Male friendship at the dawn of adulthood

Here’s looking at you, babe! Has a photographer ever found more willing subjects?

OK, ladies! Adjust your headpieces, and look sharp!

Admittedly, I am more focused on the male side of this celebration. But even I was moved to see one friend helping another with her big hair and accessories. Now that we’re tucked and presentable, get ready to review the various cliques among the 20 year old celebrants.

Does my barrette match this phone? Or my mask?

Is the barrette the Japanese male equivalent of the pony tail? Like, I was in a rush to get out of the house and go cellphone shopping, so I just grabbed my mask and pulled my hair back with this barrette? I guess there’s never enough time in a day!

Hakuho doing a ritual dance, dressed like a sacred Shinto tree

There is something deeply spiritual about sumo. I love that Hakuho’s belt and lightning bolts evoke the ones you see tied around Shinto shrine trees. Maybe the gods enjoy hanging out with the sumo players, as much as with the micro- green spaces by the shrines.

Tatsumi pool is a shrine to swimming

Almost in Chiba, Tatsumi swimming pool is my new shrine, demanding a cross-city pilgrimage. Since the Taiikukan in Sendagaya is closed for one year of renovations, I discovered this amazing facility. It has enormous windows facing a former lumber dock that now features decaying piers and flying fish. Not only is the main pool 50 meters, so is the so-called “sub-pool.” There’s a separate area for diving, including a 10 meter platform.

The clouds that day against the blue sky were spectacular. In the distance, at the end of the walkway, you can see Sky Tree to the north.

El Salvador prisons full of tattoos. Can I volunteer to help?!

In a story about over-crowding in Latin American prisons, the New York Times also serves up image after image of attractive men and their extravagant tattoos. Does this reinforce the call for sympathy?

Sumo inside the ring: more ritual, more ass

The sumo match itself rarely lasts more than a minute, and the rules seem simple. You win by pushing the other guy out of the circle. But there’s so much ritual before the shoving and grunting even begin. I like how they all come out together in special fancy aprons and raise their arms together. I am unclear whether it’s a spiritual or sexual act, but it’s hard not to stare.

The champion Hakuho also does some extra balancing and arm-raising, while wearing a special rope decoration. I like how the sumo champion is dressed up almost like a Shinto sacred tree. Even without knowing the specifics, it’s clear that he is invoking vast forces and unseen spirits.

The opponents face off several times and then go to their corners before starting the match. I like when they toss salt up into the air, which seems to purify and make the fighting space more exalted.

And finally, I love the intensity of their faces and bodies before the match begins. These big boys sure can squat low, and it’s exciting to anticipate the fearsome power they create out of their own body weight.

European curry sounds strange, doesn’t it?

I laughed many times seeing curries sold in Japan as “European curry.” What a ridiculous idea, like a Swedish taco. I later learned that this term refers to the original curry in Japan, imported by way of Britain during the Meiji period. You can find it in many nostalgic 1970s style “western” restaurants that are distinctly Japanese, and it’s also evolved into many supermarket take-home mixes and fast food joints. The Muji label makes this comfort food seem somehow modern and new. This one scores just 3 out of 5 chiles, and is beef based.

Arashi welcomes foreign tourists back to Japan

Would five effeminate, overly-styled men fill your head with a desire to visit Japan and eliminate all memories of nuclear disaster and fall-out? That’s apparently the Japanese tourist authority dreams. One foreign resident designer laughed that few outside Japan would know the commercial charms of Arashi, and that the contexts are hard to understand for those with limited knowledge of Japan.

Who would be better? The womyn’s soccer team, Nadeshiko? The almost invisible Royal Family? The CEO of TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company, owner & operator of the Fukushima nuke plant)? Pokemon?

Lights explosion and dogs as customer bait

I recently learned this odd Japanese phrase: kanban musume (看板娘), which literally means daughter and store sign. I think the modern term is “door bait.” Apparently it’s an Edo or earlier tradition for commercial establishments to place their attractive daughters outside the shop to lure customers.

This male host club uses three over-sized dogs, each with their own portable heater and blanket, to bring in the (mostly) female clients. The husband remarked that he hopes the white dog with a pink bow is male.

A nearby club is surprisingly visible from the sidewalk. Peering inside makes me feel like I am on acid.