And I Helped! Making Mochi Rice Cakes and Sushi

Preparing the rice for our mochi cakes

It's one thing to sit and watch someone prep your meal. It's something else entirely to get a hands on experience. And so it was when we made mochi rice cakes and sushi on our trip to Japan. Both experiences were seriously fun -- and delicious!

I'd never had mochi before, much less helped prepare it. It's work to pound that glutinous grain into an edible substance! (Note: The rice is glutinous but gluten free. Go figure.) The process requires more than one person, as shown in this picture. The young woman would turn the rice in the bucket between people's hits. Happily, she has good timing and wasn't injured in the process. Because a partner is required, making moshi is symbolic of unity between the makers, whether it's a husband and wife or members of a community. 

While I enjoyed my homemade treat, mochi should come with a warning. Apparently a few people die each year when a bit of mochi gets stuck in their throats.Yikes! I'm happy to say we all lived to tell the tale.  

Then there was our sushi making outing. I was a bit disappointed to find a plate of pre-cut fish in front of each seat. Really, what could go wrong if you gave a bunch of inexperienced people extremely sharp knives??? 

Mishima, our personal sushi chef for the day, has been at his craft since he was 18 years old. It's the family business. On any given day, he might make as many as 2,000 pieces of sushi. He was ten years into his training, though, before he made his first piece of sushi for public consumption. What, you might wonder, did he do all those years? In the first year, he only washed dishes; in the second, he cooked rice. Ever so gradually he moved into preparing the fish. I was feeling better about having pre-cut fish in front of me. 

A couple of interesting tidbits about sushi chefs. Sushi chefs almost always use their right hands to cut the fish. The practice dates in part back to the time of the samurai when katanas (traditional Japanese swords) were worn on the warrior's left side. This tradition arose because pedestrians and people on horseback traveled on the left side of the road. Wearing your scabbard on the left prevented inadvertent knocking with other people's sheaths. This would have been both impolitie and risked escalation into an unintentional fight. 

But there's also the fact that Japanese culture values social harmony. Any behavior that is disruptive -- including to someone else's personal space -- is considered rude. I'm sure we've all had the experience of bumping elbows when you use a different hand for a task than the person sitting next to you. In Japan, the fix was to force lefties to become right-handed. Note: U.S. schools also historically had a strong preference for righties. While mandates that a student write with her right hand started falling away in the mid-20th century, I have some leftie friends who have some stories, including Andrea. But back to the world of sushi chefs.

Rod and Wendy at work

I got off on this tangent because Mashimi noted that the classic single-bevel sushi knife was made for a right-handed chef. As a result, if a chef used his left hand to prepare the sushi, the fish would be cut crookedly and maybe even show tears. Not a good look for your sushi platter. While sushi knives are made today for leftie sushi chefs, it's still not the norm.

A bit less surprising was learning that female sushi chefs were few and far between historically. Now that I think about it, it's rare even today to see a woman wielding a sushi knife. The stated rationale for the discrimination wasn't what I expected. Instead of outright sexist reasoning, the concern is that women's hands are too warm to handle the fish. What? Chef Mishima isn't worried about this and assured us that he has both women and lefties in his restaurant. With that, it was time to get to work. 

Time to eat!

Sushi making is all about precision, and that applies to the rice as well as the fish. The appropriate amount of rice for a single piece of sushi is 16-18 grams. For newbies like us, a scale was required to ensure we got the amount right. 

Once you have your rice, you roll it into a ball and put it in one hand. Then you oh so gently close your fingers to make the ball a little squishy. Using just two fingers of the same hand, you shape the rice into a rectangle and flatten it so the fish can sit on top without toppling over. Then the fish goes on the rice, and you place your piece of sushi on the top corner of the platter in a rectangular manner. Nothing is done in a willy nilly fashion when it comes to sushi. This process continues until the platter has been completed. 

As we were painstakingly making our pieces of sushi, Mashimi reminded us that customers aren't happy if they have to wait too long to get their food. And so he started yelling at us to speed it up. Almost before I could process what was happening, he stopped and said he wasn't being a jerk. He just wanted us to get a sense of what happens during training. I was feeling happier to just be a customer by the minute. 

Eventually, we all completed our task and had beautiful plates of sushi in front of us. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Whether or not a particular piece of my sushi would have been up to snuff for Mashimo's training officer, I can assure you that it was delicious. And with that, it's time to eat. 

 

A View of Mount Fuji

Check out that peak! 

Andrea and I had no idea how rare it is to get a good view of Mount Fuji when we booked our outing to gawk at the peak. Due to the mountain's 12,000+ foot elevation, moist air frequently forms dense saucer-shaped clouds and fog around the summit. And when I say "frequently," I mean around 285 days a year. It would have been a bummer to hire a guide to drive us more than an hour away from Tokyo to see fog. Happily, we got a good view of the mountain in addition to the chance to explore the area. 

I'll start with a couple of fun facts about Mount Fuji. Here's perhaps the craziest one. Each year, a few hardy couples get married at Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, the okumiya shrine at the top of the mountain. (In case you're not up on your East Asian religions, an okumiya is the interior sanctuary of a Shinto shrine and is typically built on a sacred mountain or in a remote part of a forest near the main shrine.) The wedding party and up to 10 of their best (and most athletic friends) hike to the summit for the ceremony. Talk about commitment. 

In a somewhat related point, women used to be forbidden from climbing Mount Fuji. Why, you might ask? The prohibition related in part to a superstition that Konohana-sakuya-hime, the female goddess of Mount Fuji, would become jealous of the beauty of the female climbers and erupt in a spurt of anger. Then there was the concern that female climbers would distract the men from the spiritual nature of their journey. Insert your own snarky comment here. Now back to Andrea's and my visit. 

Oishi Park, located on Lake Kawaguchi, served as our viewing spot. Yes, it was a bit crowded with gawking tourists. But it was also home to these beautiful kochia bushes. I enjoyed seeing them almost as much as taking in Mount Fuji. What can I say? I'm a pink person. 

Oishi Park offers more than just a view of Mount Fuji. We also took in Churieto Pagoda, our first pagoda of the trip. The Pagoda is part of the Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine complex, which I don't think we visited. (I was pretty jetlagged at that point.) I do, however, remember the 400 step climb to get up close and personal with the Pagoda. 

Chureito Pagoda

Pagodas are Buddhist structures that typically have three or five stories. The five-stories of pagodas such as this one represent the Buddhist elements of the universe (in decreasing order of size): earth, water, fire, wind and space/void. (FYI, the term "space/void" means the ultimate realization of enlightenment because the ego has dissolved and you are left with pure potential.) In addition to being a "regular" pagoda, Chureito Pagoda is a peace shrine built to honor local citizens who died in wars occurring from the late 19th century through WWII. It emitted a feeling of serenity despite the crowd. 

On our way up, we stopped at a ritual cleansing station, a new experience for me (although it bears some relationship to the holy water stations you dip your fingers in when entering a Catholic church). I appreciated the instruction sheet that explained both the process and its meaning. It began as follows: "Sins and impurities, invisible to others, attach to us in the course of daily life. So, before approaching the shrine, you must first cleanse yourself of them in holy water. You can then present yourself to the gods and pray without falsehood or deceit." It's worth noting that most people engaged in the ritual instead of bypassing it in their quest to get to the top for a good photo. There was plenty of time for that. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, a bit of commercialism made its way onto the grounds of Oishi Park. While there weren't vendors selling Mount Fuji tshirts, you could buy some Fuji apples to snack on during the trip back to your hotel. Okay, I thought, that kind of makes sense. But some research revealed that Fuji apples are not indigenous to the area around Mount Fuji. Instead, they originated in Fujisaki, a town almost 300 miles away. We opted instead for lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant where we sat somewhat awkwardly on the floor. It was fun. 

Our visit to Mount Fuji was a great addition to our Overseas Adventure Travel itinerary. I recommend it if you're in the area - lol. Next up: Making Washi Paper and Sushi. 

Memoirs of Two Geishas

Kinjo and Io 

Geishas have played an important role in Japanese culture since the Edo period, which began in the early 1600s. Contrary to stereotypes perpetuated in popular culture -- think "Memoirs of a Geisha" -- geishas are not sex workers. Instead, they are elegant hostesses who meet with customers only in public settings. They dance and sing and play traditional Japanese instruments like taiko drums. We learned this and more when we sat down with geishas Kinjo and Io, both of whom have had long careers in this very foreign line of work. It was fascinating. 

When Io was 18 years old, a friend asked her if she was interested in trying her hand at being a geisha. The pay was three times the amount she was making working in an office setting -- with the potential to earn much more -- so she decided to give it a try. She quickly learned that what most customers wanted was to have someone listen in a sympathetic manner as they spoke about their lives and concerns. Talking about personal feelings is not a part of Japanese culture the way it is in the United States. This she could do, and so began her long career.  

Kinjo

Kinjo too became a geisha when she was young -- just 19 years old. Her parents were a bit worried about her career choice. Even they had old stereotypes in mind. They were also concerned that people would believe they had forced her into the profession. (In days of yore, parents sometimes sold their daughters into the geisha business.) Kinjo made it clear that the decision to work as a geisha had been fully her own.  

Becoming a geisha in Hakone is a real profession, complete with mandatory training program. Yes, in order to be licensed by the Hakone Geisha Association, a geisha wanna be must complete a training program. The geisha business is regulated more generally under the Act on Regulations of Businesses Affecting Public Morals and Proper Operation of Such Businesses, but we didn't get into the details of those regulations. 

Dancing is the first skill a young woman learns. Like the geishas themselves, the style of dance is restrained and elegant. Kinjo seemed to glide across the floor as she gave us a short demonstration. Other skills geishas-in-training learn include flower arranging and hosting tea ceremonies. 

Both women are mother geishas, which means they run their own houses where both geishas in training and established geishas can live. In order to achieve this status, a geisha has to work at her craft at least seven years, pass an exam and obtain the permission of both her own mother geisha and the Geisha Association. The geisha business is big in Hakone, with 30 operating houses for a workforce of 140 strong. They typically entertain in public spaces in hotels at the request of hotel guests. 

Io 

The women opened the floor to questions, and there were many. Yes, geishas can be married and have children. (The women declined to provide these details about their own lives.) Yes, there are occasionally female customers. In fact, an association of female presidents of companies recently engaged geishas to entertain their group. Sometimes couples hire a geisha to entertain them, which sounds a bit creepy to me. There is no retirement age, and one working geisha in Hakone is 80 years old. 

As for the stereotypic appearance of geishas in popular culture, geishas only wear white paint on their faces today for special events. The tradition began at a time when dim lighting was an issue and the women painted their faces to be visible to their clients. 

Kimonos of course are the uniform of geishas. Each woman has 50+ silk kimonos of varying weights and designs in her closet. Their obis are always tied in the back. In the olden days, prostitutes tied their obis in the front for ease of access. 

With that, our time with Kinjo and Io was over. It was a fascinating peek into a part of Japanese culture quite foreign to our own.

Next up: Our visit to Mount Fuji  

 

Visiting The Hakone Open-Air Museum

"Sphere within a Sphere" by Arnaldo Pomodoro

I wasn't expecting to see any contemporary art on my trip to Japan. Ceramics, sure. Laquer, definitely. But artwork by internationally known artists, not so much. And so I was surprised -- and delighted -- when we visited the Open-Air Museum in Hakone. It was a fun addition to our itinerary. 

"Sphere within a Sphere" by Arnaldo Pomodoro gets my vote for the most striking work we encountered. The cracked shell of the orb represents the fragile and fractured state of human civilization, politics and the earth. The cityscape of an ideal city is more hopeful,  

Pomodoro is an artist new to me. I wasn't surprised to learn that he began his career as a set designer. "Sphere within a Sphere" draws the viewer into another world just as a good set design does. It's from a series of works, one of which was given to the United Nations by the Italian government. I'll have to check it out the next time I'm in the City. For now, we can all see it by clicking here. Whle the work is intended to be hopeful, it feels as broken to me as the world in which are living. Moving on...

"The Weeper" by Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne (1986) 

I suspect you've had the experience of learning a new word and soon thereafter seeing it again. It's always surprisingly satisfying, but it also makes me wonder if I just wasn't paying attention before. I had a similar experience when coming upon this sculpture by Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne so soon after "discovering" their work in the Met Costume Art exhibit. I am officially enamored of their art.

The placard described the work this way: "Just as Narcissus from Greek mythology fell in love with his own reflection and was reborn as a flower of the same name, this angel rests its cheek near the surface of the water. Despite shedding endless tears of unrequited love, a smile seems to play on its lips.." Despite the title -- and the darker tones near the eyes that I now understand are tears -- the work didn't strike me as somber. Instead, its beauty emitted a feeling of restfulness. Either way, it's perfect for a sculpture garden with the live greenery as hair. For more on this artistic duo, click here. 

"Symphonic Sculpture" by Gabriel Loire

Gabriel Loire's "Symphonic Sculpture" was a true art experience. I was going to say it was like climbing inside a 59' stained glass window, but we actually DID climb inside a 59' tall stained glass window. It was very cool. As a bonus, visitors who make it to the top are rewarded with views of the sculpture garden and Hakone. 

It didn't surprise me to learn that Loire spent time in Chartres given the cathedral-like feel of "Symphonic Sculpture." What did surprise me was learning that he worked in other mediums for a ten year period for legal reasons. What? 

When Loire was a young artist, he trained and then worked at the studio of Charles Lorin Glass Workshop. Over time, Loire began to feel artistically limited by the structure of the workshop and decided to strike out on his own. But there was an issue. He had signed a non-compete relating to the creation of art using the stained glass techinques he learned at the workshop. And so Loire worked in a variety of other artistic mediums during this period, creating ceramics, illustrations and furniture. I'm sure that work is beautiful and that developing skills in these other mediums ultimately strengthened his artistic practice, but I still think he could have used a good lawyer. For a bit more on Loire and his art, click here.

"Close III" by Antony Gormley (1993)

I'll leave you with "Close III" by Antony Gormley. As my trip to Japan draws to a close, I can relate to the feeling conveyed by this work -- or so I thought until I read the description. "A number of artistic interpretations are possible with this sculpture: perhaps it alludes to the weight of one's own body or to the movement of the planet; perhaps it's an image of celestial bodies communing with us, or a symbol of fear being exposed to the harsh light of the universe." Whoa. I was thinking more plain old fatigue, both physical and emotional given the state of our world. 

Gormley is an artist whose work I've seen before at the Norton Museum of Art. (Click here to see that work.) It's hard not to interact with his work, but I thought it might be a bit impolite to lie down beside this sculpture and recreate the pose. The Japanese are a bit more buttoned up than this American. 

Antony Gormley in plaster

I was interested to learn that Gormley often uses his own body to cast his sculptures. It's a unique style of using a found object. I like it. I came upon an article about Gromley using "Body as Place" that you can read by clicking here if you want a more intellectual look at his work than what's on offer here. What I will say is that creating these works is a bit dicey. Gormely has to be coated in Vaseline before being wrapped in a plaster with only two small breathing holes left exposed. About an hour later, an assistant chisels the plaster open -- very carefully -- and Gormley slips out. It is crazy. For more on Gormley and his art, click here. 

With that, I'll say sayonara for now. Up next: Our encounter with two geishas. 

Sumo Wrestling 101

Trying to move Koto to no avail -- the video is hilarious

When Andrea suggested Japan as a vacation destination, it was the thought of meeting sumo wrestlers that made me say yes. No, I'm not a closet sumo wrestling fan, but the opportunity to get up close and personal with some supersized human beings who have dedicated their lives to this ancient sport was intriguing. So I was thrilled that our tour itinerary kicked off with a visit to a sumo wrestling studio where we met Kumago and Koto. Read on for some of the information we learned during our visit. 

Sparring

 --There are no weight classifications in sumo. So Kumago (who weighed 400 pounds while competing) might have fought Koto even though he weighed a mere 310 pounds during his career. The heaviest sumo wrestler ever was Orora Satoshi, a fighter who tipped the scales at 645 pounds. Yikes. 

--Although size matters when you’re a rikishi (another word for a sumo wrestler), being larger does have its disadvantages. Smaller wrestlers often are speedier and have better technique.

--It’s not easy to maintain that weight. Rikishis typically consume 10,000 calories a day, mostly in the form of rice. A single meal often includes 10 bowls of rice. It’s paired with chanko, basically a chicken and vegetable soup. We partook of this lunch (in moderation) during our visit. The chanko needed salt.

--The objective of a sumo match is to push your opponent out of the 15’ ring or to get your opponent to touch the ground with a body part other than his feet. If even a lock of a rikishi’s hair touches the ground during a match, he loses. The ring is layered with sand, so it’s challenging to stay within the diameter. Strong toes are a must.

Warm up stomps

--Each match includes a warm up of 300 stomps, which are shown in this photo. Once the match starts, though, it’s best to keep both feet on the ground as much as possible to maintain your balance. Our new friends also practiced crashing into each other, which was something to see.

--There are 82 “finishing moves” to a match. Kumago and Koto demonstrated three of these techniques –  frontal push out (this is the move I tried on Koto with absolutely no effect), push out by grabbing your opponent’s mawashi (loin cloth belt) and grabbing your opponent’s mawashi over your arm and throwing your opponent to the ground.

--There are eight prohibited actions that result in immediate disqualification. They include intentionally grabbing your opponent’s top knot, striking your opponent with your fist and poking your opponent in the eye with your fingers. Kicking your opponent above his mawashi is also verboten, although leg sweeps and tripping are okay.  

More warm up moves

--The average match lasts a mere seven seconds. Four minutes is the maximum amount of time a match can run before a break is called. These guys are working hard. (And yes, in accordance with Shinto traditions, it’s only men.) In addition to the exertion required, sumo wrestlers often stop breathing while fighting so they can push as hard as possible.

--Before a match begins, rikishi engage in a ritual of purification, which includes taking an oath to fight openly and squarely. When the match is over, there is no taunting or celebrating as we see in American sports. To do so would be considered a sign of disrespect to your opponent.

--Young men can begin training to be professional sumo wrestlers as young as 15 years old. (Participation in recreational sumo often begins in elementary school.) The goal is to become one of the top ten percent of rikishis in the country. This translates into approximately 70 fighters. These top athletes are paid the equivalent of $7500/month by the government in addition to whatever sponsorship support they might have. Rankings are updated six times a year after each official 15-day tournament. 

--Beginning sumo wrestlers, along with rikishi who are not ranked, typically live in a communal training stable. In exchange for room and board, they are responsible for cleaning, cooking and other chores. The more junior the rikishi, the more chores they have to do. The junior guys also serve as sparring partners for the more seasoned rikishi, which I'm sure is both humbling and a great learning opportunity. 

I left the studio with a much better understanding and appreciation of the sport. I’m not going to subscribe to the sumo wrestling channel any time soon, but I enjoyed getting a look into this world. Our adventure was off to a great start. 

Chopstick Making 101

With my uncarved purpleheart 

When Andrea suggested we take a chopstick making class during our trip to Japan, I was all in. I imagined us sitting at a table with paint -- maybe goldleaf -- and decorating pre-made chopsticks. Not exactly in my wheelhouse, but it sounded like fun. Instead, we actually made chopsticks from rectangular pieces of wood. Sure, we didn't have to chop down the trees, but it was more of a thing than I had expected. It was great fun. 

We started by picking the wood from which we would make our chopsticks. We both chose purpleheart because of its unusual color. We learned all too soon that it is the hardest of the woods to carve. Note: They did tell us this in advance -- multiple times -- but we figured how hard could it be? The answer: Pretty darn hard.

Our equipment for the task ahead was a kanna, a Japanese wood plane. You lock the piece of wood into it and then push the blade back and forth to shave the wood down. Trust me when I say that this was not easy. Sure, the first few shaves were a piece of cake. After all, there was a lot of wood protruding from its locked position at the beginning. But pretty quickly you get to a point where some real work is involved. At times I actually broke a sweat trying to get slivers of the wood to come off. (I'm not exaggerating.) I had to  position myself in a lunge-like stance in order to get the blade to move. It was crazy! 

It was also quite humbling when one of the helpers would come over and say, "Can I take over for a little bit?" "Yes!" I enthusiastically replied several times, thinking that we might otherwise spend the rest of our vacation there. Then she would easily plane the wood down a bit before turning it back over to the true amateur. (Keep in mind that you have to plane all four sides of the nascent chopstick, so it really is a process.)

Andrea sanding -- and a portion of her shavings 
 

Once you get the wood planed down to a manageable point, you use sandpaper to refine the shape and to get rid of any little notches created during the planing process. (I know, hard to believe that would happen with me at the controls, but it did.) Our chopsticks have squared off corners. Not exactly traditional, but it does make them unique. 

Finally, our chopsticks were almost done. Then came the really challenging part -- the personalization. We were presented with choices of symbols for each sound in our name. For the "Na" in my name, I had to select from the symbol for "Guidance/Fruit" (associated with abundance and guiding people to peace), "Calm/Stillness" (the serene moment when the sea is calm, representing peace) and "Greens/Nature" (representing natural vitality, growth and a fresh personality). It seemd like a bigger decision than I was prepared to make, especially in my jetlagged state. Obviously, Calm/Stillness could be immediately eliminated, but it was a toss up between the other two. (I ended up going with Greens/Nature -- I love The Bay!)  Three more decisions later, the inscription was done. It was a special touch that I hadn't expected. 

All in all, our trip was off to a great start. I decided to go on this adventure because of the experiences we'll be having. Over the course of our travels, we'll meet with former geishas, ride a bullet train (twice), visit a gold leaf factory and more. In fact, today we met some former sumo wrestlers and watched a demonstration. I even got to participate! Stay tuned for more on that experience. 

 

 

Art as Declaration at the New York Public Library

From Glenn Ligon "Runaways" series (1993)

Despite having worked across the street from the New York Public Library for a number of years, I never crossed its threshold until my most recent visit to New York. Shame on me! What a gorgeous space - not to mention a killer gift shop that rivals that of any museum. But what brought me there wasn't the shopping opportunity; it was an exhibit entitled "Art as Declaration." The show takes a look at the ways contemporary artists have "reframed and reimagined" the promises of the Declaration of Independence 250 years after our country's founding. It's incredibly powerful. 

I'll start with Ligon's series lithographs inspired by slave runaway ads. They will stay with me for a long time. To create the works, Ligon asked 10 friends how they would describe him. The text in each work starts "Ran away, Glenn" and goes on to repeat one of those descriptions. Whoa. I can't imagine the intensity of emotions Ligon must have felt while creating this series. To see the series in its entirety -- with legible text (sorry!)-- click here. And for more on Ligon and his work, click here. 

"Marcus Garvey Vitamins" by David Hammons

David Hammons' "Marcus Garvey Vitamins" was another standout. Garvey was a Jamaican political activist who advocated for Black financial and cultural independence from white systems of power and governance. He championed Pan-African independence and designed the Pan-African Flag. The red, green and black flag represents Pan-Africanism, Black liberation, and people of African descent around the world. 

You can't tell from this image, but the "vitamins" (jelly beans) are the same colors as the Pan-African flag. Hammons once said, "outrageously magical things happen when you mess around with a symbol." This work is one example of him taking this approach. 

Hammons' choice of jelly beans as the vitamins was more than a matter of convenience. He considered their use -- along with that of an old honey jar -- as a means of transforming everyday items you could find at a bodega into "a superpower of radical political spirit, civic power and imagination." The further implication is that these "vitamins" would help the person taking them channel the power of Pan-African history in his or her life. I like it. 

"Holy Bible, King James Version,
, Self-published" by Robert The (1995)

I'm not a religious person, but Robert The's "Holy Bible, King James Version" was quite unsettling. The's practice is focused on carving used and discarded books into sculptural forms. He has to use a power saw to create his work given the density of compressed paper. Like most transformations, tt's a hard, messy process. 

One description of his work noted that The "'vandalizes back to life' discarded or thrift-store books to make a statement about cultural consumption and the erosion of meaning," so there's a connection there between the intention of his work and Hammons' "Marcus Garvey Vitamins." The intention behind his "Holy Bible" was "to conflate and confuse the relationships between protection, faith and violence." There's a lot to unpack there. My immediate thought was to the violence of the Crusades, but there are plenty of modern day examples, including the purported religious rationale of the 9/11 terrorists. To see more examples of The's book art, click here. 

With that, I'll leave you with an exhortation to see the exhibit if you're in the NY area. It's running through January 10th. For more on the show -- and the other ways the NY Public Library is celebrating our nation's 250th birthday -- click here.