Thursday, June 18, 1998

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEBBIE

Ring, ring. Who is calling at 4:15 am? I finally find the phone that is right next to my head on the night table.

"Hello," I croak. All that I hear in response is some music. Now I realize who is calling; I am, my wakeup call.

Why would anyone, especially me, get up at 4:15 am? Well, to visit the tsukiji and see it in action, one must get there early. The tsukiji is the Tokyo fish market. This sprawling complex of sheds and warehouses was filled with trucks, stalls, and, of course, seafood of every variety.

A group of us met in the lobby at 4:45 am to go to tsukiji. We shared a taxi for the short ride. We got out at the street side of the market. Immediately, my nose told me that the cab driver knew the way. The odor was strong, but not intolerable.

Anyway, at this end, the market was filled with trucks of all shapes and sizes. As we walked further in, we saw stalls filled with restaurant supplies and packaged foods. The alleys were narrow and filled with tsukiji workers and foreign tourists. we had to avoid fast moving warehouse carts. These carts were motorized and the drivers did not seem to care who was in the way.

I realized that we were arriving at another part of the market when I saw the ice dispenser. This was not exactly like the ice dispenser in the door to your fridge. This ice machine was about fifteen feet high. At one end, two men loaded blocks of ice onto a conveyor belt. When someone put a barrel or cart under the spout, one of the icemen turned on the conveyor. After a short trip, the ice dropped into a chamber. Seconds later, ice chips started shooting out of the ice machine. Miraculously, most of the ice landed in the cart. Cool.

The ice machine announced the beginning of the fish section. We walked past stalls selling small fish and see creatures of all types. I recognized a few varieties - shrimp, crabs, squid, and octopus. Past these small creatures was the Tuna Auction.

Set out on pallets were several hundred tuna. Each tuna had its tail cut off and shoved into its gills. Each tuna also had its belly sliced open. The fishermen had written numbers on each fish. Inspectors walked along the rows of fish. When an inspector saw a fish that he liked, he poked the flesh where the tail was cut off, he looked in the belly and he prodded the side of the tuna. He did all of this while not letting his cigarette fall into the belly. We watched for a while and then moved on.

Near the fresh tuna, lay the frozen tuna. Frozen at sea, these tuna were white with a layer of ice. Steam arose from area in an eerie, horror film way. The inspectors here were equally skilled with their cigarettes. They treated the tuna a little differently. These men hacked at the fish and closely examined small samples that came off. Each inspector seemed to take his job seriously.

Apparently, much depends on accurate inspection. The inspectors either attended the auction or passed information on to a buyer. The group of buyers stood on a platform. Across from them stood the auctioneers. When the auctioneer yelled something (likely the tuna ID number), the buyers began bidding. They raised a hand and held up one or two fingers. I am uncertain of the specific details, but eventually it was clear that a certain buyer won. This continued the entire time that I was in the auction area.

After watching for a while we left. We walked back through the market to the street. We decided to take the subway to get back to the hotel. We walked down the street and passed many shops. Along this route were several small shops selling breakfast. Most people were eating noodles for breakfast.

Although we did not stop to eat, we did stop to shop. We found a street with small shops filled with restaurant supplies. We bought a bunch of small gifts. While we waited for everyone to finish, we noticed a shop that sold pots and a stuffed bear. This was no Teddy bear; this was more than six feet high. This shop sold real stuffed animals - taxidermy. Also for sale were, several alligators, including a full-size one, other lizards, and a giant turtle.

Since we were getting hungry, we pushed on towards the subway station. Only a few yards from the subway, we noticed a temple on our right. The Tsukiji is a much simpler affair than the the Asakusa temple. A simple iron gate led to an empty, paved yard in front. The Building looked newer than Asakusa, but still very Japanese. A sign on the gate invited us inside (in English). We accepted the offer. Inside was a pretty building. There were chairs set up like a church or synagogue. About 20% of the seats were filled. I got the impression that the group of young men on the right were not there by choice. It is a shame that many of them were sleeping.

Those who were asleep, missed beautiful chanting. The chanting came from a group of monks kneeling in the front. I did not see any of them move, but I heard them sing. The combination of the chanting and the subtle smell of incense was quite soothing. I could have stayed for hours.

However, the group wanted to get back to the Hotel. We got into the subway and could not figure out where to go. A young man, in his twenties, saw us and come over to help. His English was not too good, but much better then my Japanese. After trying to explain to us how to get back to the Hotel, he declared that he was going that way and we should come with him. When he said that I got slightly nervous. I was taught not to trust strangers. I tried my best to figure out our route as he explained it to us so that I might know if he was leading us the wrong way. Of course, he did not lead us astray or try to kill or rob us. I was guilty of thinking like an American. This was a very nice man who was happy to help us. Fortunately, I was polite to him and let him lead us. We got back to the hotel with no problem.

By the way, I did all of this before 7 am. What a great start to the day.

The programs for the day were several lectures and presentations. At 9:15, we heard from Yoshiya Abe, a professor from Kokugakuin University. He gave us a history of Japan from an intellectual perspective. We learned how various aspects of the past have influenced modern education. I am glad that I recognized many events from the curriculum that I teach. His lecture and notes will provide additional information that I can use in class next year.

Our second speaker was Masaya Miyoshi, the former President of Keidanren (the Federation of Economic Organizations) and the President of the Keizai Koho Center (Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs). Mr. Miyoshi was another great speaker. He spoke about the Japanese economy. He also provided good notes. At one point, he was talking about ways for the Japanese to repair their economy. He mentioned that much in the Japanese psyche worked against recovery. As an example of desired cultural traits, Mr. Miyoshi said that the Japanese should emulate the Jews. My stomach turned. I was nervous about what would come next. He spoke about the argumentativeness of Jews and the tradition of expressing a personal opinion. It turns out the Mr. Miyoshi is one of the few Japanese businessmen to support and welcome Israel during the Arab embargo. Like my experience with the helper on the subway, my fears were unfounded. I was relieved.

As much as I enjoyed the morning speakers, I was also relieved when the session was over and it was time for lunch. After lunch, came the one disappointing moment. We had a panel discussion about Japanese government. the moderator was university sociology professor. He seemed unprepared, and his English was poor. The panelists were Yuji Tsushima and Mie Yashida. Tsushima has been in politics for many years as member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. His English was excellent. Yashida has been in politics since her party, the Democratic Party, was founded in April, 1998. Her English was good, but she chose to use an interpreter after her introduction. I believe that even though she talked about women's rights, she was playing a part in the Japanese gender game. By using the interpreter, she was saying that she was not as good as the man. She also giggled and covered her mouth after saying anything slightly controversial. Part of her behavior is due to the Japanese culture's desire never to offend. After brief remarks, the politicians answered questions, but usually answered like a politician. In other words, they fell into their stump speech.

After the session ended, I joined several others for a trip to the theater. We bought a one act ticket for Kabuki theater. We had to sit in the upper balcony. The performance was phenomenal. The short story that we saw was about a young man whose lover killed herself in a very complicated plot. All he had left to remind him of her was her kimono. He danced with the kimono and at one point, delirious with grief, he began to believe that the lover was there. The small orchestra, three string instruments and four singers, made beautiful, haunting music.

As the scene progressed, the mood became more and more mournful. At the most quiet moment, when the singer was barely whispering I watched in awe. Then, like a sudden clap of thunder, came the roar of a snore. That's right, a snore. It seems that the man operating the spotlights, located directly behind me, had fallen asleep. My group burst out laughing. Many Japanese in the lower balcony looked at the American group to lay blame. Then, while we were still laughing and the Japanese still looking, the man let out another giant snore. Now, the Japanese theater goers realized it wasn't the loud, rude Americans, but one of their own. They began to laugh.

Although he laughter ruined the mood of the scene, this was truly a beautiful piece of theater.

After the kabuki performance, my small group decided that it was time for dinner. We wandered through the Ginza district looking for a restaurant. The Ginza is the Tokyo equivalent to Rodeo Drive. The stores were very fancy. I stopped in the Mikimoto pearl shop and purchased several pearl necklaces. These necklaces are available to the first 200 people who read this website. Just send an email to: Pearls@yeahright.com

OK, enough about the pearls. Instead of shopping, I wanted to eat. We never found the restaurant that an American business recommended, but we did find Ocean. Ocean is a Korean Barbecue house. This style of restaurant is much fun. Built into the table is barbecue pit. Once we were seated, the waiter brought a bucket of hot coals and placed them in the pit. We ordered a simple menu of steak strips and rice. At this kind of restaurant, the diner has to cook her own food. I enjoyed the meal because the steak was highly marinated and the rice was great. There was a business group seated near us. This group of about twenty included the boss and his employees. There was only one woman and she looked like the youngest. She seemed to be waiting on the group. She was the one who talked to the waiter and passed out the plates. She also was very friendly to us and helped us to figure out the menu.

I wish that woman came with us as we tried to visit the Tokyo Tower to see the view. With a little help we got to the correct subway stop and found the base of the tower by looking up. Unfortunately, the elevator and the observation deck were closed.

After the subway back to the hotel I needed sleep. It seems that each day ends with my being very tired. Some things are the same any where in the world.

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