Sunday was a day of pure happiness, mine and others'.
We started out early in the centre of the city. The weather had picked up after a very dull week. Though the cherry blossoms were about one or two days past their prime, they were still really beautiful.
Walking under the withering, falling petals usually makes me a little melancholy. But with all the changes coming my way, I wondered how many more chances I'd have to enjoy this seasonal tradition. Still and all, it was a truly happy feeling to stand with good friends under the imposing skyscapers as the the early morning sun was filtered pink through the delicate blooms.
We covered a lot of ground and saw cheery trees all over the city: at Roppongi, in Hibiya Park, at the Imperial palace. The picture at the top of the page is a great photo of two symbols of this island - the curving pine and the blooming sakura. Beautiful - thanks K.
Now お花見 (Ohanami - blossom viewing) wouldn't be complete without a beer. I get tingles remembering the icy cold ceramic stein of beer I enjoyed in a very traditional German restaurant. Memories of Oktoberfest. It was the kind of place I would never think of going by myself. But the weekends are made for such discoveries. Bliss!
We couldn't stay outside blossom viewing all day, though. Suntory Hall, one of Tokyo's most prestigious concert halls, was having an open day. The longer we left out arrival, the more crowded the venue would get. We were among the first to turn up and scored great seats in the main hall.
Suntory Hall is especially famous for it's organ. I can never think of this word without smiling. I think it's latent trauma from my days as a Dublin Castle tour guide. Part of the tour covered the old castle church. In the script, the lines 'Ecce Homo' (Behold the man) and 'massive organ' followed in quick succession. I barely made it through the tour without a giggle at the double entendre. In the end, the organ concert was good, but I really missed the reverberating echo of a high church ceiling.
As it was an informal open day, we were able to watch the orchestra practising. This was a first for me. I was amazed to watch a professional conductor at work. He could hear everything. Not only that the violins missed a beat, but that this violinist missed a beat on this bar. Such talent. Such training.
The rehearsal also pointed out the weird affects of adrenaline and nervous tension. During practice the orchestra was really not that good. I think we all felt apprehensive that open-day meant B-grade players. But the 本番 (Hon ban - performance before a live audience) was in a whole different class. In their formal wear it was like they became another orchestra and treated us to some fantastic music. Fascinating.
At the end of the orchestral concert the conductor called up seven volunteers to the stage. He chose a selection of people of different ages. They would each get a chance to conduct the orchestra. The younger kids were shy and nervous but did a great job. The man who stuck out in my mind was the excitable おじさん (ojisan - older gentleman) who was desperate for his turn.
The conductor went to side-stage and left the man to his own devices. He conducted like a pro. It was clear he was passionate about music and probably practised at home in front of the mirror. He gave it everything he had and the audience responded with booming applause.
After, the conductor took the microphone and asked the man how he felt. His face beaming with pride, he responded that he was just a simple 'salaryman' who had finally seen a dream come true. It was a simple message but I can't convey the happiness, the delight in his voice.
Maybe it was residual emotion from the bloody otters. Maybe it's because I feel I'm getting closer to achieving my own dreams. Or maybe it was the rare joy of seeing someone truly satisfied, but I'm ashamed to admit I was really moved. I may even have misted up a little.
Now I have never claimed to be some macho mountain man. Lord, no! But I really thought I was made of stronger stuff than that. Perhaps it's all the soy products I eat over here. Too much oestrogen. I may actually be turning into a woman.
As an aside, the Japanese language allows you great flexibilty in how manly you want to appear simply by the word you choose to express 'I'. 私 (watashi) is a very standard, basic 'I'. It's good for men and women and is pretty much neutral.
If you want to be more formal, give a more refined image, then you pronounce this character wataKUshi.
Young men like me tend to use the word 僕 (Boku) to talk about ourselves. This has a boyish, slighltly childish nuance. Some men would say it's a bit soft, a bit effeminite.
Those men would probably use the more macho 俺 'Ore'. I have never once used this word for myself. I don't think I could pull it off. I'm pretty sure people would laugh - Far too tough guy for someone like me.
But I think people would laugh a lot more if I tried to say 拙者(sessha). This is the word samurai used to use for themselves. Before I leave Japan I'm determined to refer to myself in this way once just to see what reaction it gets.
Having read all this, please try and tell me Japanese isn't a complicated flipping language.
We started out early in the centre of the city. The weather had picked up after a very dull week. Though the cherry blossoms were about one or two days past their prime, they were still really beautiful.
Walking under the withering, falling petals usually makes me a little melancholy. But with all the changes coming my way, I wondered how many more chances I'd have to enjoy this seasonal tradition. Still and all, it was a truly happy feeling to stand with good friends under the imposing skyscapers as the the early morning sun was filtered pink through the delicate blooms.
We covered a lot of ground and saw cheery trees all over the city: at Roppongi, in Hibiya Park, at the Imperial palace. The picture at the top of the page is a great photo of two symbols of this island - the curving pine and the blooming sakura. Beautiful - thanks K.
Now お花見 (Ohanami - blossom viewing) wouldn't be complete without a beer. I get tingles remembering the icy cold ceramic stein of beer I enjoyed in a very traditional German restaurant. Memories of Oktoberfest. It was the kind of place I would never think of going by myself. But the weekends are made for such discoveries. Bliss!
We couldn't stay outside blossom viewing all day, though. Suntory Hall, one of Tokyo's most prestigious concert halls, was having an open day. The longer we left out arrival, the more crowded the venue would get. We were among the first to turn up and scored great seats in the main hall.
Suntory Hall is especially famous for it's organ. I can never think of this word without smiling. I think it's latent trauma from my days as a Dublin Castle tour guide. Part of the tour covered the old castle church. In the script, the lines 'Ecce Homo' (Behold the man) and 'massive organ' followed in quick succession. I barely made it through the tour without a giggle at the double entendre. In the end, the organ concert was good, but I really missed the reverberating echo of a high church ceiling.
As it was an informal open day, we were able to watch the orchestra practising. This was a first for me. I was amazed to watch a professional conductor at work. He could hear everything. Not only that the violins missed a beat, but that this violinist missed a beat on this bar. Such talent. Such training.
The rehearsal also pointed out the weird affects of adrenaline and nervous tension. During practice the orchestra was really not that good. I think we all felt apprehensive that open-day meant B-grade players. But the 本番 (Hon ban - performance before a live audience) was in a whole different class. In their formal wear it was like they became another orchestra and treated us to some fantastic music. Fascinating.
At the end of the orchestral concert the conductor called up seven volunteers to the stage. He chose a selection of people of different ages. They would each get a chance to conduct the orchestra. The younger kids were shy and nervous but did a great job. The man who stuck out in my mind was the excitable おじさん (ojisan - older gentleman) who was desperate for his turn.
The conductor went to side-stage and left the man to his own devices. He conducted like a pro. It was clear he was passionate about music and probably practised at home in front of the mirror. He gave it everything he had and the audience responded with booming applause.
After, the conductor took the microphone and asked the man how he felt. His face beaming with pride, he responded that he was just a simple 'salaryman' who had finally seen a dream come true. It was a simple message but I can't convey the happiness, the delight in his voice.
Maybe it was residual emotion from the bloody otters. Maybe it's because I feel I'm getting closer to achieving my own dreams. Or maybe it was the rare joy of seeing someone truly satisfied, but I'm ashamed to admit I was really moved. I may even have misted up a little.
Now I have never claimed to be some macho mountain man. Lord, no! But I really thought I was made of stronger stuff than that. Perhaps it's all the soy products I eat over here. Too much oestrogen. I may actually be turning into a woman.
As an aside, the Japanese language allows you great flexibilty in how manly you want to appear simply by the word you choose to express 'I'. 私 (watashi) is a very standard, basic 'I'. It's good for men and women and is pretty much neutral.
If you want to be more formal, give a more refined image, then you pronounce this character wataKUshi.
Young men like me tend to use the word 僕 (Boku) to talk about ourselves. This has a boyish, slighltly childish nuance. Some men would say it's a bit soft, a bit effeminite.
Those men would probably use the more macho 俺 'Ore'. I have never once used this word for myself. I don't think I could pull it off. I'm pretty sure people would laugh - Far too tough guy for someone like me.
But I think people would laugh a lot more if I tried to say 拙者(sessha). This is the word samurai used to use for themselves. Before I leave Japan I'm determined to refer to myself in this way once just to see what reaction it gets.
Having read all this, please try and tell me Japanese isn't a complicated flipping language.
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