Japan
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Colours and shapes in the kitchen…
Enjoying some simple cooking in the last month or so with classic Japanese sauces – the black bream worked out really well baked in foil in a hot oven with bata shoyu (butter and soy sauce mix) and some veg. A wee side dish that was also quite nice was aubergine, carrot and sweet potato…
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Hey, Manga Camera!
If you have an iPhone, why don’t you try this fun app? Your photos will merge into the comic world! 漫画カメラ(Manga-Camera) ↓ http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/manga-camera/id557883632?mt=8
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Harumafuji becomes new Yokozuna
In my spare time in the last weeks I’ve enjoyed watching a lot of open skies and cloudscapes above the distant hills, plus the visual spectacle and ritual Ozumo September basho in Tokyo! Mongolian Ozeki Harumafuji gets a promotion after winning all fifteen matches, becoming the third Mongolian Yokozuna in a row, after the Hawaiians…
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Arran Zen Retreat
In July the Glasgow Zen Group had their summer retreat down at Kilmory in the south of Arran. It was great to have a longer sustained period of Zazen meditation over a few days for the mind and body to settle down and drop off whilst tuning in to reality more… being Tenzo again, responsible…
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Sumo at Nagoya Basho heating up
It has been a hot and somewhat lacking in energy tournament but Ozeki level Harumafuji and Yokozuna (top rank) Hakuhou are keeping things lively by running equal with all wins – shiro boshi white star – into the last two days…
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Exciting final day Sumo matches
The 2012 Natsu Basho (summer tournament) was thrilling to the last day, with an extra match needed – Yushoketesen – to decide the winner. Kyokutenhou, the 37 year old veteran from Mongolia (in fact the first Mongolian sumo wrestler), became the oldest ever Osumosan to win a tournament when he won against Tochiouzan today. The…
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Ozumo Update Tokyo Basho. 5 days to go – who will win?
It has been an eventful tournament so far and the sumo in the last few days has been riveting stuff! Very unusually, Yokozuna Hakuho has been having an unfortunate time, losing four matches whereas Ozeki Kisenosato has been doing great, with nine wins and one lost. He won today against the Bulgarian Ozeki, Kotooshu (usually…
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The May Grand Sumo Tournament on in Tokyo
The Natsu Basho is up and wrestling! I’m quite into the whole Ozumo experience and have been watching since it started on Sunday. There are six tournaments per year, three in Tokyo, plus Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in Kyushu. This one is in Tokyo in the imposing spaceship like architecture of the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the…
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Bruce Peter’s Grand Ferry Tour of Japan
My good friend Bruce Peter (academic at Glasgow School of Art and design and maritime journalist) is recently returned to Scotland after three weeks of travel in Japan, sailing on 31 ferries and other ships (even the typhoon couldn’t dent his packed schedule), and taking some cracking photos in the process. He has started to…