cherry blossom

The cherry blossom is a much beloved flower in Japan, more commonly known as the "sakura". It symbolises the coming of spring and the Japanese usually welcome the change in season by admiring the flowers and having parties under its trees.


In Japan, the cherry tree is planted and cultivated for its beauty and appreciated for its fragilility. During its peak, the flowers cover almost the whole of the tree and is a sight to behold. However, it only lasts for a few weeks before dropping off and being replaced by green leaves and buds.


Every year, the Japanese Meteoroligical Agency and the public in general track the "sakura zensen" (cherry-blossom front) via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news channels. It shows the blossoming of the sakura from the southernmost part in Okinawa as early as January, up to the northern Honshu areas and ending in Hokkaido a end of April/May.

Pottery

We went to visit a pottery maker last week, and had to take the train from Tokyo. Since it was in the rural area, we had to take the local train and it was quite slow.


The end result of pottery (known as "Yakimono" in Japanese) provides useful articles and objects of art at the same time. Some of these may be practical items that can be used in the home, and some may be used as adornment to enhance the beauty of the room.
In Japan, due to the various periods and districts in which pottery is made, each of them has their own distinctive features.

Rokuro: Pots are usually shaped on a potter's wheel. This wheel is turned with the feet or hands.

This seem to be the most difficult stage in pottery making as the potter has to make sure the shape turns out well and that consistency is maintained throughout the body of the pottery produced.

If you are interested in seeing other types of Iga Pottery, please visit UniqueJapan.
We are in the midst of producing a video on how these are made soon!

Udon:うどん

Looking at the previous post on ramen, that got me thinking about the other popular noodle dish in Japan - the udon. The picture here was the first udon I had when I arrived in Japan not too long ago. Personally I prefer udon to ramen as it seemed like a healthier alternative.



Udon is a wheat-based noodle popular in Japanese restaurants, served hot in a mildly flavoured broth. While it does not vary much in the flavour of its broth like ramen, the variety of toppings that come with the udon can be attributed to its many origins. Some of these toppings vary according to the seasons (sometimes served chilled during summer), and are added without much cooking, although some are deep fried.

The most common type is served with pieces of seaweed, slices of fish cake, and sprinkled with freshly chopped onions. A popular accompaniment is the tempura or deep fried vegetables or seafood.

Other interesting variations of the udon include:
Kitsune udon ("fox udon") - A favourite from the Kansai region, this is served with sweetened deep fried tofu pockets
Tsukimi udon ("moon viewing udon") - It is topped with a single raw egg, left to poach in the hot boiling soup
Chikara udon ("power udon") - A hearty dish meant to give "energy", it is topped with toasted mochi rice cakes
Karē udon ("curry udon") - While curry is gaining popularity in Japan, this flavour has lent itself to the udon as well, and may include meat or vegetables

Ramen:ラーメン

Ramen is a type of Japanese-Chinese dish consisting of Chinese noodles served in hot chicken broth or pork infused with original sauce.

The resulting combination is generally divided into four categories:
*Shio ("salt") - The ramen soup is clear, almost transparent in colour.
*Tonkotsu ("pork bone") - The ramen soup is usually cloudy white. It is a thick broth made with crushed pork bones that have been boiled for hours. It is a specialty of Kyushu and is often served with bini shoga (pickled ginger).
*Shōyu ("soy sauce") - This type of ramen soup is made by adding a soy-based sauce to a clear stock usually made from chicken and various vegetables. It is popular in Honshu. A popular seasoning is black pepper.
*Miso ramen is a relative newcomer, having reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkaidō, features a broth that combines chicken stock with the fermented soybean paste miso. It is often topped with sweetcorn and butter.


This is Tonkotsu Ramen ;)

Let's try the various types of ramen available out there, and see what difference each of them have. Your taste buds will be delightfully tantalised by each flavour!

Good luck Talisman

A good luck talisman is known as "Engimono" in Japanese. It is believed that the engimono brings good luck, and are mainly sold at shops within shrine grounds. People buy them in the hope of having a better fortune.

Today I will share with you a form of the Daruma Doll, which is somewhat like an engimono.

The Japanese buys a Daruma doll when he/she wants to make a wish.

When the doll is bought, one of the eyes is painted in. If the wish does in fact come true, they will paint in the other eye as a sign of gratitude. Election candidates always have one of these dolls in their campaign office.

Getting a Daruma doll is good as a gift for new-borns as it is believed to give good health to both the mother and baby. It can also be a suitable gift for weddings as well.

If you want to have your own Daruma doll, please visit UJ.

Photo shooting

We will be bringing new products to Unique Japan soon.

We have just completed a photo shooting session yesterday for some new Unique Japan products. The subjects being photographed were the Kanazawa-haku products, something I personally like since I'm interested in gold and silver products with a tinge of tradition.

Kanazawa-haku, literally means “gold leaf from Kanazawa”. Kanazawa, a region that sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, produces 99% of Japan's high-quality gold leaf. Its traditions span as far back as 800AD. The world-famous Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple) in Kyoto is covered almost entirely in gold-leaf was produced in Kanazawa. The region is also famous for its lacquer ware, (Kanazawa shikki) thus making this a fantastic representation of the quality of work from the region.





The above pictures are just some of the colours of Haku gold. The process employed to create these products are authentic. I can't wait to share them with you all ;)

Shogi

Was watching a Jap guy teach his Korean friend Shogi, Japanese chess. Played by 2 players, the objective of this board game is to capture the opponent's King. Shogi is played on a 9x9 board, each side having 20 pieces each - 1 King, 2 Gold generals, 2 Silver generals, 2 Knights, 2 Lances, 1 Rook, 1 Bishop & 9 Pawns.



Much of the moves are similar to what we all know as the western chess, except for some interesting differences. For example : some of the pieces get promoted to stronger pieces once they reach the opponent's side of the board. Their new ranks are written at the back of the pieces, so the piece is flipped to reflect the change. Promotion, however, is optional, provided that the piece still can make a legal move in case it is not promoted.



Another one is that captured pieces become part of the capturer's force. They can be dropped back onto the board, in an empty square. Pieces are always dropped unpromoted. Meaning, if a promoted piece is captured, it reverts back to its unpromoted rank.



This makes shogi an exciting board game to play. If you're familiar with western chess, it's relatively easy to learn up japanese chess, whose moves are a little varied. Once you are able to recognise the Japanese characters for each piece, you're on your way to enjoying this immensely popular Japanese board game. I even managed to play another type of game with the same board, but only using Pawns. It's called hasami, or scissors. ;)