Blogging of baseball has fallen by the wayside as I focus on my first Masters essay, to do with the nature of the Tokugawa state. I’ve also cut my working hours, limiting myself to reading and writing time, and fun time on weekends. Maybe this was a bit drastic- I might be picking up some more tutoring work, but baseball blogging takes up the prime hours of my productive morning reading sessions, so sadly I’ll just be loosely following the Japan Series. Hanshin aren’t in it anyway

Nippon Series

Nippon Ham Fighters vs Yomiuri Giants

Yes, its time for this years Japan Series, and a traditional line up of the Nippon Ham Fighters vs Yomiuri Giants. I’ll of course be supporting the Ham Fighters over Hanshin’s arch-enemy, and attempting to blog a couple of the games.

The first two games are at the Sapporo Dome, then three in Tokyo, followed by a final two in Sapporo that may or may not be necessary. Games are today, tomorrow, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and next saturday and sunday.

Bad news it that in today’s game, the Giants took a 1-0 lead with a 4-3 victory over Nippon Ham. After trading runs in the second, Sakamoto hit a double to give Kyojin a 3-1 lead. Then in the seventh, pinch hitter Lee Seung Yeop got an RBI to extend the lead to 4-1. The Fighters got one back off Kroon’s pitching in the ninth, but it was too little too late.

Ah, there’s nothing so slightly geeky yet curiously satisfying as watching a movie about a period of history you’ve spent time studying. So it was that I found The Twilight Samurai, a movie about a low level samurai administrator in mid-19th century Japan, set a few years before the Meiji Ishin. Little did I know when I acquired it (along with films I really should already have watched, but haven’t yet- Rashomon, Seven Samurai) how quietly brilliant it would be. Unlike most samurai themed movies, its totally character driven, rather than action driven. When action does appear, its brilliantly rendered, but it never takes over from the story. The re-creation of feudal life seems incredibly complete to me, down to the bizarre old Japanese the characters speak. Not much happens really, but that’s always a sign of my favourite movies- characters are all important, and the struggles of Seibei draw you in far more than any House of Flying Daggers extravaganza could.

There are two more films in the roughly grouped series, directed by Yoji Yamada- The Hidden Blade, and Love and Honour. This one is definitely worth seeing.

With essays, seminar reading and tutoring conspiring to fill up my life, I’ve decided the time is ripe to take on The Tale Of Genji, Japan’s classic novel, considered by some to be the world’s first novel. In short, its stature is unrivalled, and its really really long.

Before I can read Genji, I need to decide on a translation- should I tackle Seidenstickers, or Tyler’s? Which will I get more out of? Which will I enjoy the most? The idea of picking a translation is an interesting one- with such a long, and ancient book (Genji was written around 1000), should I be striving to pick the one thats the most accurate, or the one thats the most enjoyable? What factors come into play when you choose a “good” translation over a “bad” one? Although my own experience with translation is highly limited, even my Japanese homework has led to surprisingly difficult decisions about how best to render a meaning into English- after quickly discarding literal translation as the route to take, you need to decide how best to capture the spirit of the text, be it a passage, or book. Yet this brings with it its own connotations- using turns of phrase, and a distinct personal style, no two translations will ever be the same.

The art of translation- for it is an art- is one that I think is beyond my capabilities. Anyway, any advice on Genji okutte kudasai.

Aaaah, mind melt. I’ve spent the whole day, from the very definite a.m. of 8.30, to about 7 tonight, reading and writing about Tokugawa polity and the nature of the bakufu. And to make matters worse, Kyojin won the Climax Series today, setting up a Giants-Fighters Nippon series finale. In other news I ordered by shiny Samsung netbook! Too tired to write anymore now, but I’d like to make time to watch the Japan Series games if possible, and maybe blog on them.

Big news this- Kenji Johjima, who has played for the Fukuoka Hawks in Japan, and the Seattle Mariners in the Major League, is on the cusp of joining the Hanshin Tigers!

Wikipedia profile here. To say he’s got impressive stats is to state the obvious.

Reaction?

Well, everyone seems surprised by the immediacy. It’s also a bit sad for Kanoh, who holds the catchers gloves at Hanshin at the moment, and who will obvious fall out of the team if/when Johjima joins. He’s been great this season.On the subject of Johjima Kanoh  is “無関心”, indifferent. Okada, former Hanshin manager, revealed that Johjima had decided to join the Tigers.

Anyway, its a long way till the start of the next season, but this is already a sign that Sakai owner is spending the big bucks to transform Hanshin’s errant ways. Is this where the money needs to be spent? Well, in all honesty, not really- we have a good catcher! What we need is an ace starter. Hmmm. We’ll see who else joins this summer, but if nothing else Johjima’s impressive batting form will bolster our offense.

I’m suffering the strains of London living and no income at the moment, trapped in a bubble of knowing I could squander money I’ve saved up in Korea and before on temporary joys, or become too obsessed with saving every penny at the other end of the scale (although that’s hardly likely is it).

Anyway, despite this the drips and drops of tutoring I’ve been doing in Maths and English are turning into more of a trickle now, if not a fully fledged stream. It should keep me going…but I have my sights fixed on this beautiful shiny thing…

It’s a shiny Samsung NC10 Netbook, perfect for taking notes in the SOAS library without carting my laptop around, using on trains and planes, and generally keeping me even more connected with the internet than I need to be. In the long view its also a blogging tool which I could take on a long travel trip…a trip I’m planning on taking in the next couple of years.

Which brings me right back round to the beginning- my main concern about my finances is not having enough money for travel. Still, as I’ve basically decided I’ll work for a year in London after finishing my Masters, this shouldn’t be a big concern- I’ll have a year to save the 10k or so required for a large scale journey- back to Asia, Japan, China, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia, Australia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Panama, the States, Canada, Morocco, Turkey, South Africa…the list goes on and on and on.

I realised I hadn’t really posted about my Masters yet, which might be a good thing to do as time progresses. Things so far have been a lot busier than I expected, although I don’t really know why- I shouldn’t be surprised that becoming a Master involves lots of work. I’m taking three courses- Japanese Modernity- essentially modern Japanese history- International Politics of East Asia, which does what it says, and Intermediate Japanese Two, the language module between Intermediate Japanese One and Advanced Japanese.

The Modernity module has been rather stress-high so far, with bulky readings every week and a rather intense, “every man for himself” atmosphere in the seminar. Politics is more relaxed- less required reading, more reading around the topics that interest you, and a positive discussion for the seminar. The language module is probably the best so far- only 5 of us in the seminar, so plenty of time to speak, and I already feel like I’ve learnt a hell of a lot.

This weekend I’ll be reading about Tokugawa Society in c.18th Japan, conceptions of Asia, Asian regionalism, imperialism and nationalism, and translating a Japanese paragraph. Eventually though I’ll be able to hone in on stuff that really interests me- Meiji Imperialism, Taisho and Showa fun, contemporary expressions of Japanese nationalism and maybe some stuff on China. I’ll post more as time progresses, but this weekend I plan to read until my eyes bleed…no fun for Steve methinks…

Yesterday was my first trip to Arsenal’s new Emirates stadium- alternatively known as Ashburton Grove before the corporate sponsorship- to see Blues take on Arsenal in the Premiership. We lost 3-1. It was a good game though- after two goals for Arsenal in the first twenty minutes, I feared a rout. However the Blues rallied, and with new owner Carson Yeung in the stands got a goal back before half-time. In the second half we pressed, bringing on O’Connor for Jerome, and putting Kevin Phillips on as a second striker. Inevitably though, in going forward we were exposed at the back. After a particularly good chance where we could- perhaps should- have scored, Arsenal broke and Arshavin slotted home a third.

The Emirates is a strange stadium- a model of what the future of stadiums is in a way, with wide seats, a good view from all over (although where we were sitting- front row of the upper tier, was particularly good), good amenities. The trouble is it lacks character- Liverpool have The Kop, Blues have The Tilton, but all Arsenal have is a “singing section”. The particular ideosyncrasies and peculiarities of a stadium are what make it, yet the Emirates is perfectly symmetrical to a fault (apart from the tunnel from which the players emerge, as one Arsenal fan told me!) Having said all this it IS nice, and if I could go there every week to watch Arsenal play Premier League big boys and continental giants in the Champions League, I’m sure I’d love it. Its just a very different experience- in every sense- from going to watch The Blues.

Well I finished Ghost Train, and it was excellent- a thoroughly engrossing read all the more surprising because I wasn’t a huge fan of Great Railway Bazaar- the “original”. Having got to Georgia when my last review was finished, we were then taken through the Stans- Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, then into India, Sri Lanka, across to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and finally to Japan and Russia. The Japan part was simply fantastic- Theroux captured so many feelings I had while in Japan. In particular his ruminations with Haruki Murakami on Japan and the past were fascinating, as was the journey up to Hokkaido. It reminded me of my trips to places he also visited- Hanoi, Japan, and the Trans-Sib- and motivated me to want to visit the places I hadn’t- Sri Lanka and India, the Stans, and the rest of South-East Asia. Theroux writes, “I’d come to see that travel for me was no longer a fun-seeking interlude, not even the roudabout detour of heading home, but a way of living my like: a trip without an end where the only destination was darkness. The beauty of it was that I was doing it in the simplest way, as a homeless person with a small bag and a briefcase of papers, rubbing across the world, travelling light.” Here here.

Next book on my reading list: Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red.