Anyone using these gadgets, however, would find even more problems.  So chindogu are sometimes called un-useless.

Since the coining of the word in 1997 by Kenji Kawakami (a Japanese inventor and publisher of the magazine Mail Order Life), it’s taken off like a . . . . well, like a funny, pseudo-useful, frivolous thing.

A few finer points of Chindogu–
People can’t actually use them.  If they do, the gadgets are not chindogu.

They can’t be sold or patented.

They are not meant just to be funny, though they usually are.  The humor is incidental.

They are something of an antidote to practical consumerism and an ode to the spirit of anarchy.

Chindogu do not convey a commentary on society, nor are they of a sexual nature.  They are innocent, anti-functional, and grass-roots.

These are some of my favorite chindogu.  What are your faves?

More info–

Are you Chindogu? By Harley L Sachs

wikipedia chindogu

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Hokusai was enamored of the artists’ practice common at the time to take a series of names–in fact, he took many more names than was customary. He was best known for his views of Mt. Fuji.  This shot, the first in the collection Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji, is perhaps his most famous.

The Dragon of Smoke Escaping from Mt Fuji

Hokusai cultivated a personal obsession with Mt. Fuji. Religious beliefs at the time considered Mt. Fuji the source of the secret of immortality.

Travellers Crossing the Oi River

Hokusai was born into an artisan family; his father was most probably a mirror-maker for shogun.  At 12, he was sent to work in a bookshop and lending library. At 14, he apprenticed with a wood carver, and from there he was accepted into the studio of a Uyiko-e artist.

Sumida River Seen from Azuma Bridge

Hokusai began exploring other styles of art, including European styles he was exposed to through French and Dutch copper engravings he was able to acquire. He was expelled from his studio, an event he considered inspirational. He said, “”What really motivated the development of my artistic style was the embarrassment I suffered at [my master's] hands.”

Self-Portrait at the Age of Eighty-Three

Hokusai also changed the subjects of his works, moving away from the images of courtesans and actors that were the traditional subjects of ukiyo-e. Instead, his work became focused on landscapes and images of the daily life of Japanese people from a variety of social levels. This change of subject was a breakthrough in ukiyo-e and in Hokusai’s career.

People Crossing an Arched Bridge

Though his subjects are the everyday and the ordinary, they all project a lyrical evanescence that draws me right in.

Village by a Bridge

About his aging and gradual diminishment, Hokusai had this to say:

“From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life.”

Ancient View of Yatsuhashi in Mikawa Province

“I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention.”

Hanging-Cloud Bridge at Mount Gyodo near Ashikaga

“At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow.”

Head of an Old Man

“If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature.”

Stage Properties for a Farewell Performance

“At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive.”

Fishing by Torchlight in Kai Province

“May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie.”

Wow.  Here are a few more prints; see many more at my sources, www.wikipedia.org and especially www.katsushikahokusai.org.

And if you’ve got a fire burning in you, don’t wait.  Let it out now, so that you won’t need to hanker after immortality.

Three Ladies by a Well

Begging for Alms

The Strong Oi Pouring Sake

Get to Japan!  For details, see www,kcpinternational.com.  Cheers!

The one book you NEED to come to Japan
After spending about 3 weeks in Japan with this as my only guide book, I can honestly say you NEED to buy this book before traveling to Japan. It also serves as sort of a mini-travel dictionary in a pinch as well as a quick guide to cultural practices.

Better than Frommer’s
I recently bought both this book and Frommer’s most recent edition of its guide to Tokyo. I think the Lonely Planet guide is much better than its rival. Lonely Planet’s is shorter, but the information in it is much more useful–especially for my situation as a student with a place to stay and food being taken care of (though Lonely Planet does have information on hotels and restaurants for those who need to know).

Indispensable Atlas for a Traveler in Japan
I travel to Japan every 5th week or so to sell my company’s semiconductors to various manufacturers spread out all over Japan. This bilingual atlas is terrific for English-only speakers like me, as it has all the Japanese characters next to the English names, which is essential when navigating the train stations off the main lines. This Atlas has good city maps, too.

Innovative and upbeat, not your usual guidebook.
This is definitely not your average guidebook. Rather than just a listing of the usual tourist destinations, Tokyo for Free gave me insight into what living in Japan would really be like.

The greatest
Having lived in Japan for the past 6 years, I’ve had the opportunity to use all of the major guidebooks (and quite a few of the minor ones as well), and without a doubt, the most useful and informative guidebook is this one. Of course Lonely Planet has lots of information about restaurants and hotels, but what you really want is a purpose to visit the places that you are visiting. This guidebooks tells you the history of each place, so you can understand why each place is important.

Outstandingly beautiful book, yet information-packed.

Real-size images of Japan and Japanese
I’m a Japanese living in Japan. I bought this book to check if it’s worth recommending to my friends–and yes, I recommend this book. It’ll tell you real-life Japan and Japanese without exaggeration. It covers Japan from the inside–the life of ordinary Japanese people.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the activities students try while at KCP.

The Japanese Tea Ceremony

This is an integral part of a student’s education at KCP.  One thing it’s not hard to teach is the calm respect and attention that is surely an underlying reason for the ceremony.

Students are a little overwhelmed by being bowed to, but they enjoy it immensely just the same.

“Koto” Class

The koto (琴 or 箏), a traditional stringed instrument derived from the Chinse guzheng, is the national instrument of Japan.  A koto is made from kiri wood (Paulownia tomentosa.  Koto  have 13 strings, each with its own moveable bridge.  Players adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and they use three finger picks (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.

Here, students are trying out a simple melody.
For more advanced koto playing, see this YouTube clip.


Calligraphy

Refining calligraphy is a regular part of KCP instruction.  Everyone’s excited at their accomplishment.  It feels a little like being an artist.

Akira Kurosawa, the director, created the basic recruitment-of-heroes film that has been a model for so many–The Magnificent Seven and Ocean’s Eleven, among others.  Even more, this film was a major forerunner of the introduction of Asian sensibilities–zen, aesthetics, food, style–to the American public.

As Patrick Crogan of SensesOfCinema says, the movie itself was “an action film that engaged the emotions and the intellect in equal and extraordinary measures.”  I’m by no means a film expert.  But I was captivated by the water-wind-fire-mud motifs, the camera shots pitting sweeping, dynamic warrior scenes against quiet close-ups.  Everybody ran everywhere, in that village!  The strong winds blowing were intensely powerful.  It was also supremely satisfying to see some character development (or revelation) in an action movie–not easy to do.  The themes are undoubtedly tied in with the Japanese peoples’ search for identity, a clear moral code, and nationalism after World War II.  Toshiro Mifune (a major character in many of Kurosawi’s films) and Takashi Shimura star.

It’s impossible not to be engaged by this movie.  And I was not at all prepared for the enormous role humor played in the story.  If you’re looking for some good insight into what it means to be Japanese, this movie is a champion.  It ranks among the world’s best films of all time.

Check out–

Senses of cinema

wikipedia/Seven Samurai

Criterion Films

Masters of Japanese Cinema

Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers

by Leonard Koren

Click here for Leonard Koren’s website.

The book is delightful.  I especially like “the wabi-sabi universe.”  It goes like this–

Metaphysically, things are either dissembling into, or evolving from, nothingness.

Spiritually, (1) truth comes from observing nature; (2) greatness exists in the inconspicuous and overlooked; and (3) out of ugliness can come beauty.

State of Mind is to accept the inevitable and appreciate cosmic order.

Moral precepts: (1) get rid of all that is unnecessary; (2) focus on the intrinsic; and (3) ignore material hierarchy.

Material qualities include: the suggestion of natural processes, irregularity, intimacy, lack of pretension, earthiness, murkiness, and simplicity.

This feels like the real deal to me–the kind of thing I always suspected but have never seen encouraged in our self-betraying society.  This book is so worth it.  Consider buying it if you strive for a life where the real things matter.

Andrew Juniper claims, “If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.”

Wabi connotes rustic simplicity, freshness, or quietness. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age—the life of impermanence of the object are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.

Wabi sabi is a kind of training. The student of wabi sabi learns to find the most simple objects—say, fading autumn leaves—interesting, fascinating, and beautiful. Wabi sabi can change our perception of our world: a chip or crack in a vase makes it more interesting, giving the object greater meditative value. Similarly materials that age such as bare wood, paper, and fabric become more interesting as they change over time.

For more, see the Wikipedia entry on wabi sabi.  Consider reading some of the books listed, especially Wabi Sabi for Artists, Poets, and Philosophers, by Loenard Koren.  It’s a profound consolation in this world of instant fashion, meaningless communication, and planned obsolescence.