Old Japan

Much of old Japan has been burned or bombed or replaced or rebuilt.  I stand in awe at the size and complexity and effectiveness of these cities, so heavily fire- or otherwise bombed just 70 years ago.  But there remain plenty of temples and shrines, Buddhist and Shinto, from older days, even if often serially rebuilt.  And I'm fascinated by a description I read of religion in Japan.  About 33% are Buddhist believers and ~3% Shinto believers, but all use the traditional religions for rituals, Buddhist temples for funerals and memorials and Shinto shrines for weddings and births.  How sensible and historically aware!   And talking of tradition, the Kimono remains if mostly on days of tradition.  Just a few pics, including from our Philosophers' Walk in Kyoto.    

Muses

Our list of museum visits is truncated this time.  I guess because the culture is so different and the understandings take time to develop and we had so little time.  Nonetheless, here are 2 other museums of interest, although somewhat of Japanese modernity rather than tradition.  The Hakone Open-Air Museum was well out of Tokyo so a train trip through countryside and lovely mountainous terrain.  It was essentially European, but a very worthy collection of art of the era of Picasso and the like, with a big collection of fairly minor items from Picasso and a garden littered with European statuary by Henry Moore and Miro and Rodin and others.  It's one of many sculpture gardens in Japan.  The other was the Kyoto Railway Museum.  Again, a product of the West but applied and enhanced by Japan.  In fact, the Shinkansen were the first fast trains and changed the expectations of rail given it was expected at the time to be replaced by air transport.  Now Shinkansen are all over and dense Japanese cities are examples of effective use of public transport and the rest of the modern world (definitely Europe and China, not Australia or UK or US [AUKUS has other concerns!]) just dreams.

Megan and Eric visited the Hakone Open-Air Museum and the Kyoto Railway Museum.

Stones

Jazz is proving elusive for me in Kyoto but we caught an entertaining and capable duo at The Stones, a local bar with Guinness on tap.  I am not surprised that we ended up talking to an Australian who had been chatting with a New Zealander.  They duo was called Coco Funk Orchestra and comprised Chiaki and Coco.  Chiaki was a capable singer with a good range for pop and a surprisingly decent take on English lyrics.  Coco played amplified acoustic guitar with loops and solos making up the full accompaniment.  The tunes were very popular, Disney themes and similar popular fare.  One I remember was Can you feel the love tonight.  I find it amusing to hear lively chatter in Japanese in the breaks and then capable takes on English language pop songs during the set. It's not the jazz that Coco sometimes plays but it is entertaining and it does get the gigs.  Great to meet you all.

The Coco Funk Orchestra performed at The Stones bar in Kyoto.  CFO comprised Chiaki (vocals) and Coco Nakatani Kosuke (guitar).

Gion

It's only a quick trip.  We are already in Kyoto and preparing to return home. Kyoto was a centre of religion and empire in its days and I don't think it was bombed during the war so there is history here along with masses of tourists and both cement and timber constructions and the Shinkansen.  We went to a wildly touristy performance of traditional arts at Gion Corner.  Seven short performances of 7 artistic pursuits in 1 hour, so very much a quick overview but worthy and well presented nonetheless.  The seven were Chanoyu (the tea ceremony), koto the stringed instrument, ikebana flower arranging, Bugaku dance, Kyogen comedy, Noh drama and Kyomai dance.  We missed the Banraku puppet theatre this night.  A school group of young boys looked very bored but I found it quite fascinating and for some of the styles, quite enough, especially given the language or my lack of it.  But I was enraptured by koto and various flute and drum accompaniments behind other arts.  Not the first time I'd heard this, but it's an invitation to listen more deeply to the intervals and pitches that sound so strange to our ears.  Then we walked through private streets with ancient timber buildings and eventually eating raw wagyu seated at the bar watching the chefs. These are just some of many fascinations in Japanese culture. 

Oikini Zaidan Kyoto traditional Musical Art Foundation present daily traditional art performances at Gion Corner in Kyoto.

Conventions

After missing one gig I managed another in the afternoon.  The Japanese can seem unconventional.  Certainly a club that has gigs every afternoon and evening seems unconventional to me.  This was the Shinjuku Pit Inn and the music was again free jazz.  I was a few minutes late and came into a trio of alto, piano and drums playing moving segments of solos, perhaps alto leading the trio, a piano duo, alto trio again, alto with drums, drum solo, piano enters.  Moving through combinations, mostly at a steady medium tempo with all manner of interactions and free interplay.  Then towards the end of the set, strains of Ornette Coleman Lonely woman and the head tailing out the set.  The second set started much the same way, finishing with a lovely rendition of Body and soul including some richly substituted but self-evident piano chordal accompaniment.  And unexpectedly, a take on Blue Monk with an obvious melody from the start. End of set and a short encore.  All expansive and dissonant alto with a malleable time sense, full handed piano with a great ear and a responsive drummer laying down a fairly constant mid-tempo.  There was a surprisingly large audience for an afternoon gig, ~55, mostly older and mostly male.  I enjoyed but struggled through a conversation with a neighbour who recommended another bar, No room for squares.  Great name but I won't be able to visit.  But this Pit Inn was impressive with its stage and Yamaha grand, little JBL phase array and its recording Studio Pit Inn by the stairs in the basement of this otherwise glass and steel building.  Quite a revelation.  And on the way to the station, another music store, this time e-instruments with ~200 basses on level 2f at Ishibashi Musical Instruments.

Eichi Hayashi (alto), Ami Ogaeri (piano) and Toyoaki Sekine (drums) performed one afternoon at the Shinjuku Pit Inn, Tokyo.

Small gig, big sound

I managed my first Tokyo jazz gig with just one set in a small basement bar.  The closest of many jazz clubs to the restaurant where we had eaten with friends.  It was a dive into an unconventional, uncommercial world but one which I loved from the first notes.  This was free jazz played by guitar, bass and drums to an audience of three and host.  The opening whacks of drummer Kuniyoshi had me reaching for tissues for my ears.  The guitar followed.  I was immediately entranced.  All Taiko-like explosive drumming in place of grooves and slaps and taps and slides and effects on guitar.  The second improv added Rickenbacker bass and more effects.  The floor was littered with effects as were a few tables.  I heard mostly loopers and reverb and delay but there were strange otherworldly noises too against descending repetitive basslines or repeated chromatic steps from Naoyasu.  Then unexpectedly some bluesy guitar licks and an end on some lovely descending chords. Tetsuya spoke  of having played punk but this seemed prettier.  I was fascinated by this outing, even entranced, but despite the seemingly simple unconventional instrumental techniques I wonder how to play thus so effectively.  Alternative techniques with effect unit abandon and yet with a sense of control and development.  It certainly worked this evening in this little venue and only seven people in the room.

Tetsuya Hayashi (guitar), Naoyasu Takahaski (bass) and Kuniyoshi Yamada (drums) played free jazz at Asagaya TEN, Tokyo.

Gardens

I remember Tokyo being spoken of as the largest population of any city in the world but I didn't think that was still the case. It is. Wikipedia lists cities by UN 2018 data (see List of largest cities) with Tokyo top of the list with over 37 million, ie ~1.5 x Australia.  Tokyo also has a superb train-cum-Metro system (and the busiest train station, Shinjuku; ~3.6m people pd!) but still it is time-consuming to travel around this town.  So our visit is limited but we saw a lovely traditional Japanese house, Kyu Asakura, and we especially marvelled at its garden.  But today we visited the Nezu Museum, somewhat a decorative arts museum. Its displays were informative and charming and gratifyingly small and well labelled.  Galleries covered paintings of summer and autumn (Hiroshiga+), Buddhist art and ancient Chinese bronzes (~1500BCE+), shades of white in ceramics and the end of the year in tea ceremonies.  Quite a fascinating list.  But Nezu Museum also has a garden, larger and more detailed and probably older than that of the Kyu Asakura house.  I am not a garden goer but this was deeply beautiful and significantly educative.  The care taken is obvious although discrete.  The paths, the statuary, the pruning, the choices of species, the buildings and water were all a part of a most stunning environment.  I walked through with eyes aghast and camera in action and every photo was a thing of calm beauty.  Some drizzle just added to it all.  Now I think I understand a Japanese garden. Look at the pics and marvel.

Kyu Asakura house and Nezu Museum are on open display in Tokyo.  They both have wonderful gardens. 

Window shopping

Our local station is in Tokyo Shin-Okubo.  Just look what I found in the next street.  Two big music stores on interest!  First was TC Gakki.  I'd heard the name and it was a pleasure to peruse.  Ground floor was electric guitars, basses, effects, repairs, sales.  Then a floor for acoustic guitars and another for brass.  Lots of impressive second hand instruments, not least some I own or gave owned.  Plenty are lined up with no strings for repairs and setups.  A naked fretless ‘70s PB was probably my fave but lots caught my eye.  Then further down the street for T Kurasawa & Co.  First sight was a window of nice e-basses and I idled through that area.  Most seemed new.  Presumably the other classical strings were there but I descended to the basement bottom enders and the Kurosawa Bass Center (sic) and ~75 basses on obvious show.  I tried an old Eastern European instrument, listened to a staffer playing B5 and demonstrating tones of various German bows, saw a Reghin bass like my other contrabass.  But just window shopping.  I later discovered there was another shop in the same street that sold vintage e-instruments, but I missed it : hyperguitars.com

TC Gakki and Kurasawa Bass Centre are music stores next to Shin-Okubo station in Tokyo.  Hyperguitars was nearby.

Second time lucky

We trotted off for jazz on day two of our time in Osaka and Japan.  The club was called Donna Lee and photos showed a grand piano and Fender amps in a small bar so looking good.  The band was a quartet led by a tenor player.  But day two was Thursday and Thursday is regular kids night at this bar!  Plenty of joviality at my expense and the helpful manager trotted us off to a friend's bar for Megan's G&T.  That was a great pleasure in itself, finding a small obscure bar amongst karaoke joints.  Again much joviality amongst the small clientele and owners.  Day three arrived and we set off again for pre-session drinks at our now fave, Sake House Bunpuku, and on to Donna Lee.  The session was two sets 7-9pm.  Tenor and leader Minoru Satomura led with a jovial welcome, a massive tenor tone and a big melodic approach.  Apparently he played recently at the Detroit JF.  His offsiders were Shizuka Ramada with full fisted, exploratory and powerful playing, Junji Matsuda with sticks and often brushes and ear-cutting drum solos, other than his solo on the encore which was vocal scat.  Very unexpected and nicely done.  Finally Shuji Eto on a lovely old Italian cornerless bass, all attractive walks and nicely interpretive solos.  He had come from Kyoto for this gig.  Younger bassist Jorge Shiro sat in for one tune and it was fascinating to hear the bass sounding so different, more powerful rather than delicate and dramatically different soloing styles.  I got a feel of the bass after the gig, all low but not buzzing action and lovely fresh D’addario tone.  But the audience was very small, varying around 12, and the payment was by passing the bucket so not generous.  Nonetheless a satisfying gig and a nice opportunity to meet local jazz community.  But not ended yet.  On the way home I passed another jazz club, Bigsalt 845, and spoke to the woman outside, Yuki Harima, who had just finished a singing gig inside.  Thus is the way with public transport and a dense population, there are plenty of people around and chances to chat.

Minoro Satomura (tenor) led a quartet with Shizuka Ramada (piano), Shuji Eto (bass) and Junji Matsuda (drums, scat) at Donna Lee, Osaka.  Jorge Shiro (bass) sat for one tune.  Yuki Harima (vocals) had sung at Bigsalt 845.

Early days

We're in Japan for just two weeks and these are early days and we’re loving it.  But we've had some torrid times and the result is my laptop is dead.  So expect some shorter and less formulated posts.  The first days were in Osaka which seems to have a forgotten cousin air about it next to Tokyo and Kyoto but we loved it.  We stayed in a cool hotel in Namba, perhaps the nightlife capital of Osaka.  All driverless streets, covered walkways, plenty of food and indulgences and inevitable brothels and mega casino machine rooms and more.  There was the uber-touristy canal boat ride and the visit to the majorly impressive Osaka castle with moats and rocks and walls to make the lights of the London tower cower.  We were also off to Nara for a day for temples and gardens and deer.  Again touristy but impressive.  And a first jazz outing in Japan that ended an amusing failure.  But more on that tomorrow. 

Megan and Eric visited Osaka and Nara.