I’ve had a few stories in the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan magazine before now, but this is the first time on the cover.

A project close to my heart too. As I wrote in the text (see below) to go with these portraits, I have enormous respect for the people producing Japan’s fantastic food and drink. They live their work in a way that we Tokyo strap-hangers find hard to truly understand. And they face a very uncertain future.

I wonder what Sugiura-san will think about his family being on the cover of this magazine? I’m going to send him a copy.

Food for thought

The quickest way to a country’s heart, this journalist reckons, is through its stomach. The stories on Japanese food I’ve covered over the years have been a fabulous opportunity. I’ve visited parts of Japan I never knew existed and sampled some occasionally strange, often spellbinding, food.

I’ve met some remarkable people: a Shizuoka wasabi farmer (tough as a boot after years bent double in freezing mountain steams); a Tokyo fruit-vinegar ‘sommelier’ (dapper and fantastically camp); a Kobe-beef restaurateur (bull-necked and brash); a Tsukiji kamaboko fishcake factory owner (an extraordinary businessman; you’d have to be to think of selling the stuff); a Chiba sake brewer (who decided on a new sake range after seeing a UFO floating over the shrine behind his brewery) – to name just a few.

They all impressed me with their sincerity and dedication. The also granted me glimpses of the profound crisis facing the countryside and the awesome challenge Japan will have simply to sustain current food production, never mind modernize it.

The plight of the countryside is as desperate – and obdurately ignored – as any of the many facing Japan. As the head of the Keidanren told an FCCJ presser in January, well over half of Japan’s farmers are past retirement age. The average farm is tiny and hopelessly inefficient. Even if Japanese agriculture became profitable who would work the rice paddies? In a few years Japan may not have much agriculture at all.

My head tells me that Japan’s attempts to protect its rural economy are failing. I’ve seen the ghost towns and the fallow fields. I’ve spoken to the farmers who complain that almost every young person with any ability or ambition takes the first train to the city at the age of 20.

But my – by now almost Japanese – gut argues something different. Belatedly, I’ve come to understand the visceral importance of food here. Coming from England – a country with effectively no native high cuisine – it took me a while to comprehend how a people could actually define themselves by their food (and by extension the place where is made). I suspect that Japanese people will never swallow arguments of economic efficiency when food is involved.

The farmers themselves haven’t given up. I’ve met many second, third generation presidents of tiny food companies in far corners of Japan. They have told me about their involvement in “rural revitalization” projects (read, heroic struggles against the slow death of their hometowns). I’ve met few young ex-urbanites who swapped a life of convenience, if not always comfort, for exhausting farm-work for low pay in towns where the most significant social events are funerals.

But I still envy them for their lives and work. They don’t just make food, although they do that exceptionally well, many are the guardians of centuries old traditions. The fruit of their labours is appreciated all over Japan, and increasingly abroad. They are one of the few hopes for the Japanese countryside; they provide employment and encourage tourism; increasingly many spearhead local environmental efforts.

An aged Japan economy could well encounter an unpalatable future. But whatever happens, I’ve no doubt that Japanese people will keep eating the best food in the world. I’m privileged to have met and photographed some of the people producing it.

They say that the young should eat to live, the middle-aged eat and live, and the old live to eat. Perhaps that applies to nations too?

Tony McNicol is editor of EURObiZ Japan, the magazine of the European Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

 

This is something I came across a few months ago and have been meaning to post on since.

The manga above is a bilingual PR magazine published by the “International Hospitality and Conference Service Association”. I’m not quite sure what the purpose of that organization is, but its office is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I found the magazine in my pigeon hole at the correspondent’s club.

As well as articles on bonsai, English haiku and an interview with the First Secretary of the Greek Embassy, there was a two page manga about a Kyoto maiko called “Ookini Maiko chan”. The bit above gave me a surprise. I suspect this is a gentle attempt by the Foreign Ministry to educate non-Japanese about “image rights” (肖像権) in Japan.

Now, I understand that celebrities are trying to control media photos, but geisha and tourist snaps???!!!　Is  some tourist who takes a geisha snap then puts it on their blog going to get a letter from a Kyoto geisha lawyer?

Well, perhaps not. But this must be indicative of the way things are going in Japan. (Incidentally, I quickly checked Flickr and there are over 35,000 photos tagged with “Geisha”.)

The manga is by Shigeo Murakami, who writes a popular series about a sushi-chef.

Yes, you read that right. Not a manga about hermaphrodites, but BY a hermaphrodite.

I was browsing through the comics section of my local bookshop and found this:

It was the catchline on the cover that caught my eye. “Japan’s first hermaphrodite manga artist (intersex)”. Underneath that: “Manga artist Arai Sho takes a scalpel to sex taboos. CONTROVERSIAL MANGA!”

Now, I’ve read a lot of manga, some of it pretty weird stuff. But I think this one takes the biscuit – particularly as its non-fiction.

Here’s Arai’s profile from inside.

Arai Sho lived as a female until the age of 30 when he was diagnosed as a hermaphrodite (inter-sex) following a chromosomal test. This solved the mystery of why his body shifted periodically between female and male. He undertook breast reduction surgery and has since pursued his manga career as a man.

Wikipedia explains exactly what having an intersex-disorder means.

Here’s a link to Arai’s web-page. (all in Japanese I’m afraid). He’s posted some photos of himself too, although who knows what he looks like now. One of the things he relates in his manga is how he keeps changing his appearance – and sometimes his gender.

The interesting thing about the manga – apart from Arai’s own amazing story – is his friends. Arai’s circle pretty much represents the whole rainbow of gender designations: straight, gay, lesbian, transvestite, transsexual – you name it, and a few you probably can’t name too.

There are all sorts of crazy anecdotes, like the time he went to San Francisco to buy a fake penis, or when he met a porn actress. And lots of stuff about his, erm, cute pet dog.

Anyone else read his manga? Let us know what you think in the comments. I enjoyed his first book. Just bought another called “Welcome to the gender neutral bathhouse!”.

He’s obviously getting known in Japan and there are five books of his autobiographical manga. Nothing about Arai on google in English as far as I can see though.

Any editors reading this who want me to interview him, just say the word.

I visited the Ghibli museum in Mitaka last week for my story on Miyazaki Hayao.

Last time I was there it had only been open for a couple of years. This time I was struck by just how Ghibli-esque the whole area around the museum has become. The park by the museum, Inokashira Koen, is really wild and natural. A lovely little overgrown stream leads all the way from the station to the museum. The odd Totoro pops up along the way too.

Ghibli museum sign

Miyazaki built the museum to slowy blend into the park.  The giant robot on top of the museum is already half hidden by Autumn grass. One of the PR people told me it is their “guardian spirit” (mamorigami)

Ghibli museum

The museum was designed specially for children by Miyzaki.

This is a replica of Miyazaki’s ideal atelier (no computer, I noticed):

Unlike most Japanese museums (unlike Japan, in fact) there’s no official route. Perfect place to explore – and enjoy getting lost.

inside the Ghibli museum

Here’s a link to an online gallery of all my  Ghibli museum photos

When Hayao Miyazaki spoke at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Tokyo he said he could never be the Prime Minister of Japan because “you can’t tell the truth to people who do not want to hear”.

But here are 10 reasons why he SHOULD have the top job. (Who knows, there could be a vacancy soon)

1. He loves nature, so he won’t build any more roads and bridges.
2. He’s fabulously rich and doesn’t need the kickbacks.
3. He’s popular in China, and the rest of Asia, and the rest of the world.
4. He could make Japan children-friendly and solve the birthrate problem.
5. He knows about Shinto but isn’t a right wing fanatic.
6. He has a beard (when was the last time you saw a Japanese politician with a beard?)
7. He’s not a LDP politician.
8. He’s not a DPJ politician.
9. He’s not a politician.
10. He has imagination.

The anime director and genius Hayao Miyazaki came to the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Tokyo yesterday for a press conference. I was there with the rest of a horde of snappers. (Miyazaki is a bit of a recluse, so not many chances to get pictures of him).

But when he talks to the press, he really talks!. He’s famously left-wing and anti-war. Yesterday he took the opportunity to lay into Japan’s rightist PM Taro Aso . Miyazaki said it was “embarrassing” that Aso is a manga fan. Quite.

This pic was taken before the conference. He looks just like you’d expect. All tweedy and grandfatherly.

Hayao Miyazaki photo

Miyazaki spent about 90 minutes talking to a packed room then another 20 minutes signing autographs.

Looked exhausting. No wonder he doesn’t do many press conferences.

Here’s a link to Miyazaki Hayao photos on my archive

Where is Tokyo’s biggest manga shop?

Earlier this week I was taking photos in Ikebukuro  for a story on manga.  I asked around to try and find Tokyo’s largest manga shop but drew a complete blank. Shops seem to specialize in one particular demographic or sell second hand books.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, here is a short list of shops I did find. Anyone got other recommendations?

Manga in Japanese

1. Village Vanguard.　A chain from Aichi-prefecture. I’ve only been to the one in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. It’s really an Aladdin’s cave with CDs, clothes, imported knick-knacks etc too. The manga is a mixture of current best-sellers, old classic and off-beat Garo type stuff.
2. Animate Ikebukuro. This is on “Otome Road” by sunshine city, the female otaku mecca. Several floors of manga, with a slant towards manga for girls.
3. K-Books Ikebukuro. Another shop on Otome Road. There are several separate stores dotted round that area.

Manga In English

1. Kinokuniya (Shinjuku) Pretty good selection of manga in English. Expect to pay a lot more for English manga than Japanese.
2. There must be more ????

Used manga

1. Mandarake. Their biggest shop is in Nakano. They have huge range of manga, all second-hand. it’s in Nakano broadway which was otaku central while Akihabara was still selling radios.
2. Book Off . A chain of second book stores. EVERYWHERE in Japan and dirt cheap. Older or slightly tatty manga often goes for 105 yen.

Urasawa Naoki, who’s probably the most popular manga artist in Japan, has just started a new series called Billy Bat.

I spent a good part of this year reading the 24 volumes (about 5000 pages) of his last manga 20th Century Boys in Japanese so I’m a little wary of starting this next one. The best thing about 20th Century Boys though was that I actually made a profit selling the books online after the film was released :)

Anyhow, I got to interview and photograph Urasawa last Summer (see above).

I remember that his house was crammed with antiques and gorgeous furniture. It looked like the Palace of Versailles. He even had not one but two harps.

I was doing a story on robots so we talked about his rewrite of the Tezuka Osamu manga PLUTO. I remember that a good 10 minutes of the tape was him talking about the difference between robots you ride and the ones you operate by remote control. (If you have read 20th Century Boys you’ll understand).

In the picture he’s surrounded by figures from the Tezuka PLUTO. In the top left hand corner of the you can see two rather sinister characters from Monster.

I have a soft spot for Urasawa as his manga is officially the first I ever read. Way back in the mists of time I was working for a Japanese company and asked a coworker to recommend some manga. They pointed me in the direction of Master Keaton, which if I remember right, is about a half Japanese, half English Falklands war veteran and insurance investigator.

Great manga, even if Doraemon would have been easier for a Japanese language beginner!