Visit to Tategu Joiner’s Workshop

 

We visited a Tategu joiner’s workshop located at a five-minute walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station in Koto city.

The signboard of the workshop

What is Tategu? Tategu is architectural fittings such as sliding doors and partition screens, which is an essential part of traditional Japanese wooden houses. It requires a lot of fine work and connections of wooden parts are made mortise and tenons without using nails.

Mr. Tomokuni talking about a screen with Kumiko patterns

 

Mr. Tomokuni, the Tategu joiner we met there, is designated as a prominent craftsman (great craftsman in the present world) by the Japanese government. One of his important works is sliding doors at the Pine Teahouse (Matsu no Ochaya)” in Hamarikyu Gardens, a national special scenic spot and a special historic site.

At the workshop, Mr. Tomokuni talked about Tategu including its materials, tools, techniques etc. His talk was very interesting and fun. We felt his pride as a craftsman and his warm personality at the same time from his talk. He said that Tategu joiners’ names are not written on most of their works, but excellent techniques are used invisibly and should be kept even under the situation of decreasing demands for traditional wooden fittings.

Various planes

 Mr.Tomokuni instructs a member of KEV trying to plane a board

The craftsman’s hands

We experienced to make a Kumiko coaster by fabricating fine and thin pieces of wood already prepared by Mr. Tomokuni. Kumiko is a technique of fine woodworking to decorate sliding doors or screens. The geometric pattern formed on the coaster is called “Masu tsunagi”, or “linked square measuring boxes”, which means a pray for prosperity. According to Mr. Tomokuni, there are more than 200 traditional patterns with auspicious meanings for Kumiko and many of them came from patterns used on Japanese clothes.

A beautiful example of Kumiko woodworking

fine wooden pieces for the coaster	the coaster with “linked square measuring boxes” pattern

Some examples of Kumiko patterns

We learned a lot about Tategu from this visit and took the coaster home carefully.

 

Are you interested in the world of fine woodworks? KEV is happy to arrange a tour to the workshop including an experience of making a Kumiko coaster.        
By Nobuko

 

 

Tips for tasting 'sake' and 'shochu' in autumn

It's November. Season for sake and shochu! Well, of course you can enjoy those Japanese traditional alcoholic beverages all year round, but autumn is actually one of the best seasons to taste them.

Sake is a kind of rice wine, made from fermented rice. To pair with Japanese dish such as sushi, sake is a must. In autumn, newly brewed sake made from the year's rice harvest is released. They are called sinshu,新酒, meaning new sake, and you can expect fresh aroma and refreshing, clean taste.

If you prefer more matured type of sake, try Hiya-Oroshi, ひやおろし, wich is available in autumn. Because Hiya-Oroshi is matured during summer and released without a second pasteurization, it typically features richer flavour and milder taste.

That means Hiya-Oroshi is also suited for heated sake. Japanese sake is one of a few alcoholic beverages that can be served chilled or heated. Aroma or taste of sake changes according to temperature, so it is fun to find out the perfect temperature for each sake.

Other than sushi, some of Japanese typical home cuisines in autumn to pair with sake include grilled saury with salt, rightly roasted bonito, or Japanese style stew called oden. Oden is a dish made of various ingredients such as fish cakes, radish and boiled egg simmered in soy sauce flavored broth. Hot oden and heated sake are a perfect match for cold winter.

Don't forget Shochu

Also, don't forget the other traditional alcoholic beverage called Shochu, 焼酎. November 1st is the Authentic Shochu Day!

Shochu is a distilled alcoholic beverage like vodka or tequila. They are made from sweet potato, rice, buckwheat or other crops, mainly in Kyushu, the western part of Japan.

Shochu is classified into two categories: Authentic Shochu, or 'Honkaku Shochu', which is made in the traditional style, and 'Ko-rui Shochu', which is made in a more modern style.

Honkaku Shochu is suited for drinking straight, with some ice cubes and / or water. Many people in Kyushu like to drink Shochu with hot water. My favourite combination is Honkaku Shochu, hot water and Japanese traditional plum pickles called 'umeboshi'.

As for Ko-rui Shochu, try a popular cocktail called 'Chuhai' or 'Sour'. It is made of Shochu, soda, fresh fruits like lemon and grapefruits. If you would like more Japanese style experience, umeboshi sour is also a good choice.

At the moment in Japan, COVID-19 restrictions are eased and now we can eat and drink in bars and restaurants again. At KEV, we are planning to offer our sake (and maybe Shochu?) tasting tour when it's no longer a pandemic. Hope we will be able to see you soon over some sake!

by Seiko

pictures of sake taken at 'Rokuden' in Monzen-nakacho, Koto-ku, Tokyo

Artpara Fukagawa 2021

This summer, the TOKYO 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were held without spectators. Although our Koto City had 10 Tokyo 2020 venues, it was a shame we had to watch everything on TV like any other Olympics and Paralympics held overseas.

Have you had a chance to watch the Paralympic Games? What is your favorite Paralympic sport? This time I really enjoyed the wheelchair basketball. The Japanese men's wheelchair basketball team won the silver medal!

Now autumn is here, and it is known as the best season to enjoy art in Japan. I would like to introduce an event called Artpara Fukagawa 2021, which is an exhibition of art created by persons with special needs. This event is very unique because the whole Fukagawa area is turned into an art museum. As you can see in the photos from last year, art is blended in the landscape of Fukagawa.
    

Kiyosumi Garden

Sumida River Terrace

Basho-an Historical Site Observation Garden

Mannen-bashi Bridge

Artpara Fukagawa provides you with various kinds of experiences such as discovering limitless imagination and gaining understanding about diversity. But you don’t need to think hard. Just feel free to visit and enjoy walking around in Fukagawa.

The details of Artpara Fukagawa 2021 are as follows:
 Date: Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 31
 Place: Monzen- nakacho, Kiyosumi-shirakawa and Morishita in Koto City, Tokyo
    Station numbers of the nearby subway stations
    1. Monzen-nakacho station (E15)
    2. Kiyosumi Shirakawa station (E14)(Z11)
    3. Morishita(E13)(S11)

Please see here for the maps of the venues: Artpara Fukagawa Map

Introduction to Haiku after COVID

HAIKU is a simple and compact verse of 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern in Japanese,typically . People or Haiku poets elabolately select and arrange each word including season ones,along with sophisticated sounds to meet themes leading to share feelings, motive or even humor. It may be true that history and tradition of Haiku is emanated from cultural background and language inherent to Japan. But we can share the concept of HAIKU If we select proper words. For example , we know several types of rain with different inspiration and sound like heavy rain ,light rain, sunset rain, passing rain , or rain to allow me wet. To endorse the mentioned above, some Haiku are translated into English:

       Time will solve
       Some problems
       will await the spring
                           Haiku poet : Kyoshi Takahama
  

English Haiku contest is even held several times:

       Only oceans in-between us,
       The more afar we come from,
       The tougher we two feel bonded.
                           quoted from 5th Japan EU English HAIKU Contest 

Although COVID pandemic has given us much tragedy, we may enrich the insight from tangible value to intangible one even in sightseeing. In Koto ward , we can follow the track of great HAIKU poet , Basho Matsuo.

　

Spring has come

Here, in Koto ward, as any other areas in Japan, because of the pandemic of Covid19, we need to stay home as possible. So, in some popular spots, there are few people and tourists.

But, for the flowers, the spring isn’t different from any other spring, they don’t forget to bloom.

At the end of April, the season of cherry blossoms has already finished, and the wisterias are at the best now. They are at the entrance of the shopping mall (Ito yo-ka do). We can also see the roses at the park. The Japanese iris have just started blooming. They will be in full bloom in a week or so.

Portrait of Shibusawa Eiichi, adopted on the New 10,000 yen bill

Provisional Designs of the New
10,000yen note. Announced by the
 Ministry of Finance, April 9, 2019.
(Source: The Ministry of Finance)

The banknotes in Japan are 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 1,000 yen. (2,000yen bill was issued in 2000,
but this was in commemoration of the Okinawa Summit held in 2019.)

These Japanese banknotes’ designs are renewed almost every 20 years due to prevent counterfeiting. The current banknotes were circulated from 2004, therefore, the Ministry of Finance has announced that a new series of the Bank of Japan note will be issued in 2024.

In this renewal, the portrait of Eiichi Shibusawa has been adopted for the new 10,000yen bill.

The Ministry of Finance introduces Mr. Shibusawa as follows;

Plate of Shibusawa Warehouse’s birthplace,
and the emblem of the company
(Shibusawa family's trademark)
2-37-28 Eitai, Koto city

Shibusawa Eiichi (1840 – 1931) was a business leader and entrepreneur in early modern Japan who was
involved in the founding of around 500 businesses and economic organizations, including the First National Bank, the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce (now the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry), and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. His dedication to improving society extended to education, social welfare, and private-sector diplomacy.

The relation between Shibusawa and Koto city

Photo of Shibsawa's house
2-37 Eitai, Koto city

Shibusawa had lived at Fukagawa-Fukuzumi in Koto city (current Eitai 2-37) at the age from 36 to 48
years old, and was a member of the Fukagawa City Council from 49 to 64 years old. His residential place is now owned by the Shibusawa Warehouse Co., one of his established companies, and a part of his former house is retained in Aomori prefecture.

This house will be transferred to Koto city by Shimizu Corporation, a construction company, in 2023. Because his house was built by Mr. Shimizu Kisuke II whose family established Shimizu Corporation.

The life of Shibusawa is now aired on NHK, Shibusawa’s former house will be back in 2023, and a new 10,000 yen note will be issued in 2024.

Please come to Koto city to meet Shibusawa’s history.

By TO

How many types of "Sushi" have you ever tried?

 March 3rd is Hina-Matsuri, the Doll's festival for girls, and we eat special Sushi named Chirashi-zushi. There are a variety of "Sushi" in Japan, and I will show you some of them.

 1.  Chirashi-zushi (Mixed-sushi) 

 

Chirashi-zushi

Stripped baked egg, boiled shrimps, salty-sweet mushrooms, cubed cucumbers, etc. are on vinegar rice. We often eat Chirashi-zushi on celebratory occasions.

If the toppings are raw fish, we call it as Kaisen (fresh seafood) Chirashi-zushi.  

2.  Nigiri-zushi

Nigiri-zushi is the most common type of sushi. If someone just says "Sushi", it might mean Nigiri-zushi. Nigigiri-zusi is a bite-sized vinegar rice ball with a sliced raw fish or shellfish on top.

3.  Maki-zushi (Rolled-sushi)

Top: Nigiri-zushi
Middle: Maki-zushi
Bottom: Inari-zushi

All ingredients are rolled with vinegar rice in a sheet of dried seaweed. We often eat Maki-zushi at a school's sports festival or at a picnic.

If most of the ingredients are raw fish, we call it as Kaisen (fresh seafood) Maki-zushi. Be sure not to take Kaisen type of sushi to an outdoor event because raw fish goes bad under the sun.

4.  Temaki-zushi (Hand-rolled-sushi)

Temaki-zushi

Raw fish and some vegetables are rolled with vinegar rice in a sheet of dries seaweed. We eat Temaki-zushi at home rather than at a restaurant, such as when friends and families get together at home.

5.  Inari-zushi

Vinegar rice is packed in a fried Tofu bag which tastes salty-sweet. As raw fish is not included in Inari-zushi, people who don't want to eat raw fish might be able to eat this sushi.

From early 18 centuries to the middle of 20 centuries, Sushi, especially Inari-zushi, was often eaten as a fast food and there were lots of sushi stalls in Tokyo. You can see a replica of Inari-zushi stall at Fukagawa Edo Museum (https://www.kcf.or.jp/fukagawa/).

Replica of Inari-zushi stall
(Fukagawa Edo Museum)

By Yasuko 

Let’s enjoy “Miso soup” in Ginza!

Do you know “Miso” ?  “Miso” is traditional seasoning brewed from soybeans, malted rice, and salt. There is a shop in Ginza where you can eat in or take out “Miso soup” like Starbucks.

  Look at this picture. It looks like a Café Latte with whipped cream, but it is a “Miso soup” with “Tofu mousse”. Tofu is soybean curd and is a popular ingredient of “Miso soup”. So “Tofu mousse matches “Miso soup” very well.

 

 This unique “Miso soup” is 350yen a cup with a choice of 3types of Miso, “Red miso”,  “White miso”, and “Black miso” .

 At lunch time, you can also buy an “Omusubi” rice ball set. Two pieces of “Omusubi” is 350yen. “Omusubi” goes well with “Miso soup”.

  

 

In this shop, you can buy a variety of “Miso” from all over Japan. The shop is a branch of the Miso specialty store named “Sano Miso” in Kameido, Koto-ku, Tokyo. If you are interested in this ”Miso soup” please go to the shop!

  

https://sanomiso.com

1-13-15 Ginza Chuo-ku Tokyo

Tel  03-5579-5959 

I’m looking forward to Fukagawa Hachiman Shrine Festival from now!

Speaking of this year events, of cause it’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics,

right? But there is another important event in our area. That is Fukagawa

Hachiman Shrine Festival ! On the festival day, a parade of carrying lots of

mikoshis, portable shirines, is conducted. As it is held in midsummer, it’s

also called the watering festival where both the carriers of mikoshis and

the audience get soaked and enjoy the festival.

This festival has traditionally been one of the three largest festivals in

Edo, today’s Tokyo, since Edo period, which is samurai period. Still today

it is one of the largest and most popular festivals in Tokyo. There remains

a phrase feathering each of the three festivals, which is that Fukagawa is

the portable shrine, Kanda is the float and Sanno is the large area

belonging to it. So our festival has been featuring mikoshi since samurai

period.

Originally this festival was begun to pray for the great growth of the

fourth Shogun, the actual ruler of Japan, in 1642. This area was developed

as new frontier and transportation center of Edo. So lots of common people

and rich business people came to live there and this festival gradually

became popular in Edo city. Around the early 18th century, one of the

richest merchants in Edo dedicated three large portable shrines to Fukagawa

Hachiman Shrine. Since then, more and more people in Edo gathered to

Fukagawa area to watch the large shirnes carried at the festival. The

feature that Fukagawa is mikoshi, portable shrine, was decided.

Unfortunately, the three portable shrines disappeared in the large

earthquake in 1923.

Three large portable shrines dedicated by a rich merchant
(Source:  Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine Bulletin）

After that, the fesitvals, which was conducted every several years, became

more and more popular in Edo City. The following incident shows how popular

the festival was. At 1807 when the festival was conducted for the first time

in 12 years, a crowd of people gathered Eitai Bridge at Fukagawa area to

watch the large mikoshi parade. But the bridge could not withstand the

weight of people gathering and at last it collapsed. Lots of people on the

bridge was killed in the accident. It is said estimated 1,500～3,000 people

lost their lives and became the worst bridge collapse accident. We are able

to find how large the enthusiasm for the festival was at that time by the

incident.

Eitai Bridge collasped in 1821
(Source: Edo-Tokyo Museum)

Also, after that, popularity of the festival lasts still today. 200,000～

300,000 people including the carriers and the audience is said to gather at

the festival today.

 Of cause still today, a parade of mikoshi crosses Eitai Bridge at the

festival. When crossing the bridge, carriers of portable shrines keep

lifting them with their hands all together. This scene is one of the

highlights of the festival. This style is also said to show the repose of

the souls of the bridge collapse victims. I think this shows we are all with

them and never forget them forever. So this scene is my favorite of the

festival.

Thinking those, I’m looking forward to participating in the festival from

now. I hope this traditional festival will not be postponed next year due to

COVID-19. Please come to our area and let’s enjoy the festival this summer

when it is decided to be conducted this year!

Fukagawa Watering Festival
(Source: photo-ac com)

Kiba Park – My Favorite Jogging and Walking Course

There are many places surrounded by water and green in Koto City where families and friends gather and enjoy their time.

This time, I would like to introduce Kiba Park, which is my favorite walking and a light jogging course.

Kiba Park is located slightly northwest of the center of Koto City. Kiba Park is long from north to south and a bridge connects both sides. The origin of “Kiba” is that it was a lumber town in the Edo period which was around 300 years ago.

Picture 1

In spring, you can find a full of cherry blossoms along a river from the bridge.

In the north area of the park, there are a multi-use field (Picture 1), tennis courts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, etc. In the south area, there are a family field, a BBQ area, and some shops, etc.

For walkers and joggers, it is approximately 2.5 km to go around the park. And if you follow a guidance in the park, it is up to a 3.5 km course (Picture 2: the start line of 3.5 km course).

Picture 2

People enjoy walking and jogging in the morning, daytime and night. There are several course choices from a flat square course to a winding course with a bridge. The park welcomes you at any time of the year.

There are several ways to go to Kiba Park. You can go on foot from a subway station such as Kiba Station on the Tozai Line(T13) and Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station of the Hanzomon Line(Z11) or the Oedo Line(E14). You can go to the park by bus too. Cafes has been becoming popular near the park, especially to the west of the park. Such new wave change our mind to be happier in our daily lives. So, please come to Kiba Park and enjoy your time including visiting the surroundings of the park!

By Toshio