Friday, March 25, 2011

Ame Ni Mo Makezu



My brother-in-law, Matt Wagner over at Hellion Gallery , put up this video of Watanabe Ken ("Letters From Iwo Jima" and "The Last Samurai" for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) reading Ame Ni Mo Makezu (Strong Against the Rain) which I found both simple and powerful.  It's a poem that expresses the Japanese "gambare" spirit well, I think (there are subtitles accompanying the video).  Matt is putting on a show next month in Nakameguro, part of the proceeds of which will be donated to Japan Red  Cross or Peace Winds Japan--click over to his site and scroll down to see an *amazing* piece by Blaine Fontana that will be in the show.

(The drawing in the medallion in the center of the blog header, in case you were wondering, is a stylized drawing from a photo of Cici on Christmas morning in her undershirt wearing a holster and holding toy six-shooters from Grandpa.  Has to have exactly what her brothers have...)

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At the store yesterday, I ran into a friend.  We stood talking about how we both thought the hoarding of bottled water was both unwarranted and silly for this area, not to mention the negative impact it will likely have on the Tohoku prefectures.  She, upon noticing me glance at her bag (only one--in the usual small-amount-daily style of shopping), took out the spinach lying on top and said she bought it on purpose.  Just because people were overreacting--and because there's no reason at this point to avoid it.  The detected levels just don't warrant the hysteria (though the NHK announcers, to be  sure, are anything but hysterical...).  Less than a banana.  I-san, you *rock*.  Eat that spinach with a big glass of tap water!
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Gambarimasho, Nihon!
Posted by yokohamamama at 9:27 PM
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20 comments:

  1. Sarah AhiersMarch 25, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    i hope she boils that spinach for 30 seconds and then combines it with sugar, soy sauce and sesame seeds.
    mmmmmmmm

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  2. AnonymousMarch 25, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    I have had a crush on that man for a very long time. Just saying. That was beautiful, thanks for sharing!

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  3. yokohamamamaMarch 25, 2011 at 11:50 PM

    Sarah-- that's totally the best way to eat it:-))

    Alice--glad you found it beautiful, too! (He *is* really good-looking...and I get to see him in tv commercials all the time. Jealous?;-))

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  4. EzmireldaMarch 26, 2011 at 5:17 AM

    Great video!

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  5. yokohamamamaMarch 26, 2011 at 8:37 AM

    Ez-- he has a great reading voice, doesn't he:-) Glad you liked it!

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  6. DazMarch 26, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    Damn, that's good. I'm jealous now at only getting it via translation. I bet it's even better in the original. The reader's voice reminded me of someone too, from Brit TV, That's going to bug me...

    Good on your friend.

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  7. yokohamamamaMarch 26, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    I really love the original--it's actually very simple, and thus packs a powerful punch.

    I high-fived my friend when she said she'd bought that spinach on purpose :-))

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  8. vvvvMarch 26, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    i know him.. he is actor.. Letters From Iwo Jima us Marine VS japanese soldier fight story

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  9. CaryMarch 26, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    I remember him from "The Last Samurai." I love the poem in translation, but I also love listening to it in Japanese. The experience is similar to listening to an operatic aria in an unfamiliar language.

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  10. yokohamamamaMarch 27, 2011 at 6:10 PM

    vvv--exactly! He's *really* popular here (I see him in tv commercials all the time, too:-)

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  11. yokohamamamaMarch 27, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    Cary-- Hi!! Yokoso:-) Glad you enjoyed the poem--and I know what you mean about listening to it in a language you don't know. I hate dubbing--would *much* rather watch any movie in the original with subtitles, whether I know the language or not. Somehow the original actor (or, in opera-as you note- singer)can convey the emotional content of the poem or role or song so that it's understandable even to someone who doesn't know any of the words. I find this sort of thing *fascinating* Call soon!

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  12. AnonymousMarch 28, 2011 at 6:25 PM

    Very beautiful poem & well read!
    Dom

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  13. yokohamamamaMarch 29, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    Dominic--glad you enjoyed it:-) Watanabe is a great actor, and reads poetry well to boot.

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  14. AnonymousMarch 30, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    Amy, Is it not cherry blossom time? Cherry trees I walk past coming to work (just near grimy Kings Cross) are coverded with pink & white blossom this week. Has that been affected by the disaster or will it be a moment to lift people's spirits after the awful month past?

    RE the radiation - I am not worried for you all, but I am concerned. No one has been killed by the nuclear plants of course. What do you think of nuclear power as Japan has little choice - does it? I am ambivalent but now, despite this accident, verge toward James Lovelock's views -
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock#Nuclear_power

    Dom

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  15. c'est maMarch 31, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    Ah, quite struck by the Blaine Fontana print in the latest post over at Hellion Gallery!

    --Diane G.

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  16. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    What is happening? Over a week since you posted... hope it is just that you are busy with dumplings etc...
    Dom

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  17. AnonymousApril 8, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    ...And now another big quake - 7.2...

    dom

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  18. AnonymousApril 8, 2011 at 8:25 AM

    I'm with Dom, anxious to hear from you..

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  19. CaryApril 8, 2011 at 8:42 AM

    I hope everyone is well. When you have time, let us know. Thanks.

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  20. DazApril 8, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    Me also...

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