The Soul of Japan

Descartes once said that “I think, therefore I am!” And with that one phrase he became the father of modern philosophy. “I drink good sake, therefore I am” is what I say, and boy, did I choose a good one. (This oil painting was rendered by one of my Jukujo moms….H.M.)Another gem of a sake has been discovered once again, but this time from a prefecture in Japan called Nara which hardly ever gets any attention for its sake, but rather for its temples and shrines, most notably Todaiji, which is regarded as the largest wooden temple structure in world! Nara, the ancient capital, is also regarded as the Mecca of Japanese Buddhism, and the cradle of civilization for much of the country; the place where the samurai became civilized and enlightened, actually.The sake once again is called Kazeno -Mori, a Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu Shibori. Muroka means it’s not charcoal filtered. What charcoal filtering does to sake is clean it up and make it look clearer. Some experts argue though that…

Towering at 186cm/or 6’2, Erika Araki is one of my favorite volleyball players.  She’s also a favorite type of mine.  Her dominance on the floor is only second to Oyama Kana’s, I think.  Nevertheless, she has proven her worth as an excellent addition to Team Japan and a formidable spiker against her Western rivals.  I have always enjoyed watching the infusion of  strength and beauty at work.  Asian female athletes have always had this dynamic, I think, where they can play hard in one sport while maintaining a sense of natural feminine beauty off the court, as opposed to female Western athletes who tend to appear a bit… masculine on and off the court.  (“There are just some female athletes in the sporting world that even I would shy away from in a cage match….The Olgas and the Eva Brauns types….”) This reminds me of the time when I was playing a one-on-one in Santa Monica with this spry young Japanese girl I had met at a language school in the area.  I took her out to play basketball w…

With the departure of Taro Aso, the 59th Prime Minister of Japan, who had only proven to be just a "flash in the pan" and a major let down for many including his staunchest supporters, Yukio Hatoyama has now assumed the helm as The Boss.Japan is now faced once again with the same bleak prospects of having to choose which resource laden country it wants to foster relations with, along with whatever concessions that comes along with those choices. Once again, Japan is placed in the international spot light of having to either play the traditional double hegemony role between America and America's foes in a bid to bolster its fledgling economy and its depleting natural reserves, or to seek a new direction, one that could possibly usher in a new era of prosperity for Asia through the possible emergence of a new and dynamic type of Asian co-prosperity sphere where America plays a supporting role rather than a leading one. Never in all of modern history as Asia ever bee…

On the way home the other day I stopped over at this neighborhood liquor store just to poke my head in the door to see what kind of stuff they had. Within seconds I was greeted by throngs of old Japanese men who almost drug me into the store. Of course after I had said konnichiwa they swore up and down right then that I was fluent in Japanese! So rather than get barraged by countless questions I started talking about sake. Then they were really impressed. They treated me like I was the prodigal son who at long last returned home from living in the world.(This is her robed)The oldest of the five went for the fridge and snatched out about five different sake, most of which were from either Akita or Yamagata. Now, I love all of the sake that comes out of this region of Japan, but there were two that I had to get and the one I’m drinking now is my feature sake for today. (unrobed)First off, the sake brewery is called Tenju and it’s located near the beautiful Chokai Mountains in Akit…

A lot of things were happening all over the world in 1971. The President of the United States at that time was Richard Nixon, Republican, who was the first U.S. president in history to resign from office amid scandal. He was also the first U.S. president to not only visit China but the first president to ever normalize relations with that country which it had considered a foe for quite some time. In 1971, war was also raging on in Vietnam as Asia was being swallowed up by the Communist and as a result China for years had branded Vietnam the "Cuba of the East" and had regarded its brand of Soviet style communism dangerous not only to China but to all of Asia. China eventually attacked along Vietnam's borders in an unsuccessful attempt to force the Vietnamese out of Cambodia. This action by the Chinese was an attempt to show the world that it wasn't just a paper tiger but a leader on an international level, and a country that could prove its might for the great…

Shinjuku is literally flooded with porn shops that sell and rent porn flicks 24 hours a day. I remember stopping by one particular shop that was selling Jukujo DVDs for 1000 円, the guy behind the counter sold a few of his favorites to me, and this cover is from one of them. The lady in the read coat was the very first time I had ever seen a “Jukujo” on video, and I think that was back in 1998…..Her name is Hirata Ritsuko; age 46; 3 kids. She has absolutely no talent when it comes to acting in my opinion. In fact, It’s her lack of acting ability that makes her so appealing to me. She can’t act! And this is another reason why I chose this DVD, no acting is required, hence the name ‘non pro obasan club’. I’m not much for story lines either and I absolutely can’t stand when music is played in a porn flick. Just the natural sounds of two people making it out is best.Porn is no stranger to Japan. I mean you can watch any kind of smut flick out here, anything! In America, it’s th…

The U.S. of A.  It's difficult to understand America.  The law of contradiction is what governs America.  It was the slave owners who declared " We hold these truths self evident that all men are created equal."
I mean, we are the most godless and the most religious; the most puritan and the most lascivious; the most charitable and the most heartless of societies; we are interventionists to the degree that we are isolationists; we espouse Thoreoux's Maxim that government governs best which governs least, yet we look to Washington to address our every problem.  Our environmental conscientiousness  is out matched by our environmental recklessness; we are outlaws obsessed by the rule of law; we are individualist who speak of family values; we are a nation of fat people with anorexic standards of health and beauty; the only things we love more than nature's wilderness are malls and hyper-technology.

This is a picture of Mount Fujii from start to twist. I think it’s lovely, don’t you?.  I think so much of the human  body goes under-appreciated.  Smooth tofu complexioned   skin, a full head of thick black hair, well developed and well toned hamstrings are just examples of really nice things one can appreciate here in Japan.



In most of my entire corpus I have always written about this  affinity towards a kind of natural order and balance in day-to-day living.  I liken things like sake and food to the female body in many ways.  I think what’s best enjoyed is when one can experience the taste of good sake, delicious food,good sleep, and Jukujo, and of course onsen  all together.  
There is just something about Jukujo who love sake.  I mean they just liven up and release themselves and allow fate to carry them into a natural direction.  My direction.  The last sake event I had attended did just that.


Have human beings forgotten about the order of being natural to the point where mate…

Back in the day when I was traveling all over Japan, I remember seeing old Japanese men drinking either beer or nihonshu for breakfast.  In fact I recall a time when I was staying at an onsen ryoukan overnight once, a very old rustic onsen actually, where the only people who frequent such places are old people, I could see these old people ordering up sake with their breakfast—imagine that.  Eggs, fish and sake.  

For me, there is nothing like waking up on a dazzlingly beautiful Sunday morning, tucked away  in an old rustic onsen hotel in a deep valley somewhere with nothing to do and with no care in the world, no schedules, no appointments—just free.   The morning sun is so radiant and so powerful this time of day, but even the radiance of the sun is calmed by the deep blue hues of the clear cloudless morning sky.  I exhale. 





The  best smells in all of life for me are Japanese womb, nihonshu, hot rice, onsen, coffee, smegma, biore shampoo, lion heart cologne, brown tea, green tea, …