back at Narita and got off of the plane I
was escorted directly to quarantine. But don't let that
put you off visiting the Philippines.
Oh, one final
note. At night in the Philippines these tiny open-air karaoke
bars open up all over the place, creating the surreal experience
of walking down the street hearing the night air filled with the
sounds of people absolutely murdering popular songs. Absolutely
the WORST karaoke singing I've ever heard in my life, and I've
lived in Japan for a few years now so that's really saying
something. That alone was worth the price of admission!
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Be
Thankful by Bradley Anderson
I had a bit of a reality
check last month. I and my wife had just got back from her friend's
wedding party in Tokyo and went outside for a bit. One of the
neighborhood ladies pointed to an area through the trees and said,
"There's a fire over there!" At almost the same time,
I could hear the long wailing sounds of approaching fire trucks.
Their approaching cries seemed to come from all directions and
passed only a short distance away.
Naturally, the photojournalist
in me took over. I grabbed my camera and ran for a look. I live
in a building right next to the forest park, so of course I wanted
to see how close it was, and if there was any danger to me or
my neighborhood.
About two blocks over,
there were throngs of people gathering, and in my opinion impeding
the progress of the already disorganized fire trucks and responders.
I could see dark billows of black smoke and hear the crackle and
spit of wood on fire. Unimpeded, I made my way through the people,
and down the street to where I could see.
In a bright orange
and red blaze, several houses were on fire. It had spread from
housetop to housetop, and was continuing to spread. In the 15
minutes I was there, I saw it cover at least 4 houses. I was shocked.
By "shocked,"
I mean not only from the fire and how quickly it moved from house
to house, but by the disorganization of the fire department. Of
course houses in Japan are packed right next to each other, so
it's quite easy to spread quickly from house to house. Also, most
of the fire teams are neighborhood teams that are mostly volunteers
living in that area, so they weren't professional firefighters.
I was shocked that there was no police line to control the increasing
numbers of spectators, and I basically walked right up the house
that was on fire. I was close enough to feel the heat from the
flames.
There were firemen
fighting it, but I could tell there weren't enough hoses, and
there was no clear organization. Unmanned and uncharged fire hoses
tangled the streets like giant snakes. With the limited firefighting
experience I have, I wanted to just grab one myself and try to
at least throw some water on the quickly spreading blaze.
Many people- journalists,
and onlookers were just walking right through, almost hindering
the firemen. I learned later that the firefighters had had difficulty
finding the fire plugs, and so that six or seven trucks were parked
about half a block away pumping water from a farther source.
The reality check
for me was how quickly our lives can change. Ina few minutes,
at least 6 homes were completely destroyed and 3 were severely
damaged. Imagine your whole life, just disappearing like that
literally in a puff of smoke. There are so many things that you
just can't replace- photos, heirlooms, etc., not to mention your
home. Because of the early time, not many people were home to
actually witness this horrible and tragic event. Just imagine
coming home from a hard day at work, only to arrive in your neighborhood
and see all of the firetrucks, people, and the twisting fear that
your home was one of those affected. Just imagine that!
I lost a lot of confidence
in the response and capability of the fire fighters here in Numazu.
I lost a lot of trust that if something like that happens to me,
that there will be someone there to stop it. The reality of it
is, that I only hope that when the big one hits, I'm not around.
What can I say except
that when I experienced this, saw the confusion, felt the heat,
and saw the look of shock on an old man's ash-smeared face as
it was all he could do to answer the firefighter's questions as
he watched his home crumble to ashes, well . . . I have no words.
Be thankful for what
you have.
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Rice Hockey,
(no pun intended) - by Will Collins
On a few perilous
occasions, I have been asked questions about English that were
a challenged to answer. I'm sure we all have been there. Well,
this is an ancedote of an instance when I was challenged with
not one question, but two!
Once I was with
a group of students when I was asked, "What is a Canadian
idiom?" A tough question to answer on the spot. But after
some thought, I gracefully replied, "Keep your stick on the
ice." (translation for Un-Canadian readers: Stay focused.)
After they indicated their confusion with a grunt, "Ehhhhh???"
I explained the idioms meaning and its relationship to hockey.
Five minutes
later another student asked, "What is a pun?" Uh Oh!!!
As many of my collegues in Haibara know, I enjoy the pun-atude
of the English language; but when I'm put on the spot, it's a
challenge. It's especially challenging to explain a pun to an
English student who's first language is not English. After sweating
it out for a few moments, I said:
"Keep your sticks in the rice."
I was proud
of myself because I saw this pun as a stroke of sheer genius.
(I still do!) After they again indicated their confusion with
a grunted "Ehhhh????" I explained the relationships
of stick/sticks, and ice/rice. I was confident that I had coined
a new idiom, and had deftly informed the group about puns and
idioms. I even made myself chuckle a little.
 "Wrong!"
"Ehhhh???" I grunted my reply.
"That's wrong," my students replied in unison. "You
can't do that."
"You can't do what?" I asked.
"You can't
leave your chopsticks in the rice. It's not polite." They
proceeded to inform me that this custom of rice sticking is done
only when mourning the death of a family member, and that it has
nothing to do with hockey. My Oxford English dictionary informs
me that a Pun is a "humourous play on words." Also,
they didn't get the humour.
It was at this
point that I felt my hockey stick lifting, ever so slightly, off
the ice. Fortunately, this happened at my previous job, where
there is a bell for each 45 minute lesson. And, thank God, it
was at this time when it rang. `Saved by the bell.' Unfortunately,
it was a perfect example of both an idiom and a pun, (though granted,
Un-Canadian). If I had only thought of it when those perilous
questions were asked!
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Did
you know that Abe plays the shamisen in an alternate universe?
- by Lorna
Ok, I admit that this title may be a bit dramatic- Abe actually
plays the shamisen in Tokyo, not in an alternate universe. I suppose
that I could try to make the case that Tokyo is an alternate universe
but that would be beside the point. The point here is that Abe
plays the shamisen, and he plays it well.
 When
living on the danchi there were one or two evenings when I heard
the sounds of the plucking of the shamisen drifting out into the
summer night. Plucking is a verb that should probably only be
used in a sentence with 'chicken' but anyway. I am here to tell
you that those lonely nights that Abe spent with his shamisen
on the danchi staring out at the ocherous moon were not in vain.
Ocherous moon- now that is stretching things, isn't it?
What I want
to write a bit about is The International Hogaku Concert that
was put on by Nishimura Makoto (Abe's shamisen) sensei in Tokyo.
Ms. Nishimura teaches non-Japanese people to play Japanese instruments
in an effort to waken interest in the instruments and music and
bring cultures together. This was an afternoon of music and dance
that was performed by both amateurs and professionals.
A very detailed
program outlined each song or dance and its story or history.
This made for good reading and helped the uninitiated, like me,
understand more of what we were seeing. The pieces that were chosen
were composed at different times in Japanese history. I don't
want to write too much about the specific pieces because I might,
you know, reveal the fact that I know very little about traditional
Japanese music and embarrass myself and my family and my ancestors.
Some of the stories behind the dances and music were familiar
to me because I had been introduced to them before. Hirose-san
told me the story of Hagoromo, for example, before an outing to
Noh theatre at Miho beach two years ago.
It did appear
that Abe was in synch with his fellow musicians - I have no moments
of mortification to reportc like you should have seen when
Abe tripped while exiting the stage or it was kind of weird when
Abe started to speak in tongues after the intermission. I know
that these kinds of things sell newsletters but ... alas.
Many of the
amateur players who were part of the concert spoke about or wrote
about (in the program) about how learning the Japanese songs and
playing the Japanese instruments allowed them to connect to the
Japanese culture in a special way. This seemed evident that afternoon
and it is cool that Abe was a part of it. This is an annual event
and I recommend checking it out next year. Who knows maybe Abe
will be listed as a professional by then! And there's a great
Mexican restaurant opposite the theatre if you need some extra
incitement. They have really big marguerites.
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