Umeshu

At the end of June I made some umeshu, plum liqueur. I've been wanting to do it for years, and finally got around to it this year. Now, I say 'made', but it's only really a matter of flavouring ready-made alcohol, as you would when making sloe gin. In fact, it's illegal to make alcohol in Japan unless you are a licensed producer. No home-brew or pea-pod wine here I'm afraid.

Making umeshu is very easy. When the plums are in season (when they are still green), every supermarket has them displayed along with everything else you need (rock sugar, white liquor and storage jars) along with a poster showing the recipe. When I got home I found that the liquor carton and the sugar bag and the label on the jar also featured the recipe for umeshu, though each one was slightly different!

So here's what I did....

Firstly, you have to pick out the stem part from each plum, using a toothpick or something similar. I thought this might be rather fiddly...

...but the stems actually pop out really easily. It was quite a satisfying little job!

Next, wash and dry and plums. Wash and dry the container you'll be using too. I followed the directions carefully and sterilised it by wiping it with alcohol too, but that probably wasn't necessary. Last year, H made a tiny amount of umeshu from a handful of plums from our tree. He didn't have a suitable container so put it in a large Coke glass, with a piece of clingfilm and a rubber band in lieu of a lid. And it was good :-)

So, for a kilo of plums you need 1.8 litres of white liquor (a standard Japanese measure) and between 500 grammes and a kilo of rock sugar, depending on the recipe you use. Not surprisingly, the sugar bag recipe called for a full kilo! I used about two thirds of a kilo bag.

Layer in the plums and rock sugar...

...and then pour in the liquor.

And that's it!

Now for the hard part: leave it in a cool, dry place where it won't be disturbed for as long as you can bear to wait. Again, the recipes varied but the general consensus seemed to be that it needs at least 3 months, but 12 months or more is better.

Like most Japanese houses we have a trapdoor in the floor downstairs, opening into the crawlspace. It allows (reasonably!) easy access to all the pipes, and lets fresh air circulate, coming in through vents in the walls. It's also the perfect place to store umeshu...

Here's how it looked after a week. The plums were starting to float and the sugar was largely dissolved:

I looked again this morning  and the sugar had completely dissolved. Now I just need to try and forget about it for a few months. Maybe I'll crack it open for Christmas...



Tanabata

July 7th is Tanabata, or the Star Festival. There are several versions of the legend, originating in China, but all involve a pair of separated (star-crossed?) lovers. The princess Orihime (represented by the star Vega) and her lover Hikoboshi (represented by Altair) are separated by a river (the Milky Way) and can meet only once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, and only then if the weather is fine.

Sadly for them, it was a rainy Tanabata this year. On the evening of the 6th K's kindergarten held its summer festival. The boys put on their jinbe and went to enjoy some typical festival fun, such as fishing; firstly with a hook for a bag of snacks...

...and then with a spoon for little bouncy balls:

The main Tanabata activity nowadays is to write wishes on a strip of paper and tie them to bamboo decorated with paper/origami ornaments. The wishes are generally about self-improvement or goals for the future. Children often write wishes like 'to be good at baseball' or 'to be able to eat all my vegetables'. K's class all told the teacher what they want to be when they grow up, and she wrote all their wishes onto paper strips for them. K said he wants to be the kindergarten bus driver...

Even at the little nursery where T goes once a week, they had a little Tanabata celebration. T came home the previous week with some origami paper for us to make decorations with and some paper strips to write his wishes on, all to be taken back and tied to the big bamboo branch at nursery. So what do you think T wished for? Well, H and I did our best to read his mind and wrote 'to be able to talk soon' and 'to be able to play together well with K'. We brought home a section of the bamboo with his decorations on...

Finally, on the 7th I made Tanabata Curry. OK, so it's basically just curry trying to look pretty...

The rice in the middle of the plate represents the Milky Way, separating the two sections of curry. In Tanabata Curry world the weather must have been good, because there's the (shredded omelette) bridge joining the two sides. Then we have some carrot and omelette stars and some sliced okra (conveniently naturally star-shaped) for added celestial goodness. The only snag was that K didn't want to spoil it by eating it...





A weekend away

The 4 of us recently spent the weekend at Tamatsukuri Hot Springs, about an hour away from home. H's younger brother got married that week but didn't have a ceremony, so the 2 families gathered for the weekend at a traditional resort to celebrate and get to know each other.

The ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) we stayed at was quite big and very fancy. The entranceway (pictured below) overlooked a lovely garden and there was a roof-top open-air bath as well as the 'ordinary' hot spring baths on the ground floor. H's brother had said that it would be a casual weekend, but I knew that his parents would ignore that and dress quite formally, so I didn't want to turn up in jeans. For the boys I appliqued matching neck-ties onto plain T-shirts for a bit of smart-casual fun. K is very proud of his ability to hop and stand on one leg lately, hence the Long John Silver pose...



In the evening we ate dinner in a huge banqueting hall, rather over-the-top for our party. The happy couple sat at the head of the room, in front of the gold screen, and the 2 families sat in lines facing each other. It's a typical setting for this type of party, but not really very good for getting to know each other I think. H's brother is the youngest of 3 brothers and his wife is the youngest of 3 sisters. All the elder siblings are married and have at least 2 children each, so it was quite a lively get-together. Oh, look, there's H's dad in a grey suit and his mum (only half in the shot) in a black lace dress - I knew it!

In traditional fashion our meal was served on individual tables and brought out little by little, although not in 'courses' in a Western sense. There was sashimi, crab, steak, deep-fried goodies cooked in the room in front of us and all kinds of little dishes of who-knows-what. This photo is of K's meal - I think he got the best deal actually, especially as he got an adult portion of crab from his allergic cousin.

Once the meal was over, the children enjoyed running riot around the room, and I was happy to let H's mum be on T duty for a while...

After taking the waters, it was time for bed. The hotel provided yukata, light-weight cotton kimono for wearing around the hotel and as pyjamas. They even had K-sized ones...

While we were downstairs, the maids laid out the futons for us. H had a headache and soon fell asleep. K and T, however, were very excited and didn't settle for a long time. It was the first time for T to spend the night out of the confines of his cot and he continued to explore the room long after K had fallen asleep. Actually, I fell asleep before him too! I woke up a few times during the night, and found T fast asleep in a completey different place every time. I got up first in the morning, while the other 3 were still asleep, and here's what I saw:

I forgot to take a good picture of the room, but it was big! The screens in the top-right of the photo above opened onto a view of the gardens. It was a corner room and behind me, as I took this picture, was a small seating area in front of windows overlooking the town. There was a full bathroom, a large entranceway to the room, and a whole other small room, which we simply used to put our bags in.

Down on the ground floor there was a small courtyard in the centre of the hotel, where you could sit and dangle your feet in the hot spring water. K and I tried it out after a big breakfast, back in the banqueting hall again.

Everyone went their separate ways after check-out at 10am, but it seemed a shame just to go home. A 20 minute drive brought us to a small aquarium, mainly featuring aquatic life from the 2 nearby lakes. These lakes are actually joined to each other and finally open onto the sea, so the water in them grows increasingly salty as you head east, creating interesting and varied eco-systems.

Both K and T enjoyed looking at the fish, especially in this 'bubble-head' tank!

After lunch we drove further around the lake until we got back to Matsue. I'd heard there was a nice park there for young children so we stopped for an hour and K had a good play, before heading home again once more.

Kindergarten

Back in April, K started full-time Japanese kindergarten (yochien in Japanese). Typically children attend for 3 years, starting the April following their 3rd birthday, although classes for 2 year-olds are increasing now too. K started going to an international pre-school 2 days a week when he was about 2 and a half, and after turning 4 in March, joined the 2nd year of kindergarten.

By British standards, there was a lot to prepare. Compared to a lot of other Japanese kindergartens, I got off pretty lightly. Here's what he needed in the clothing line...

The checked shorts, navy jacket, yellow beret and white polo shirt with coloured buttons comprise the uniform, which he wears to go to and from school each day (with navy knee-high socks on special occasions). However, once he gets there, he changes into his PE kit; the turquoise shorts and white T-shirt at the top of the picture. Then there's the spotty blue smock for art, a collection of little hand towels (bottom right) and a draw-string bag for the PE kit. I made the bag and bought the towels at a shop, but the other things were all ordered via the kindergarten.

Next, K's 'daily goods'...

Each day K carries the little brown backpack (kindergarten issue) containing a hand towel, a little folder and notebook for parent/teacher communication and the green drawstring bag pictured above, containing his chopsticks (in a case), a cup and a toothbrush. There is school lunch every day except Thursday, when he also has to take his packed lunch (the pink and blue box), water flask and plastic sheet to sit on (underneath everything else in the photo). On Fridays he brings home his indoor shoes (the white plimsolls, customised with planets by me and a couple of felt-tip pens) in the yellow planet bag at the bottom right. The larger yellow bag also comes home on Fridays, with his PE kit, a book borrowed from the school library, maybe some artwork and anything else that needs bringing home. On Mondays we mustn't forget to send all those things back again! Mums are supposed to make all the bags, although some buy them or persuade a friend to make them instead. I was pleased to have a definite need that I could fill with something I'd made myself, and K was pleased to have planet and vehicle themed bags!

Finally, the things that stay at school all the time...

The yellow box at the back has K's name on it and contains (going clockwise) a pair of scissors, a pot of glue, a box of marker pens, a box of crayons, a board for play-dough, a sketch book and play-dough in its case. We only had these things at home so that we could label them all with K's name (and when I say 'we', I mean 'H'). Everything, each individual crayon, is named, as is everything in the other photos, as well as all K's underpants, socks and anything else he may ever take to kindergarten. Since term started, K has also acquired a bright orange 'French Legionnaire' hat for playing outside, a straw boater for summer instead of the beret and a couple of name badges to attach to his uniform.

Finally today, I'll just show you a couple of pictures from the entrance ceremony that was held for new students at the beginning of April. Here's K just inside the main entrance of the kindergarten, under an arch that says 'Congratulations on starting kindergarten'. This kindergarten first opened about 40 years ago (H and his brothers all went there!) but it was renovated a few years ago and is really lovely now.

After meeting with K's teacher and getting lots of bits of paper, we joined all the other parents and students in the hall for various speeches and songs. Here, all the staff are being introduced (K's teacher is the woman in the cream suit...):

OK, she's the woman in the cream suit standing next to the woman in the dark suit, pretty much in the middle. Is that better?

After all the ceremonies, photography and information-sharing, there was just enough time for a little play in the playground before heading home again for lunch. By local standards, this kindergarten has quite a large outdoor area, with a grassed area as well as a sandy area with swings, slides, climbing frames and so on. The most popular things though are the 2 water pumps. Around here you only have to dig down a couple of metres to hit water and the kids love pumping out water, digging channels for the water, and generally coming home as muddy as possible.

In the last 2 months K has already had a great range of adventures and experiences at kindergarten and he's settled in really well. There's lots more to tell you but I think that that is quite enough for today...

Tondo-san

A couple of weeks ago our neighbourhood celebrated Tondo-san, marking the end of the New Year period. The day before, K and H took a walk to our local shrine to add our New Year decorations and good luck charms from last year to the growing bonfire...


Lately, especially with the building of a new house just beside the bonfire site, there has been concern about the risk of the fire spreading. This year then, instead of one mega-bonfire, three separate piles of things to burn were made. Only one was lit, and things from the others were gradually added to the bonfire as it burnt down. More sensible I suppose, but not anywhere near as much fun...

On the morning of Tondo-san, H and K got up before dawn to go and see the fire being lit at 7am.

T and I stayed in bed.

Once the fire was lit, a procession set off to take a portable shrine (o-mikoshi) around the parish boundary, stopping at various places along the way for blessings - and refreshments. The shrine looks like it should be carried on the shoulders of strapping young men, but is now pulled on wheels instead :-)

We caught up with the procession mid-morning at our local community centre. The shrine, and the drums accompanying it, was carried inside. Singing (mainly by H's dad), flute playing and drumming continued while the bearers ate and drank. Anyone who turned up was served with pork and vegetable soup and sake.

As well as the portable shrine and it's musical accompaniments, a shishimai (Chinese lion?) was also part of the parade. Being 'bitten' by the shishimai is supposed to bring good luck, especially for children. K was a bit wary of it, but T didn't seem bothered...

I realise now that this year's Tondo-san was the first one in several years where there was no snow on the ground. Although we've had a few snowy days this winter it has generally been very mild so far; keep your fingers crossed that it stays that way...

49 Days

H's grandfather passed away in the summer while we were in the UK. He was 95 years old and had been in hospital for several months, but it was nonetheless sad news to receive and it was unfortunate that we couldn't attend the funeral. Last weekend though, we went to the 49 day ceremony.

In Japan, funerals are usually held in the Buddhist style; the deceased is cremated and the ashes are kept in the home until 49 days have passed. At the end of that period a ceremony for the family is held and the ashes are placed in the family grave.

We all turned out our best formal wear, and K got his first shirt and tie...


I thought I was very organised, sending my black dress and jacket to the dry cleaners in plenty of time. Then I realised that if I wore that, I wouldn't be able to feed T... So I turned out my old black trouser suit. One of the legs needed hemming and I had to move the button a bit (ahem) but it didn't look bad for something I bought (ahem) 13 years ago.

The ceremony was held at H's grandparents' house and consisted of a Buddhist priest coming to the house and chanting in front of the altar which had been set up to hold the ashes, a photo of H's grandfather, various edible offerings and incense. We were each given a prayer book to join in, but I can never read it quick enough to keep up. After a while T started to get a bit noisy so we snuck off to another room, joining another noisy great-grandchild and her mum.

After that we all went to the graveyard, placed the urns of ashes in the grave and offered more incense. Then it was time for another little chanting session in the temple before we all, priest included, headed off for a meal together. We all ate a typical traditional Japanese meal except for K, who had the 'kid's lunch' option. I'm not sure what age of 'kid' these meals are designed for, but I suspect that a lot of adults would have had difficulty finishing this lot...

As the evening progressed everyone relaxed and enjoyed the chance for the extended family to get together. There are similar memorial services held at regular intervals in the years following a death in the family and I always think that it's a wonderful idea. The immediate sadness of a funeral has passed and instead the family can enjoy each other's company and reminisce about the person who passed away.

My favourite 'only in Japan' moment? K pouring beer for the priest...

As with all formal ceremonies in Japan, there was gift-exchanging involved. We gave an envelope of money covering the costs of our meals and a contribution to the temple fees, as well as a bit extra to round it up and be a true 'gift'. However we came home with a goodie bag containing a box of rice crackers, a box of Beatrix Potter themed sticks of sugar (perfect for offering to guests with their coffee) and a large digital clock. The clock, now sitting on our living room window ledge, is complete with date, temperature and humidity level so I can now offer you accurate weather information at any time day or night. Right now? 3:36pm, 25 degrees and 65% humidity. In other words, just about right for me...

Hatsu Miya-Mairi

or, 'First Shrine Visit'.

It's traditional in Japan to take a baby to a shrine to be blessed when he or she is one month old. I suppose it's comparable to a christening or naming ceremony. We took T to our local shrine last Sunday, just as we did for K three years ago.

We called in at H's parents' house on the way, and H's mum helped me change T into his 'ceremony dress'. It's basically a christening robe, a long white frilly thing that H's mum bought when K was a baby. To me, it's a typical example of how Japanese people borrow elements of Western culture and incorporate them into traditional Japanese life.



Our local shrine is a small place, and the priest (who also works a full-time job) is a relative of H's. He was waiting for us at the shrine, and we all took off our shoes and went up the wooden steps to join him inside.


Shinto shrines don't really have services or group worship like churches do, and people only usually enter the actual building when they are taking part in a ceremony such as a wedding or blessing. At other times, visitors just throw a small coin into the large wooden offering box at the entrance and say a brief prayer. You can see a couple of women doing just that behind us here:

The priest started the ceremony by drumming, and then prayed and blessed us all. We placed an offering of a small branch on the altar (visible in the background of the photo below), and finally, H's mum dabbed T's lips with sake (in the photo above).

This photo is a bit blurry but I love K's excited expression as he tells me something, and the look on the priest's face as he gazes at T.

And here we all are, looking very much as we did at K's ceremony; I for one am wearing exactly the same clothes... H, on the other hand, informed me that morning that apart from his very formal, weddings-and-funerals suit, he had not a single suit that didn't have fraying cuffs, hems or pockets. Looks like we'd better go shopping...


K had fun posing for the camera with the priest's hat and ... whatever that wooden thing they carry is...


The most popular type of cherry blossom finished flowering weeks ago, but there was a different kind in full bloom in the shrine grounds. It was a sunny and warm day, but very windy. At least in this photo you can actually see T's face!


After the ceremony, which only took about 30 minutes including the photo shoot, we all went out for lunch together. Then on Tuesday we dressed up again and went to the photographers to have some professional photos taken. I wanted to go on the same day as the shrine visit, but we couldn't get an appointment at the studio so it got delayed a couple of days. We should get the photos in 2 weeks, so I'll scan them into the computer and give you a peek then...

Dog Day

You know how every year is represented by one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac, right? Did you know that every day, and even every hour of the day*, is also allocated one of those 12 animals?

It's not something that comes up very often in life in Japan, but there is one exception - dog days during the 5th month of pregnancy. Since dogs are seen to give birth easily, it's a tradition to visit a shrine to be blessed and to pray for a smooth pregnancy and easy labour on that day. Dogs days and all the rest aren't noted in calendars and diaries here but the clinic kindly marked them on the 'pregnancy calendar' they gave me, along with dates of classes, when certain tests would be performed and that all-important due date.

Anyway, last Friday was that day so H, K and I went over to our local shrine (about 2 minutes walk away, even at K's pace) where the priest (H's uncle) performed a simple ceremony for us. At large, popular shrines these blessings are done in groups but in our case it was just us, so my name was included in the blessing. Although the priest's prayers are in Japanese, they are said in such a strange, chanting way, often using archaic or highly formal language, that it is virtually impossible to understand, and it's quite funny when you suddenly notice your name in there.



At the end of the ceremony, which only took about 15 minutes, I was given a good-luck charm for pregnancy and childbirth, and a wooden tablet to place in the little shrine we have in our home. I had also taken a hara-obi, a belly band, to have blessed. Traditional ones are very long and wrap around you sash-like, but mine just fastens at the back with Velcro :-)

I'm now supposed to wear this everyday to keep the bump warm and offer support. With K, I think I wore it for a few months, and then couldn't be bothered anymore... Keeping your stomach warm is a really big thing in Japan, and more so than ever when you're pregnant. You won't find pregnant young women in cropped tops, low-rise trousers and bare bumps here! Last time I did look into why, and I did find one small, non-essential but medically-sound, reason why it was a good idea. Now I can't quite remember what it was, but I suppose I will wear it again, at least until I get fed up with it...

*It's actually every-block-of-2-hours-within-a-24-hour-period, but that wouldn't have made such a catchy question...