Living & Working in Ishikawa, Japan
Come to Notokashima-eki, also known as Sakura-Eki, on 11 April (Sunday) for a day of hanami (花見) and fun in Anamizu!
Image from さくら駅 on Wikipedia
Notokashima is known as Sakura Eki because of the cherry trees that line the railroad and lean in such a way as to create a tunnel of sakura in spring.
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Last fall, an open cast call came through IFIE and some of our folks got to do a little acting in a movie placed in Ishikawa, Toyama, Tokyo, Scotland, and the U.S back in the early 1900’s. There’s a lot to the story, though, that has a great deal to do with a significant aspect of Japanese-American international exchange and even more to do with a love story.
The movie that that these folks were asked to act in is called “Sakura Sakura.” The focus of the movie is on a Takaoka-born scientist named Jokichi Takamine. Takamine is a national and local hero, as well as being an internationally renowned scientist. If you are an ALT in Ishikawa, your junior high-school third years compete each year for a special prize in science and mathematics in his name. In America, one of his greatest cultural contributions is well know, and most of us have no idea that it was he (and several other key figures) that made it possible. Takamine is the one financially responsible for the famous cherry trees planted all over Washington D.C. as well as other key locations in the U.S.
He is remembered most for his ground-breaking work in chemistry. The movie focuses on his personal life, what is considered a love-meant-to-be, and his American wife – Caroline Field Hitch.
The movie website (excuse my rough translation) says this about the story:
“The wife, Caroline, and Jokichi Takamine, the father of the modern biotechnology, fall in love in New Orleans in 1884. Jokichi is 30 years old, while Caroline is 18 years old. Their love was destined, and they marry. This was the first marriage on record between an American and Japanese person.
“This is the magnificent story, depict both the life and loves of the chemist whose work in identifying both adrenaline and taka-diastase are still ground-breaking in today’s modern medicine. The movie introduces us to the world this couple fell in love in, the middle of the Meiji period, when Japan was entering the world stage and how his life with Caroline, twelve years younger than he, changed in both countries.
“However, this first mixed marriage between an American and Japanese person, was not without turbulence and Jokichi and Caroline faced many trials together. Together, they overcome all the hardships, and a testament to their true love and their union of America and Japan, is the bridges they created for two nations – the cherry trees that still stand along the Potomac and Hudson Rivers.
Takamine had an extraordinary life and I’m surprised that he is not more widely known in the U.S. I hope this movie will help people in both Japan and the U.S. learn more about early Japan-U.S. relationships, both cultural and political as well as what the love of two people can do.
The part of his wife is played by Japanese actress, Naomi Grace
Ishikawa’s own Marc McCrum and Brian Eick are both floating around in the movie! The feature will premiere this weekend at the Korona World Theater! Please go out and show them some support!
Here is the theater and showtime information:
Date: March 20, 2010 Showtime: 13:00
Google map, here.
According to the cherry blossom forecast, southern Ishikawa is due for cherry blossoms beginning around 31 March and northern Ishikawa will start to see blossoms around 5 April.
Edit: This was the 3/5 forecast. Due to changes in the weather, the sakura forecast for all of Ishikawa has been postponed to 4/5 as of 3/12. Please keep checking the website for details.
Check here for good viewing locations in Ishikawa and other prefectures; when you click on one, it will give you a weather forecast, directions/location, and a rating of how far in bloom the blossoms are.
In the meantime, there are plenty of sakura-flavored things to enjoy while we wait!
by Tanaka Juuyoh
What do you know, it’s sakura season again.
The cherry blossoms are sweeping up the the coasts of Honshu, they’ve already bloomed in Osaka and Kyoto, and a few hesitant flowers are starting to open their buds here in Kanazawa. In a week, the banks of the Saigawa river will be awash in petals and people. AJET will be hosting its own hanami – literally ‘flower viewing’ – on April 18th by the river, for those who fondly remember riverside picnics or just feel like getting tipsy under the pretty trees.
Unfortunately all such prettiness has its price. We’re finally, finally nearing the end of hay fever season.
Hay fever, or kafunshou, is the most common springtime ailment in Japan. The main culprit is the cryptomeria cedar.
by Chris 73 (Wiki Commons)
Planted in great swathes during Japan’s post-war boom, cedars kept the construction industry flush with cheap timber. Then in the 1970s, the economy started to recover. Suddenly it was cheaper to import lumber, and all those cedar forests were left to fend for themselves. They not only flourished, they ran rampant. In Greater Tokyo alone, cedar accounts for over 70% of the city’s forests (that’s about 22,000 hectares). Now every March, as more and more of these trees seed and mature, massive clouds of pollen are released to torment those 20 million-odd unfortunates who suffer from pollen allergies.
Several JETs have reported, and I myself can confirm after a week and a half spent sneezing and sniffling and coughing like a consumptive, that sensitivity to local pollen tends to increase the longer you stay in Japan. So what can you do about it?
During this season of particle plague, most chemists and drug stores will have a special kafunshou display set up, prominently close to the front doors. Look for the kanji: 花粉症. Here you will find a wealth of pills, sprays, tissues, masks, eye drops, eye baths and anything else you could possibly imagine to treat this rather torturous ailment. Most medicines in Japan are quite good about illustrating the symptoms they treat on the box, however, here are some symptoms to look for if you want to be sure:
kyuusei bien – 急性鼻炎 – acute rhinitis (aka breathe in and suddenly it feels like your nose is on fire; I love kanji ^_^)
hanamizu – 鼻みず – runny nose (literarlly ‘nose water’)
hanazumari – 鼻づまり – blocked nose
kushami – くしゃみ – sneeze
namidame – なみだ目 – teary eyes
nodo no itami – のどの痛み – sore throat
arerugii – アレルギー – allergy
zuomo - 頭重 – heavy-headedness (literally atama ga omoi – 頭が重い)
pusoidoefedorin – プソイドエフェドリン – pseudoephedrine (for those who want to know when they’ll be falling asleep at their desks ^_~)
Dosage is usually clearly spelled out on the back of the box.
For example, the dosage for this particular med, Pabron (パブロン, worked very well at drying up my nose to the consistency of sandpaper), reads thus:
On the top line, １回量 (ikkai ryo) means one dose, which equates to two capsules. The second line, 服用回数 (fukuyou kaisuu) means ‘dosage frequency’, which states two doses in one day (１日２回, ichinichi nikai). Essentially, take two capsules twice a day. The little note at the top advises you to wait twelve hours between doses. The big red cross is for people under 15 years, so if you have kids, don’t give them Pabron.
If you’re still unsure, ask your supervisor to read over the information leaflet inside the box.
And if all else fails, there is a simple home remedy that I was told: find some local honey and start spreading it on your toast at breakfast. The idea is that by introducing the smidgens of pollen that remain in the honey into your system, a day at a time, you’ll slowly build up a tolerance. It might do you the world of good, and it certainly won’t do you any harm ^_~
- Lauren
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