18 Apr
In reality of course, the grass-eaters may be merely the latest flowering of an old tradition. Japanese culture has long had a strong element of androgyny: During the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), men played women and women dressed as men for the theater, while erotic art celebrated bisexualism and transgender role-playing.
The common element between the Tokugawa era and today, says Osaka-based philosopher Morioka Masahiro, is peace. "Japan has been free from any form of conflict since World War II, and that has liberated men from the need to be manly." (Mainichi)
In reality of course, the grass-eaters may be merely the latest flowering of an old tradition. Japanese culture has long had a strong element of androgyny: During the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), men played women and women dressed as men for the theater, while erotic art celebrated bisexualism and transgender role-playing.
The common element between the Tokugawa era and today, says Osaka-based philosopher Morioka Masahiro, is peace. "Japan has been free from any form of conflict since World War II, and that has liberated men from the need to be manly." (Mainichi)14 Apr
A 31-year-old male monk at Chusonji, a renowned Buddhist temple in Iwate Prefecture, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of engaging in lewd acts on a 16-year-old girl, local police said.
Risshu Sasaki admitted to having conducted an act of obscenity on the girl, whom he had met through a message board for mobile phone users, at a hotel in Morioka City on March 25 despite knowing she was under 18, they said. (AP)
11 Apr
The signs of boredom on this first morning in Morioka are manifest. Arriving ill-equipped for the pouring rain, there is a limit to how much interest can be squeezed from the otherwise admirable station facilities. After two hours of window- shopping and an over-surfeit of canned coffees, I'm ready for the wet walk to my hotel. Strolling, even in the heavy rain, turns out to be a good idea, a chance to reconnoiter the city prior to what promises to be more clement weather on the morrow. For now though, I'm resigned to watching my map dissolve into a sodden ball in the downpour, listening to Iwate-ben - the incomprehensible local dialect here in Japan's northern Iwate Prefecture - and that worst of all signs of chronic understimulation: the act of contemplating dinner. (Japan Times)
The signs of boredom on this first morning in Morioka are manifest. Arriving ill-equipped for the pouring rain, there is a limit to how much interest can be squeezed from the otherwise admirable station facilities. After two hours of window- shopping and an over-surfeit of canned coffees, I'm ready for the wet walk to my hotel. Strolling, even in the heavy rain, turns out to be a good idea, a chance to reconnoiter the city prior to what promises to be more clement weather on the morrow. For now though, I'm resigned to watching my map dissolve into a sodden ball in the downpour, listening to Iwate-ben - the incomprehensible local dialect here in Japan's northern Iwate Prefecture - and that worst of all signs of chronic understimulation: the act of contemplating dinner. (Japan Times)3 Nov
Some cities in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan such as Morioka, Yamagata and Niigata observed the region's first snowfall of this season Tuesday as a cold air mass moved above the Japanese archipelago, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Many cities across the country also recorded their lowest temperatures of this season on Tuesday morning, with Asahikawa of Hokkaido logging minus 6.1 C and Sendai of Miyagi Prefecture at 3.4 C. (AP)
Some cities in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan such as Morioka, Yamagata and Niigata observed the region's first snowfall of this season Tuesday as a cold air mass moved above the Japanese archipelago, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Many cities across the country also recorded their lowest temperatures of this season on Tuesday morning, with Asahikawa of Hokkaido logging minus 6.1 C and Sendai of Miyagi Prefecture at 3.4 C. (AP)2 Nov
A 2-year-old girl died early Sunday from the new influenza in the northeastern Japanese city of Morioka, the youngest victim of the H1N1 virus reported so far in the country. With two other deaths reported from Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, the death toll linked to the disease increased to 43 in Japan, including suspected cases. (AP)