About Me
- Amami Superman
- I live on a small island in southern Japan called Amami Oshima. I have many interests and hobbies. I made this blog to share with my family and friends.
翻訳
Metaroka is a tribute band to Metallica. I suppose you say the pronunciation is meta-rocker, but it sounds close to Metallica in Japanese, sorta...
Every year they hold Summerfest at Ohama Beach here in Amami. My friend Daiju (Mr. D), plays guitar for Metaroka. Daiju owns a cafe called Clo-bar. His cafe is a nice little place with some pretty tasty dishes. Anyway, I came out to cheer on some of out local bands here in Amami.
Summerfest lasts for 2 days and usually has over 50 bands that come out to play. It's pretty fun to come and watch if you're up to sitting out in the sun most of the afternoon, which is pretty hot and tiresome. Metaroka started their stage just a little after 4:00pm so there was some shade from the palms to hide under.
Daiju and Naru are in another band called Gas Coin. Gas Coin is a punk rock band and are pretty popular here in Amami. I've been to a few of their stages and I get a laugh from their main vocal.
Taro is a very talented guitarist. I took some photos of him a few years ago playing acoustic guitar at an anniversary party at Susumocho.
They played 2 or 3 songs from Metallica. I forget which ones they played but one I do remember one was Enter the Sandman, very awesome. I got chills.
Daigo is another good friend of mine. He runs the surf shop with my wife's older brother. I took photos of his yoinou a few years back. Daigo is also a very talented musician. He can play drums as well as guitar and a few other instruments.
Only Daiju can pull off being a hardcore rocker and wear flip-flops.
So those are a few photos I took from Summerfest this year. It was hot and I was pretty tired from work so I didn't stay to see everyone. We let our daughter swim for a while and then headed for home.
Work has been pretty busy for me. We were supposed to have Amami Festival happen this weekend but we had a typhoon come near us and they rescheduled it for later this month. They did have the hachigatsu odori yesterday and the parade today, but it was rainy and I didn't chance taking my camera out. We still have a few festivals scheduled around the island so hopefully it will be good weather and I'll be able to get some photos of those.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/80 sec, f/2.2 ,ISO 400 -- EXIF
(mallets & mortar)
At the end of Jade's second grade year, all three second grade classes at her school came together to have a sort of recreation day. We played dodge ball and then made mochi. Mochitsuki means mochi making or mochi pounding. Taikai just means a large gathering but it can also mean competition.
Mochi is a pounded, putty-like rice. Some will call it rice cakes, but I personally don't think it's anything like cake. Mochi is eaten year round but you see it the most during the New Year. They us it for their traditional decorations as well as their traditional dishes during New Years. There are several ways you can eat mochi, but this is how it is made.
First the mallets and mortar are soaked in water for a few hours. This is done so the rice won't stick as much to them. If you didn't wet things down like this, there would be a terrible mess when the pounding started.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/640 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Smooshing
I believe the rice used is a bit special, I'm not too sure, but it's cooked like any other rice would be. When put into the mortar, you start out by smooshing it around. Once it starts to form a ball, then you let the pounding begin.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/400 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 800 -- EXIF
Working as a Team
When making mochi, you need at least two people to do it. One that pounds the mochi, and one that flips the mochi over and wets it.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/250 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 800 -- EXIF
Taking Turns
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/160 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 800 -- EXIF
Support
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1000 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 800 -- EXIF
Rolling the Mochi into Balls
Once the mochi is pounded into a nice putty like substance, you then roll it into small balls and cover the balls with some sort of flour type substance. I'm not quite sure what the flour like stuff is, I forgot to ask anyone.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/160 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 500 -- EXIF
Fun for Everyone
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/640 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 800 -- EXIF
Mmmm, Mochi...
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1250 sec, f/1.4 ,ISO 800 -- EXIF
Shot From Above
The yellow powder is soy bean flour with sugar mixed in. That with a little shoyu (soy sauce), and it's a pretty delicious snack.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/200 sec, f/2.0, ISO 800 -- EXIF
Every year during setsubun, they have a festival/celebration type ceremony called mame maki. Mame maki basically means bean throwing. Usually dried soybeans are used, but peanuts can also be used. The beans are a symbol of good luck and can be used to throw at demons to drive them away or to throw at others for good luck. I found a nice explanation of what the beans symbolize here under "fukumame".
Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm, 1/500 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400 -- EXIF
A Crowd Is Forming
When I first got to the shrine that day, there was no one in sight. As it got closer to otakiage, more people started to show up. After the otakiage, there was a nice little crowd starting to form.
Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 22mm, 1/200 sec, f/4.0, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Almost Time
I imagine that if the setsubun fell on a weekend day, there would be plenty more people. As it turned out, setsubun fell on a Wednesday. Mame maki was set for 3:00pm so people would still be at work and elementary children and up would still be in school.
Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 36mm, 1/100 sec, f/5.3, ISO 200 -- EXIF
Anticipation
These children in the red hats are from a pre-school. Most pre-schools finish at 2:00pm here in Amami so I imagine these kids are apart of the after-school daycare service most pre-schools provide.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
The Bean Throwers
Before the actually bean throwing, the people throwing the beans went inside the shrine and participated in some sort of rite. After the rite was performed, they came out with the beans and got ready.
It was about this time that my photos really started to suck. From motion blur to out of focus shots, I wanted to kick myself after I saw them that evening. If the out-of-focus shots were in focus, I think they would have been some really great shots. The mame maki only lasted a minute or so, so I didn't have a chance to check to see how they were turning out. I was so excited to get home and check them out. When I did get home and looked at them, I wanted to go into a rage and destroy something. Well, not really. I was just sad I screwed them up. I did get a few OK shots though.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Mid-catch
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Ready to Catch
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Scrounging
It was amazing to see even the older folks getting down and scrounging up the peanuts that fell to the ground. It reminded me of little kids gathering up candy after a piñata had been cracked open.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Standing in Line
After the mame maki, they handed out omamori which are basically good luck charms. The actual word mamoru means to protect or defend. So an actual direct translation would be a protection charm.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/125 sec, f/1.4, ISO 800 -- EXIF
Handing Out the Omamori
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 -- EXIF
All Set for the New Year
When I first heard about setsubun, my first question was, why don't they do the good luck thing during New Years instead of a month after? I first thought that maybe it had to do with the Chinese calendar but after a bit of study, I found I was wrong. I thought I would take a bit to explain what setsubun is.
Setsu means season and bun means part or division. They use the word setsubun to refer to the day before the first day of a season. Now days, setsubun is referred to as the day before the first day of Spring. Although they had calendars thousands of years ago in Japan, not everyone used them. Instead, many people went off the lunar cycles for their calendar. Because the the Spring setsubun was also the day before the Lunar New Year, it was also considered New Year's Eve.
So to answer my first question, why don't they do the good luck thing during New Years instead of a month later? Well they do, if you use the lunar calendar like they did a long time ago.
What is setsubun? To go through and explain what setsubun is and how it originated would take some time. I'll try to give you a really short explanation.
Setsubun is a ceremony or festival all about bringing in good luck for the New Year. It's always held on February 3 and is celebrated throughout Japan.
One of the things they do to bring in the good luck is drive out the bad. Probably the main thing associated with this is an event called mame maki. Mame maki involves throwing beans (or peanuts), at demons and monsters to drive them away or for throwing at/to people for good luck. Some people follow this tradition in their own homes. The father, or head figure of the family, would put on a demon mask and the children would throw peanuts at him while yelling, "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!", which basically means, "Demons out, good luck in!" They also do this kind of thing at shrines.
Another ceremony they perform at shrines during setsubun is otakiage. In my previous post, I posted some photos of omikuji and ema. Otakiage is the burning of these items from the previous year. These are some of the photos I took of that event here in Amami.
Beginning of the Otakiage Ceremony
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/30 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Performing the Rite
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/4.0, ISO -- EXIF
Carrying the Flame
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/80 sec, f/4.0, ISO -- EXIF
Lighting the Fire
Along with burning omikuji and ema, they also burn charms and talismans from the previous year. The charms and talismans are for all kinds of things. Most of them are for good health. There are also some for business success, safety for driving automobiles, school and study, etc.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/100 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Loading It On
Nikon D60, Sigma 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 165mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.3, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Burning Ema
"To grow up healthy and bright. Nov 25, 2008" The ema in the middle of the photo is probably a wish about a newborn child.
Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 135mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
People's Wishes for Last Year
"To grow and always be bright and healthy with a cute smile." Another ema probably for a child.
"To pass the entrance exams for Amami High School. I WILL PASS!" Written on the ema at the bottom of the photo.
Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 55mm, 1/160 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Getting Hot
Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 200mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 -- EXIF
5 Corner Ema - A Wish to Pass a Test
I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but while writing this post and reading the Japanese written on this ema, 五角 (5 corners) and 合格 (to pass), are kind of like homonyms. 五角 is GOKAKU and 合格 is GOUKAKU. They both sound the same when spoken quickly.
Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 45mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.3, ISO 200 -- EXIF
An Inferno
So that was otakiage they do for setsubun here in Amami. Because Amami is such small place, this ceremony is dinky compared to the big places in central Japan. My friend Jeffrey Friedl made a post in his blog a few years back of setsubun at the Heian Shrine in Kyoto. He has some fantastic photos and you really get an idea how big this event can be.
Later on in the afternoon they had the mame maki event. I have to admit, my photos pretty much sucked for that. But I'll try to share some in my next post.
Back in October of last year, my brother-in-law was a DJ at an Old School Hip Hop/R&B event. I thought it would be nice to go take some photos of him. I was pretty busy around then and I never got around to going through these photos and choosing some of the ones I liked. I completely forgot about them until now.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/30 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
The Classics
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/30 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
You're Doing It WRONG!
Maa-kun
Maa is a good friend of mine and quite the character. He came to this event dressed out like Run DMC even with the shell-toed Adidas with no laces. I asked him to pose and this is what he did. I got a kick out of it.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/20 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Kazuhito on the Tables
(my brother-in-law)
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/20 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Can't Have The Classics Without Def Jam
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/15 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Westside!
Tsukasa
Tsukasa is another good friend of mine. He's a graphic designer and makes a lot of the posters for these events. Tsukasa also dressed up for this event and the main reason for posting this photo is his jacket...
All I can say is...
ebay much?
I took a bunch of photos of the other DJ's but they weren't that interesting. Anway, I hope you like these.
Last month wasn't a particularly fun month for me. As I mentioned in previous posts, I was plagued by ear infections and colds. At the end of last month after we got back from our trip to Kyushu, a friend of mine was having a wedding party and he asked me to take photos for it. When the day rolled around for his party, I was feeling miserable and didn't know if I was up to the job. But I stuck it out and decided to do my best.
It's one of those times where I wish I had paid more attention to what I was doing and thought about it a bit more. I'm not big into flashes and the restaurant they used had pretty poor lighting. I went with my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens. That wasn't a bad chose but the camera settings I used were. I thought I could get away with slower shutter speeds, around 1/30 sec and up so I could use a lower ISO (ISO 400), and not have the photos so grainy. I should have used ISO 800 and a faster shutter speed, but that's spilt milk. I guess I know better now...
Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 22mm, 30 sec, f/4.0, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Not Your Typical Reception
I'll give you little background info on the bride and groom. Yumi is a teacher in Kagoshima and Yasuhiro owns a restaurant called SusuMucho here in Amami. They have been dating for some time now and recently they signed a marriage licence and turned it in to the city hall. Most of their close friends knew about this but not very many. Yasuhiro decided to give Yumi a surprise wedding party and invite all their close friends.
Yasuhiro told nothing to Yumi about the day of the party. He picked her up at the airport and simply told her he had a few errands to run that morning. He then drove her to a bridal salon where they picked out dresses and tuxedos. She had no idea about any of this or what was going to happen. She thought that they were picking things out for a later date.
After they had everything picked out, they fixed up their hair and makeup and got them all dressed up. The bridal salon then drove them to a photography studio just across the street where I live and took wedding photos. The poster you see in the above photo was taken that morning at the photo studio. My wife and daughter took a sneak peek at them while they were shooting. Yumi got so many surprises this day. She didn't know she was going to be taking photos so it must have been a real treat for her.
I don't know much about what happened after that up to the wedding party. When they got to the restaurant, everyone was waiting with cracker fireworks filled with confetti. As they walked in the door and the crackers went off, I think she was so scared she tried to run away.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
A Man of the Cloth?
When they got situated, the first thing they did was have a wedding ceremony. The man performing the ceremony is Shoichi. Shoichi is in no way a man of the cloth, but instead, a very comical man. As you can see in the photo, he put his suit on backwards and taped a not-so-straight cross on. Even thought I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't stop from laughing.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Kampai Aisatsu
(cheers speech)
They then had a friend come up and give a speech before they all toasted to the the bride and groom.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
KAMPAI!
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Cutting the Cake
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
An Uneventful Cake Feeding of the Bride
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Desaster About to Strike
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Oh Noes!
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Yay!
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
The Clean Up
After cutting the cake, they had a few musical numbers performed by different people and a slide show of Yasuhiro and Yumi filling out their marriage license and some different things they were photographed in.
At the end of the party, each gave a small speech. Yumi was all emotional by this point and could barely squeak a word out. When she finally was able to talk, she mentioned how this was better than anything she had imagined. When they first signed their marriage license, she didn't expect a wedding and was happy and content just getting a ring.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/30 sec, f/1.4 , ISO 400 -- EXIF
Symbols of Vows
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/40 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
The Gauntlet
I'm not sure what they call this in Japanese or English. At the end of some receptions, everyone gets together and makes a sort of tunnel for the newly weds to go through. I call it the gauntlet because some of the more drunk people take shots at them like in the above photos.
Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/25 sec, f/1.4, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Leaving the Party
Once they got outside, I had room on my SD card for one more photo and this is the photo I shot. I took 866 photos and completely filled my 8GB SD card.
For a honeymoon, they are going to take a trip to Australia for a week or so at the end of this month.
I recently was able to go through all the photos I took and I made a disc for them. When I brought the disc to Yasuhiro, he showed me some of the video another friend took of that day at the bridal salon. Yasuhiro seemed a very happy man.
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