Lost In Translation

The Blue Light

Yukio Ninagawa's The Blue Light (2003) isn't particularly original, but is a well-executed teen angst story about a troubled teenage boy. It is much darker than your usual teen heartthrob-centered film. It stars two pop stars, Kazunari Ninomiya and Aya Matsuura, and is set in picturesque Kamakura. However, I feel as though many of the film's themes have been dealt with better in films like Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Bright Future and Shunji Iwai's Lily Chou Chou. That being said, it is a very competent take on this type of film.

Crossfire

Edward Dmytryk's Crossfire (1947) is a classic film noir and notable for its anti-hate message. It's the story of a story of a Jewish man murder for being Jewish and the struggle to solve the crime and make sure the right man is punished for the crime. At that time it was one of the first films to address antisemitism. It has a great cast with Robert Young playing a brash army sergeant (this is after seeing him play a down and out fighter recently in The Set-Up), Robert Young as the sensitive soldier artist, and Robert Mitchum is his no nonsense army buddy. The cinematography by J. Roy Hunt was also impressive. The budget film garnered five Academy Award nominations including Best Director and Best Picture. Unfortunately, Dmytryk and producer Adrian Scott, after this film, were hounded during the red witch hunts of the 50s.

Gyoza Bar Keisuke

My friend Keisuke (aka "Gahndi") after running a gyoza truck has opened a restaurant in Aksakusa selling Kobe-style gyoza and specializing in cava, Gyoza Bar Keisuke.

Keisuke "Ganhdi"

I tried four types of gyoza: regular, ume (plum), shiso (perilla), and yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit). All of them were excellent, but my favorite was the yuzu. Worth a stop if you're in Asakusa.

Asakusa Wired Hotel Stay

Hisago dori in Asakusa, a traditional neighborhood diametrically cross town from where I  have usually lived. I am staying at the Wired Hotel as a trial guest since I helped out in their promotion of the hotel as an Ambassador in the 1X100 Program(I gave a presentation on one place one mile from where I live and another within 100 miles of where I live).

The building has a theater on the second floor facing the shotengai (street).

The entrance.

The community space on the fourth floor.

Inside the standard hotel room.

Full Japanese breakfast.

Book Review: The Bitter Aftermath of War

My latest book review for Kyoto Journal 88 is "Bitter Aftermath of War":

Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun: How I Survived China’s Wartime Atrocity by Homare Endo. Translated by Michael Brase. California: Stone Bridge Press, 304p., $16.95.

Salon Butcher & Beer

Last year several shops were opened up in NEWoMan across from the south exit of Shinjuku station. Tonight I ate at Salon Butcher & Beer and had the day's special meat dish, roast pork for ¥1500, and it was excellent. They have a good selection of beers in bottles that somewhat overpriced, but I would go back to try some of the hand made sausages and other dishes.

The High Window

I have decided that I'm going to read the "Philip Marlowe" books in order, and so far I can say Raymond Chandler has yet to let me down after reading the third, The High Window (1942). And like it's predecessors (The Big Sleep and Farewell My Lovely), it is the epitome of the classic hard-boiled style of writing that keeps the reader turning the pages, rather than labyrinthine plots that beg for second or third readings. In this novel we have murder, blackmail, an innocent damsel in distress, and the usual odd ball characters and femme fatales that have defined the genre. Here are some samples of Chandler's compelling style:

“From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.”

“A check girl in peach-bloom Chinese pajamas came over to take my hat and disapprove of my clothes. She had eyes like strange sins.”

“Well, George Anson Phillips is a kind of pathetic case... He was the sort of cop who would be likely to hang a pinch on a chicken thief, if he saw the guy steal the chicken and the guy fell down running away and hit his head on a post or something and knocked himself out. Otherwise it might get a little tough and George would have to go back to the office for instructions.”

“She had a lot of face and chin. She had pewter-colored hair set in a ruthless permanent, a hard beak and moist eyes with the sympathetic expression of wet stones.”

Another entertaining read from one of my favorite crime-mystery writers. I'm looking forward to the next volume in the series, Lady In The Lake.

Fukuoka Redux

I've been to Fukuoka (the capitol of Kyushu island) once before for a conference, but I couldn't turn down another opportunity to go when a friend suggested we go at the end of March to catch hanami (flower viewing) season. However, it turned out that this year the cheery trees are slated to blossom later than usual. We still had good fun. This is our two floor Air B&B accommodation that slept four-in the hear to of the city.

We were near Maizuru Park (which also has the Fukuoka castle ruins).

Ohori Park is next to Maizuru Park, I regret I didn't explore this park as fully as Maizuru Park.

Kego Shrine.

There was a shochu (a traditional Japanese distilled liquor) event at Hakata station. ¥3000 for a cup and four tokens to spend at the various stalls.

On the streets of Fukuoka.

Yatai (food stalls) near Nakasau island.

A friend I met at a shochu event in Tokyo brought me to her friend's izakaya, Izakaya Akuta. It had a very cool design and interesting fusion fare-as well as a decent selection of shochu.

Appetizers.

Assorted sashimi (raw fish).

Poatao salad cooked in a jar.

Interesting take on satsuma age (fried fishcake) shaped into balls.

Local nihonshu (what we think of as sake) in a great tokuri (serving vessel).

"Hidden" chicken nanban (a dish from Miyazaki prefecture)-is called "hidden" according to the head chef-because the chicken is deep fried raw. It has a different texture than usual-delicious.

Avocado on toasted rye with a poached egg at bills Fukuoka (an Australian chain).

We found a newly opened restaurant that had some entertainment on a cold rainy Sunday night-here a guitar soloist.

And a pole dancer.

It wouldn't be a proper to go to Kyushu and not have their regional ramen dish-tonkotsu (pork bone soup).

Kumari (Main Branch)

I ate at the main branch of Kumari, a Nepali restaurant that has two branches in Asagaya. I was told that it was better than the one near me, on the south side. I had today's curry-keema eggplant curry with nan for ¥780. I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

Last Days In Vietnam

I was inspired to see Rory Kennedy's Last Days In Vietnam (2014) after reading fictionalized accounts of the events in Viet Than Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Sympathizer. I have also read many books and seen many films on the Vietnam War and this is an often overlooked incident in the war. Here Kennedy gives due to the many servicemen and government workers who ignored orders to help save the many Vietnamese people who would have faced punishment form the invading North Vietnamese communist army. One of the more alarming discoveries was that former Deputy Secretary of State under the W. Bush administration, Richard Armitage, was one of the many servicemen who defied orders to save as many Vietnamese as possible. it is incredible to know that a man who had first had knowledge of Vietnam would have been so hawkish about invading another country-Iraq and inflicting the same kind of damage that the US did in Vietnam. I guess history is bound to repeat even is you have firsthand knowledge of such mistakes. There's lots of amazing film and photography that documented the evacuation. The film is well-researched and has a compelling narrative about an under-reported incident from the Vietnam War.