New Year 2011

As usual, we went down to Ikadaba to celebrate New Year with the family.  I must say I was glad to say good-bye to 2010.

New-years-day lunch.   From left Chiaki, Nao-chan, Papa Ni-chan, Baba, Makoji-chan, Ya-chan (standing), Ma-chan, Rika-mama, Hannah. 

Hannah was very excited to receive presents from her family.

Hannah received a 'Syklvanian Families' dolls house from nao-chan and Nii-chan.  Here she is saying its like the one the Millar family has.  

The big event this year was the Wii game consol which the family purchased collectively.  Everyone enjoyed playing Wii sports, especially Papa Ni-chan.   Hannah enjoyed 'Chanbara' which is a sort of sword fighting game, and ping-pong.

One fun part of the Wii is 'Mii' which allows you to create your own characters to play the game 

and choose their features so they look like each member of the family. 

This is Hannah playing Chanbara with her Aunt.

Score:  Hannah 2 - Nao-chan 1

Hannah playing Chanbara with Papa Ni-chan

Learning to play ping-pong.  

Christmas 2010

At the end of school term Hannah's school held a 'Happy Holidays' concert for the proud parents.

Hannahs class sang 'We wish you a merry christmas' and 'Santa claus is coming to town' which they had been practicing hard.  Well done little seals!

The proud parents enjoyed the show through their viewfinders

Then the children received presents from Santa (or 'Father Holidays' as he is now officially known).

Hannah received a book 'playful penguins' which we still read occasionally.

Finally the seals orange class assembled in their classroom and said goodbye for the term.

(The newspaper covers the spot where Hannah's classmate was sick.  The teachers just covered it up, carried on and nobody noticed.    Very cool and professional). 

Christmas shopping in Shinjuku.  Mummys love shopping and so does Santa.

Hannah got a little upset when we chose a nice watch for her -  but then refused to buy it.

Even santa gets tired of christmas shopping sometimes.

But a little something from Old McDonalds soon has Santa back on the sleigh .

One of the highlights of christmas - christmas cake.

You can see one of Hannah's presents from father christmas - a Hello Kitty watch.  Remarkably like the one she wanted in Shinjuku but her mean parents had refused to buy.

Nogi-jinja

All too soon,  Granny and Granddad's two week stay in Japan was over and they flew home. For their last day in Tokyo we made a special visit to Nogi-jinja, and then to Roppongi to watch the sun-set from the roof of Roppongi Hills tower.

Nogi Shrine (乃木神社 Nogi-jinja) was built in 1917 next to the house of General Nogi Maresuke after his death. There, Nogi Maresuke is celebrated as a Shinto kami (god). 

    The Nogi shrine, in Nogizaka

Nogi Maresuke was a general in the Japanese Imperial Army who became a national hero after leading the Japanese Army that captured Port Arthur from the Russians in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905.   He was widely admired in Japan and worldwide as embodying the best of the Samurai tradition. Under Nogi's leadership "...the conduct of the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War towards both prisoners and Chinese civilians won the respect, and indeed admiration, of the world."  

   General Nogi (center) with captured Russian gun
    Port Arthur 2-Jan-1905

However Nogi felt deeply responsible for having allowed over 60,000 soldiers, including his own two sons, to be killed.  On the day he returned to Tokyo in triumph and reported to Emperor Meiji, he asked permission to commit suicide in atonement.  "the emperor at first said nothing, but as Nogi was leaving, the emperor called him and said. "I understand very well the feelings that make you want to apologize… but this is not the time for you to die.  If you insist on killing yourself, let it be after I have departed from the world"".  

    Hannah paying her respects to General Nogi at the entrance
    to his garden.

Nogi continued to serve the emperor, and was appointed head of the Gakushu-in (royal school) and mentor to the future Emperor Hirohito.  He spent most of his personal fortune on hospitals for wounded soldiers and monuments to commemorate those killed during the war.

    House of Maresuke Nogi in Nogizaka

Emperor Meji died on 13 September 1912.  "That night as the imperial hearse was leaving the palace, General Nogi Maresuke and his wife, Shizuko, committed junshi (suicide following one's lord) at their residence."   Their suicide created a sensation and controversy.  Although many were deeply moved, their act belonged to a bygone era and was widely criticized.   Nevertheless the Nogi's became a symbol of loyalty and sacrifice, and also loyalty between husband and wife.

    Room in which Nogi Maresuke committed suicide with
    his wife.

Nogi-jinja is a popular place to for marriages,and the  shop sells a range of charms for happy marriage.     We saw this ceremony during our visit.

Amazingly our family has a  Nogi connection because Grandad's second cousin was indirectly named after General Nogi. 

    Granddad inspecting General Nogi's stables
    (and feeling secretly proud that they are not as grand as
    Granddad's own stables at Hakataramea).

William Nogi Hood was born at Mt Somers, in 1905 the year General Nogi captured Port Arthur.   The Russo-Japanese war was enthusiastically reported in New Zealand, partly because it eliminated the perceived Russian threat, and General Nogi was particularly admired.

    Ashburton Guardian, 3-Jan-1905

Nogi Hood died young in 1928.  His sister, Madge Hood, later married George Smith, my great-grand-father Willy's brother.   They lived in Hakataramea and had a son in 1934 named Melville Nogi Smith, who became known as 'Nogi'.   So 'Nogi' and our Hannah are both descended from William Taylor Smith (1844-1902) and Hannah Graham (1845-1926), who are described in my posts of 12-Sep-2007. 

    Cattle Creek School 1944.  Nogi Smith (standing behind
    teacher) and Granddad (next to Nogi, looking away).  

'Nogi' attended Cattle Creek School with Granddad.  During WW2 a school inspector visited and read the roll.  "Nogi" he said "thats interesting -  is it Japanese?"

Count Nogi Maresuke (1849 - 1912).  General of the Imperial Japanese Army, conqueror of Port Arthur, Governor-General of Taiwan, master of Gakushu-in, mentor of Emperor Hirohito,  Order of the Golden Kite, Order of the Rising Sun, Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and shinto god.   Standing before his house in Nogizaka, Tokyo.

Melville Nogi Smith (b1934).  Sheep farmer.    

After the Nogi-jinja we went to Roppongi and enjoyed the view from the roof of the 238m high Roppongi Hills building.

Granny and Grandad with Shinjuku in the distance.

Tokyo from Roppongi Hills.   Panning from Shibuya to the south, then west across Nogizaka and Yoyogi Park, north-west towards Shinjuku, and finally north to the  Roppongi Midtown tower. 

School excursion

On 25-Nov we had Hannah's school excursion to Yoyogi Park.   I was able to go along with Granny, Granddad and Rika.

Dinner at Opera City

View from 52nd floor restaurant, south over Sangubashi,Yoyogi Park and Harajuku.

Daddy and Hannah

Shakuhachi Odyessey - Myoanji

One of my goals in Kyoto was to make a pilgrimage to the Myoan-ji,  the former headquarters of the Fuke sect of shakuhachi playing zen monks.  

Hannah took this portrait of Granddad at Myoanji

Back in Tokyo, a few days later (23-Nov) we had the opportunity to visit a ceremony at another former Fuke sect temple, and hear my teacher Christopher perform.  

Kyoto - Fukushima Inari Shrine

Our last day in Kyoto was 20-Nov.   We split into 2 parties with Rika and Atsuko going shopping while Granny, Grandad, Hannah and I planned to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine and then find the Myoan temple.

Hannah enjoyed the tourist shops at the approach to the shrine.   She wanted to watch these dancing cats again and again.

Actually we had the most memorable start to the day.  Can you guess what happened here?

Thats right.  While watching the cats Hannah did an unexpected poo, so she stuck her hand down her nappy to check, and then wiped her hands on the front of my trousers as I was filming!    Fortunately we Daddys know all about poo-cleaning, and we were soon cleaned up and on our way to the shrine. 

Fushimi Inari is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.

At the very back of the shrine's main grounds is the entrance to the torii gate covered hiking trail, which starts with two dense, parallel rows of gates called Senbon Torii ("thousands of torii gates"). The torii gates along the entire trail are donations by individuals and companies, and you will find the donator's name and the date of the donation inscribed on the back of each gate. The cost starts around 400,000 yen for a small sized gate and increases to over one million yen for a large gate.

After about a 30-45 minute ascent and a gradual decrease in the density of torii gates, visitors will reach the Yotsutsuji intersection roughly half way up the mountain, where some nice views over Kyoto can be enjoyed, and the trail splits into a circular route to the summit. 

Granny and granddad hiked gamely up the trails.   Here they are pretending to be exhausted by the climb. 

For the descent, we turned left and took the trail north along the ridge and down behind Tokufuji shrine, to look for the Myoan temple.  

Hannah and Granddad at Tokufuji