Thursday, November 19, 2009

Koji Koji Moheji

Sorry to anyone who has been checking this blog for updates in vain for the last couple of weeks (I guess that means only you, Mom :D) . I have been too busy to write anything, what with school work, judo, Ed's birthday, the ensuing trip to the sentou and all.. But, I have been thinking of a possibly entertaining (a pun, you will soon find out) subject for this post.

Two months ago I went to Ueno Park, one of the larger parks situated in Tokyo. The park is surrounded by museums and contains a zoo (Japan's first it seems), a pagoda and temple and a huge pond filled with lotus plants, koi and turtles. Ueno Park is right next to Ueno Station and thus right next to the Ameyoko shopping streets, as well. Ameyoko is a bustling area filled with many shops selling mainly hats and vegetables, it seems, but naturally there are some restaurants there, too. As some of the shops are built under the train tracks you can actually sip on your ramen-broth and feel the restaurant tremble as a train passes overhead. If you haven't been there and find yourself on the Yamanote-sen without a destination, I'd say Ueno is definitely worth checking out.

But back to the park and the title of my post. If you climb up the stairs to the park next to the station and continue straight, you will eventually come to a clearing. This clearing provides a venue for any street performer to show their stuff. On the day of my visit, a brash young man wearing a white shirt and clown shoes took to the stage. At first, I was surprised to hear the sound of a bagpipe in Japan, of all places, but seeing that the player, this oddly clothed fellow, himself was Japanese was even more astonishing. I would soon find out that he wasn't equipped with only a bagpipe, though.


Please click on the photos to see them larger.

After setting up his gear, the young man proceeded to goad passers-by closer to a small area he had lined with a red rope. Lured in by this peculiar Bagpiper of Hamlin, the people crowded closer. After the lad took center stage, the playful melodies were joined by a backing recording played through speakers at the back of the stage. The music continued even after the bagpipe was discarded and replaced with a diabolo. What followed was probably the most captivating juggling performance I've ever seen (Ok, live performance. Anthony Gatto is pretty damn good...).



The young man, Koji Koji Moheji is his (stage?) name I found out later, tossed the spool any which way, occasionally letting go of both sticks and then catching them in mid-air. He would then twirl the diabolo horizontally and lash out as if beating the crowd off with a whip. Naturally, words aren't enough to describe his skill and the performance. All I can say is that the display was quite breathtaking.



Leaving the crowd with unhinged jaws, Mr. Moheji paused dramatically and produced a second diabolo from his equipment bag. The crowd looked on incredulously as a second diabolo joined the first one between the sticks and the pair commenced in a whimsical dance. After a while, as if two weren't enough, a third diabolo was introduced into the midst of the whirling duo.




By this time Mr. Moheji had completely won the crowd over. I guess it is a performer's desire to always press on further, though. After explaining his intentions and building up the suspense, Mr. M launched the diabolos up into the air one after the other. The crowd held it's breath and tried to follow the three red comets with their eyes as they streaked back towards the ground. M first caught the first one... Then the second one... But alas! The third one had separated from the neat formation, strayed too far and it crashed onto the pavement. The crowd breathed a sigh of disappointment. M wasn't discouraged though and tried again. Only to meet a similar failure..



Well, you can't blame our young lad for lack of determination. He tried again and again and each time the last spool hit the ground, M faced the onlookers, bowed deep in apology and tried again with renewed effort. After several attempts he finally succeeded and the crowd burst out in cheer. This success marked the end of the performance, though, and to reward his efforts, people went forth and handed M some coins and notes. Well-earned money I'd say.



This was my experience of Ueno. Perhaps you might have a story to tell about your time there, as well, so please feel free to share it in the comments. And you can check out more of Mr K. K. Moheji at his website:



Until next time: じゃ、また

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Shopfronts, et al


Here are a couple more pictures of "street art" like I promised, although the wolf leaped in front of this one. I suppose you could call these art, but I guess they were made for commercial interests instead of purely to satisfy the artists need for expression. I don't think that detracts from their value, though, as they can make a drab urban landscape a lot more visually interesting.

In general, I find that Tokyo is a lot more colorful and exciting than Helsinki, in terms of shopfronts, ads and so on, but sometimes it can be too much. For example, the massive throngs of people combined with the visual pandemonium of glaring screens and ads for the piled up stores and blaring 8-bit music in Shibuya can be overwhelming at times. Helsinki seems in comparison like Aobadai, where the dorm I live in is situated: more relaxed and toned down, almost tranquil at times.

Most of these pictures are not from Shibuya. The first two are from Asakusa, if I remember correctly. They were painted on the screens that are pulled in front of shops as they close. These two paintings are unfinished, which is a shame, but you can get a general sense of what they are going to be like. Maybe I should go back and try to take pictures of them when they are finished.





The next picture is probably also from Asakusa. This was the sign for a store selling... something, I should've checked. Actually, it was probably a cafe as Honma-san from my lab just told me that "paku paku" is the sound you make when you eat. Kinda like "munch munch" I guess.



This painted door was hiding in the bowels of Asakusa's backstreets. I don't know if they actually sell guitars there, but you gotta love those classic Gibson designs. To anyone interested, the model is a L-5 Custom according to the text on the headstock.

This alien was exploding out of the wall with chopsticks ready to eat in Shonan. Shonan is located on the coast south of Yokohama and Tokyo and is one of the more popular places for surfing near the capital. We were there twice with Alex "Party Performance" Poetica, Merman and Neil (the Surfing Mountie) and on the second time we were also accompanied by Yusuke. I'll probably post some pics from that trip later.

The last picture is an ad for Cream Soda which was adorning a wall on an alley close to Shibuya. I can't decipher the meaning though... Too fast to live? Please leave a comment explaining this riddle, if you can! Until next time, じゃあね。


Amazing picture!

Check out this picture of a leaping wolf. The picture was taken using a infrared trap and the wolf in question was not trained. There are also other sweet pictures if you scroll down in the article...

Monday, October 26, 2009

Graffiti

I thought I'd start posting some pics I've taken since I got here. I'll start off with street art and, in this post, graffiti. The pictures were taken in Yoyogi Kouen and Harajuku.


I was on the move with my roommate Skipper (a.k.a. Ville) and dorm-neighbors Yusuke (he doesn't want to be called by his nickname :( ) and Merman (Amir). We wanted to see the Cosplay Zoku (or Cosplay Tribe) who supposedly hang around Yoyogi Park on Sundays, but we were out of luck. Instead, we saw White People Eggs, the Tokyo Rockabilly Club (Harajuku Elvises) and some graffiti.

The first two pictures are from Yoyogi Park. They were painted on the support blocks off a bridge probably to minimize the inherent hideousness of such constructs. The third picture was taken close to Harajuku Station. The graffiti was painted into a small nook on the way to Takeshita Doori from the station.
In the next post I'll include more visuals in the form of advertisement/shop fronts. じゃあ、また…



Friday, October 23, 2009

自己紹介 - Self-Introduction

Hi!

As this is my first post and I'll use this blog as the required page for YSEP, I'll write a self-introduction. I guess anyone else who happens to stumble upon this blog might also appreciate knowing something of the author, so here goes.

My name is Antti Sivula and I study automation at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. I'm currently spending my fourth year studying at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (東京工業大学) as a part of the Young Scientist Exchange Program (the aforementioned YSEP). The reason I applied for YSEP was to learn more about the Japanese language and culture while also studying in one of the leading countries in the field of automation and robotics. This is also a great opportunity to get to know and make friends with people from all over the world.

My hobbies are mainly windsurfing and swimming, but I am also interested in arts, especially photography. Since arriving here in Japan, I've also tried surfing and I joined the judo club at the university. Both sports are really interesting and fun, so I recommend anyone who has the chance to try them out to give it a shot. So, if you're planning on going surfing or windsurfing (near Tokyo, e.g. Chiba or Shonan) and are lacking a buddy, please give me call or e-mail me, I'm definitely interested in going! I also love music and you can see a list of some of my favorite artists on the profile page. If the artists are unfamiliar, the genres that I usually listen to are jazz, progressive, metal and rock, but I try not to limit myself in terms of what types of music I listen to. I don't mind reading, either, so if you know of any interesting books, please drop me a line.

If you have any comments or questions on anything mentioned above or not mentioned above, please feel free to write a comment or an e-mail.  遠慮しないでね。

じゃあ、また / 'Til next time!