Welcome to Tsunagari D Bookmarks on Delicious. Below is a (not so very) fancy bit of coding which brings in the latest 50 bookmarks from me Delicious account. For those who don't know anything about Delicious, check it out here.
Delicious is basically online bookmarks. It's where I track most of the sites I find about Kansai. I can store the bookmark, give it a label and write comments all online, accessible from any computer. I've collected quite a little growing resource, and I have no intention of hoarding it all to myself. I'm really collecting to share.
How is this page in particular of use to you? Well, You should come back to it and check it out every now and then. The last 50 bookmarks come up, so It'll always automatically update. There will be a mix of stuff; places, faces and things I've found online and just bookmarked because I'll probably never blog about them.
Must Sees Osaka Art Complex vol.2 @ Fukuda Gallery, Tezukayama Gallery and Tengensya Gallery (4th~19) 3 awesome galleries unite to bring you what's awesome and hot in Osaka at the moment. Fukuda Gallery sports Mukai Shouichi San, with his awesome exhibition "Heroes", a selection of kick-ass robotic diaper wearing ass-kicking baby paraphernalia sporting Babytector Series. Tezukayama will be holding Hiroyuki Toi's "Seuzau", oil on canvas. Cute girls with balloon looking afros and toes turned inwards. Great stuff. And Tengensya has two great names in the Kansai Scene; Momo and 東雅子, both producing character featured artworks that blend what's cute and what's creepy. And also seems to be only done here in Japan.
Natsuki Machida @ YOD (~5th Dec. TIME IS LIMITED!) I interviewed Machida San for FLAG 003 and her upcoming exhibition MURMUR. Read the interview to see more about this, but for those who can't be stuffed or can't get their hands on a precious copy of FLAG here it is in a nutshell: WORTH SEEING.
Sleeper Hallucination Camping #006 @ FLOAT (Dec.12) An outdoor music event with headphones + video. All the music is broadcast live via radio waves, so if you're heading on over, take an FM Radio and a pair of headphones. You can get drinks there or bring your own, and considering it's all night, they recommend you bring a sleeping bag as well. Can't be stuffed? You can rent sleeping bags and radios there too! Aparently Antonio Bandereas is making the food. The salads in space will be playing as well.
Keep an eye on these information sites: www.f-l-a-g.net FLAG for the online masses. Coming very very soon. We promise. Bookmark. http://migohsha.com/ Migosha, Osaka Art File. Only in Japanese, but they have great ties with the world of Art and other creative stuff in there too.
The 5 artists featured will exhibit sketches of their own personal circles; things directly in their personal lives. The list of international guests with different academic backgrounds makes it a must see for anyone interested in either 1) the range of technical approaches to sketching to see, or 2) the relations the artists have with their own 'personal circles', and the comparisons that can be made between the participants.
Featured for this first exhibition are the following people: 参加作家： Eeshaun (Singaporean・シンガポール人) Kasper Strömman (Finnish・フィンランド人) Ross Siu (Japan based Canadian・日本に住まいカナダ人) Shinichi Takeda (France based Japanese・フランスに住んでいた日本人) Mugi Takei (USA based Japanese・アメリカに住んでいる日本人)
Personal Circles will be held at iTohen from Nov 4 Wed ~ Nov 15 Sun (11:00~18:00, closed on Mon, Tue). パーソナルサークルズはいとへんで 11月4日（水）〜 11月15日（11:00~18:00、月・火休み）
There is also a silkscreen printing workshop @ OOO on the 7th of Nov, where participants are invited to screen print the various members artworks onto their own items of clothing, (or bags, or whatever!). All you can print for ¥3,000. I'll be helping out with that, so come along!
Also Ross Siu will be holding a sketch workshop on the 8th at Itohen in the afternoon. After his workshop is the reception party, which everyone is invited to come along to. Network, and expand your own personal circle.
Must Sees Gallerism @ Genbi Centre, (2nd~14th) When you think Osaka, you don't really think art. Gallerism is one event to shatter this preconception! Osaka has swaths of gallery areas and numerous established galleries, and Gallerism is one event bringing them all together: Amano Garo, Gallery AO, Gallery Haku, Gallery H.O.T, Gallery Wks. Cubic Gallery, Bangarou, and more! But it's not about the galleries, it's about creating a good atmosphere in Osaka, and supporting young artists like Kyoto NAKAMURA, Masaki TAMURA, Takao KANO, Yusaku MIYAHARA, Ayami ITO, Akiko KAWABATA, Tomoyuki NAKAMOTO, and more more more! Get in there! Get down to Gallerism!
Personal Circles @ iTohen, (4th~15th) Awesome mix of sketches from Artists all over the world. Participants of different academic backgrounds (illustration, fine art, etc.) present sketches of objects and items in their own personal circles. Screen printing workshop @ OOO on the 7th and workshop with Ros Siu, Canadian and participating artist on the 8th @ iTohen.
Keep an eye on these information sites: www.f-l-a-g.net FLAG for the online masses. Coming soon. Bookmark. destinationosaka-janellemac.blogspot.com Janelle Mac takes on Osaka and includes everything I don't in her blog. Must read. ART man days Follow Machio Takamoto, an independent copywriter, on his adventures in the art world of Kansai.
A designer or an illustrator, any kind of creator without a network is like a dial up modem. Remember those? It took AGES to download anything. Yes, I was one of these dial up modems, but since Shovel has started I feel like I've switched to optic fiber.
I met Inomata san from Air Osaka, a very nice little artist in residence type hotel in the south of Osaka (cheap too, check it out), a lovely young lady called Emi Makita who's now helping us out with FLAG, also Iwabuchi San from 208 came along to talk about his project for Suito Osaka at the time.
If you're a creator looking for a network, Shovel is for you. It's only ¥500, with the first drink included.
"シャベル • Shovel vol.2" 場所 • Venue： OOO 日時 • Date and Time： 10月31日（土）19:30 - 21:30 参加費 • Participation Fee：500円（1ドリンク付き • with one drink） お申し込み／お問い合わせはoootoiawase@gmail.com まで For more information, please contact us at oootoiawase@gmail.com
*「クリエイティブな人」は、「職業クリエイター」という意味ではありません。 "Creative People" doesn't mean "people in the creative industry". クリエイティブなことに関心のある方なら誰でも参加できます。 Anyone who's interested in creative things is free to participate.
If you're a creator whether in profession, or on the side, come and join in!
Keep an eye on these information sites: www.f-l-a-g.net FLAG for the online masses. Coming soon. Bookmark. http://www.opus-design.jp/ An awesome portal for all things creative in and around Osaka, by OPUS. http://blog.livedoor.jp/artkobujime/ One of the most comprehensive blogs about the Art Scene in the Kansai area by Takafumi Kosui from Turner Paint.
At first I thought it was some kind of joke. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Row after row of Ji-beer, crazy names and labels, but BEST of all, dozens of representatives from Kansai!
So I walked out of Isetan the proud owner of two bottles of local brew; Kinshi-Masamune Craft Beer. 2 bottles only, 'Gosho Beer', and the 'Kaoru Beer', which particularly caught my attention with the words 'JR Kyoto Isetan X Kinshi-Masamune' printed down the bottom of the label.
2本の自慢で伊勢丹をでました。キンシ正宗地ビール。２つだけ、「御所麦酒」とラベルに書いた「JR Kyoto Isetan X Kinshi-Masamune」の言葉をオレの目に触れた「カオル」。
As is quite normal here, Kinshi-Masamune is actually a Sake Brewer who brew their own craft beer. I enjoyed my Gosho! A surprisingly smooth beer with a wonderful colour. It was also very lightly carbonated, as you can see from the absence of a head in the picture below.
Now, I can't verify this any more that what I read directly off the label; but with the Kaoru beer, apparently the female staff of both Isetan and Kinshi-Masamune got together to brew this one, especially for women. Which probably explains it's light flavour and fizziness. At 4% it was a nice refreshing one.
Workroom (Clockwise from top left • 左上から時計回り): Inada San, Endo San, Sugitani San, Adachi san, Tsukamura San (face hidden • 隠された顔), Yoshida San.
Guess who appeared in Cycle a little earlier on this summer? That's right! How'd that happen? Was it guuzen•偶然? Not in Kansai, where everyone creative knows everyone else creative.
I share the office with Cahier, One of Osaka's best web production companies. I almost fell off my chair when I heard that Ozaki San from Cahier was engaged (and is now married to) Endo San from Workroom. Creative people in Kansai say that it's really 'semai' (crowded) here, and they're not joking when then say it too. So in the end two lovely girls, Endo san and Inada San from Workroom came to interview me, and I'm now in issue No.02!
A perfect excuse to stick my foot in the door at Workroom and bother them with annoying questions! Workroomで足掛かりをつかんでブログの取材の迷惑な質問を聞いて完璧な口実だ！よし！
Workroom is a Publishing/Editing company who have been around in Osaka for 20 years. Their published material focuses mainly on culture, and they produce excellent books about bicycles and cycling, food and eating, Kimonos and tea; of which I recommend 大阪自転車ホリデー (Osaka Jitensha Holiday) and 京都自転車デイズ (Kyoto Jitensha Days), which has just come out recently. They also organize and edit a few pages for TOKK, Hankyu Railway's free paper.
Workroom consists of 6 members, working in a sparkling clean office in the Mengyoukaikan in Kitahama. Cool building! Totally Jealous. Workroomは北浜にある綿業会館のピッカピカする事務所で６人の組です。かっこいいビル。いいなぁ。
Endo San is the newest member in Workroom. She gives Design support, takes most of their photos and retouches the pictures, and does work on the web (like the Workroom homepage and the Cycle homepage). She enjoys meeting people through work who are interested in art and culture.
Yoshida San is a Designer and does layout work. She is supported by Endo san from time to time. In her job she really enjoys organizing things by herself and seeing them come into being.
Inada San collects information for Workroom's publications, and also translates and interprets. Her English is great. She's also interested in Designing and enjoys meeting new people through work.
Tsukamura San is the representative of Workroom, and she's proud to have brought a group of good people together. Working with them is a daily success in her opinion.
Sugitani San, nice enough to organize a day where everyone was present for me, collects information, writes and illustrates the little strip in cycle for Workroom (Yurunori Kun). She loves going all over the place, and enjoys working in the Mengyoukaikan. I mean, who WOULDN'T.
Workroom also have their own 自習室•Jishuushitsu (translates as 'private study room') called Workroom*A, which is where they hold lectures, workshops, exhibitions and events. I found a cool flier last year about English lessons in Workroom, specifically about art. What a great idea! I thought. They've had Chinese, Wine lessons, English and even Ukulele lessons. After creating good links with people through work, they wanted to keep up real connections, not just on paper. Real interaction was important, and Workroom*A is a place where it all happens.
In the future Tsukamura San, Workroom's Representative, wants them to continue making books; keeping up the good work they've already done. She wants the company to become a bit cooler and a bit more international (she said things could always be better). Well, I'm sure Workroom will always be doing something interesting!
Keep an eye on Workroom*A's event calendar (participate, even if you don't speak Japanese!). Make sure you bookmark Cycle's website. Very soon they'll be translating some of their articles into English, like awesome riding courses around Kansai including information about where to rent bikes, recommended cafes and courses to follow. I guarantee you won't find anything about these in English! And don't just read: participate! Workroom*Aのイベントカレンダーをよく見てください。Cycleのウェッブサイトをブックマークしてね！もうすぐ、記事は英語でもでます；関西にあるサイクリングコースについて、レンタル・カフェ・コースの流れ。英語でこの情報珍しいですよ！読むだけしないで：参加しましょう！
Workroom: Making Osaka cooler than it already is! ワークルームが、大阪をもっとええ感じにするで！
All the way from Ibaraki Ken and the Kiuchi Brewery, I found Hitachino Nest beer in Jupiter at Act Amore, in front of JR Takatsuki Station (of all places). 4 types are available, of which I decided I had to try all of them.
Above you can see their pale ale, a lovely traditional English brew with a nice hoppy smell. Good starter.
上はペールエールです。伝統的な英国式のビール、アロマホップの香りは良い。スタートでいいの。
Ah, amber ale. Look at that color! Website says this one is only available in Japan, so it's something to grab if you see it around. To myself and my humble taste buds, the Amber ale was definitely salty. If you're an Australian, you'll understand when I liken the flavor to Vegemite.
Unfortunately, I have yet to take to Weizen. It's not the wheat, or the cloves or even the vanilla flavors found in this type of beer, it's the banana that kills me. The fermented flavor of the wheat and bananas really combine with all strength to give one a feeling that you might actually be drinking something that's gone off. I apologize, I shall endeavor to like it.
But No.1 beer of the evening goes to the white ale, which is hands down WONDERFUL. Something you can even drink with dessert, the coriander and nutmeg flavors really show just how White Ale has picked up several gold medals in competitions. Definitely the best.
FLAG stands for Foreigner's Live Art Guide. As you probably know, there's very little information about art and galleries in Osaka, and what information exists is only found in bits and pieces and all over the place.
『FLAG』っては『Foreigner's Live Art Guide』。たぶんもうご存じのことと思いますが大阪の英語で書いているアート情報はほんとにすくないで、存在しているのはばらばらしている。
We've brought it all together in a bi-monthly free paper including featured FLAGGED exhibitions; an interview with a FLAGGED artist each issue; A baton relay introducing 3 interesting things in Osaka each week and a very easy to follow map, and an exhibition schedule!
You can pick up FLAG from a variety of spots around Osaka (the usual foreigner haunts). Keep your eyes out for it, and if you manage to land yourself a copy, send us feedback! All people who send in feedback go into the draw to win a free ticket to Art Osaka 2009!
The movie "Raise the Castle", has finally started screening Osaka. I caught up with the co-writer of the script—Kansai's own Hitoshi Hamagashira—for an interview about his highschool experiences and his first big movie.
The first movie he went to see was Star Wars (ep.4). Dragged to the cinema by his father, 8yr old Hamagashira san didn't know the first thing about Star Wars, and wasn't interested in watching it. After getting over the idea of subtitles, which he didn't understand (why go to a movie to read?), he found he actually enjoyed the experience. From then he started attending the cinema regularly; gunfights, action and comedy were high on the list.
When he was 13 he he watched "The Third Man" on TV, and like a smack in the face realized that there was more to movies than just story and action. Seeing the attention to detail in things like framing, lighting and shadow, Hamagashira San got a shock. Even now, The Third Man is Hamagashira's Bible.
Personally, he's my movie critic. I get all the latest advice from Hamagshira San, who will, in a week, attend the movies at least once and watch 2-3 DVDs. I know there's probably people out there who watch more; but I know Hamagashira San is a reliable source. It's not just his objective criticism or the way he follows other critics in the news to compare reviews that I like, it's the small things he does to really analyze a movie. He watches movies and times them to analyze the scene lengths and the construction (introduction, development, turn and conclusion), and will if necessary, watch the same movie a number of times over; with subtitles and without; dubbed; and with both the dubbing and subtitles, to compare the difference.
To give you an idea of his tastes, here are his favorites: 彼のお気に入り：
1. a. Favorite Movies The Third Man (1949)「第三の男」 It's a Wonderful Life (1946)「素晴らしき哉、人生」 The Natural (1984)「ナチュラル」 Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)「汚れた顔の天使」 The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)「ウェールズの山」 Paper Moon (1973)「ペーパー・ムーン」 C'era una volta il West (1968)"Once Upon a Time in the West"「ウエスタン」（Italy） Ai qing lai le (1997) "Love Go Go"「ラブ・ゴーゴー」（Taiwan） The Truman Show (1998)「トゥルーマン・ショー」 The French Connection (1971)「フレンチ・コネクション」 Time Bandits (1981)「バンデッドＱ」 Le roi de coeur (1966) "King of Hearts" 「まぼろしの市街戦」（France） Shaun of the Dead (2004) 「ショーン・オブ・ザ・デッド」 Zoolander (2001) 「ズーランダー」 Blades of Glory (2007) 「俺たちフィギュアスケーター」 Broadway Danny Rose (1984) 「プロードウェイのダニー・ローズ」 Some Like It Hot (1959) 「お熱いのがお好き」 Amadeus (1984) 「アマデウス」 Unforgiven (1992) 「許されざる者」 Cool Hand Luke (1967) 「暴力脱獄」
2. Favorite TV Series The Black Adder 「ブラック・アダー」 Fawlty Towers 「フォルティ・タワーズ」 The Office 「オフィス」 Suika 「すいか」（Japan） I Love Lucy 「アイ・ラブ・ルーシー」
3. Favorite Directors Frank Capra フランク・キャプラ（USA） Sergio Leone セルジオ・レオーネ（Italy） Henri-Georges Clouzot アンリ・ジョルジュ・クルーゾー（France） Billy Wilder ビリー・ワイルダー Edgar Wright エドガー・ライト（UK）
4. Favorite Scripts Cyrano de Bergerac「シラノ・ド・ベルジュラック」（French Play） The Front Page (1931)「フロント・ページ」 Tange Sazen yowa: Hyakuman ryo no tsubo (1935)「丹下左繕餘話／百萬両の壺」（Japan） A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)「テキサスの五人の仲間」 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)「サブウェイ・パニック」 I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)「抱きしめたい」 Dave (1993)「デーヴ」 Shakespeare in Love (1998)「恋に落ちたシェイクスピア」 Galaxy Quest (1999)「ギャラクシー・クエスト」 Million Dollar Baby (2004)「ミリオンダラー・ベイビー」
5. Favorite Script Writers Woody Allen ウディ・アレン, Richard Curtis リチャード・カーティス, Shinobu Hashimoto 橋本忍, Sadao Yamanaka 山中貞雄
So how did Hamagashira San get into script writing? "In high school, I was in a movie circle. I though it was just a club for watching movies, but it turned out to be a film making club, and since I was the only person joining that year, I couldn't escape once I was in." Once the club got it's projects underway, he became interested though. When the other students graduated, Hamagashira San was the only member left, and in his last year, he wrote the script, recruited, shot and edited the movie he created all by himself.
During the schools Cultural Festival, Hamagashira's Movie was all set to be screened to the public, but the Animation Club next door decided they would illegaly screen a Miyazaki animation ("Nausica of the Valley of the Wind"), at the same times. Over a 2 day screening period, 200 students attended from the school, which was a bit below the average. Most students had gone next door.
His movie "My Little Girl" had gained a reputation in this short time though, and students who had made the mistake of going to see Miyazaki's animation at the Animation Club next door were regretting the decision and demanding a rescreening. The teachers let Hamagashira San borrow a room for a rescreen, enough to seat 40 people.
この短い間でも、浜頭さんの映画「My Little Girl」は好評だったので、アニメの映画見に行ってしまった人々は後悔をして再び上映してほしかった。上映のため、先生たちは、４０人入る部屋を使わせた。
100 people attended, squashed into the room. That is what has had Hamagashira hooked these years. "I can't escape from that feeling." Is it still possible to see "My Little Girl", then? Hamagashira San says that it's staying locked in his closet. "Now, I will never show it to anyone. NEVER. I don't want to see again, either. It's a blushing memory from my stupid high school days."
部屋が缶詰めで１００人が参加しまして。浜頭さんはずっとその気分にやみつきです。『逃げられない』って。さ、My Little Girlをまだ見えますか？押し入れの奥にしまいこんでます。『今はもう、誰にも見せたくない。絶対に。自分でも二度と見たくない。おバカな高校時代の赤面思い出です』
So how did Hamagashira San get involved in Raise the Castle? Well, the producer of Raise the Castle had previously worked with Hamagashira San, and one day brought in a DVD; a 1 hour short film from an unknown director. She just said "Have a look". After watching it, Hamagashira san said, quite objectively, that it was rough, but it had power and a good idea behind it.
The producer told Hamagashira San that the plan was to remake this short film into a feature length movie. Hamagashira San advised the producer to get someone famous to have a look at the script. 2 months later, the Producer brought the script back, now rewritten, but the director had done it himself. So Hamagashira San advised as best he could: cut this, change the construction, more character building here. After a number of suggestions, the producer said "You do it. Getting a pro in is too expensive." And he's been on board ever since.
Aside from scripting writing, Hamagashira has also been involved in the advertising and PR of the movie; he's been in charge of the brochure, the posters and fliers, and has been a general behind the scenes man. Once the script is written, the script writer has free time.
So what was the biggest challenge? Working and script writing at the same time. Hamagashira San said he found the "Sunday carpenter" role (or sunday script writer) difficult.
The best thing? Watching famous people read his lines. It's a impressive feeling, but the whole time he's waiting for the candid camera crew to jump out from behind the bush and say it's all just a big joke. He said it's like someone's playing a trick on him.
If he had to do it all over again, what would he do differently? Squeezing this idea into a 2hr movie was difficult. "when you write, it naturally gets longer; the first version was 3 hrs". If he did it again, it would be a TV series, with more details and character building. Building a castle in 2 hrs is too fast.
So what's Hamagashira's plans from now? Continue writing as opportunity permits: scripts/novels. This time with Raise the Castle, Hamagashira was just a co-writer. Next time he'd like to be more involved, like one of the Die Hard creator members. "There is a big advantage and a big disadvantage to being a co-writer. The merit is that if the movie is complimented, you can take all the credit. If it's bad, you can blame the other partner. The demerit is exactly the opposite: the other partner can do the same to me".
Finding a good sofa is a hard thing to do. They're either too cheap and not well made, or just totally out of your price range. There is one shop in Osaka though that does customized sofa's at very reasonable prices. It also has the world's best behaved mascot, a very friendly dalmatian. Hunsabasara is that shop.
The first floor is their workshop, and upstairs is the shop floor, where you can discuss your needs directly with the shop owner Kawakami San. The shop is not full of examples of their prowess, because all orders are one offs. They give you a totally original piece of furniture, not a factory made copy.
Hunsabasara also do furniture restoration. They showed us some old chairs they were adjusting for a client, which were wonderful makeovers. I must say I was really impressed with their willingness to be flexible. It really made a good impression on me. And, of course, it's lovely being escorted around by the dalmation. She's very quiet, and dosen't lick or demand attention. She's called Rico!
Oh yeah, nothing like picking up a ji-beer from Seibu on the weekend. ああ、Seibuから地ビールを買ってに限るなあ。
Onuma Craft beer was in it's own fridge, with all the grandmas around totally paying no attention to it. I felt sorry for the bottles, and decided to pick up a couple. The choice was hard; there were the standard 330ml bottles, or special 3 liter flip-top ones. Choosing sanity over intoxication, I opted for the standard sizes.
Above you can see the Kölsch. Like it's colour, it has a very clean and clear taste. Quite a strong soda taste. At 5%, it's not a heavy hitter, but typical of the Kölsch, is refreshing.
The Indy Pale Ale below was a punch in the face. I was breathing freon after a swallow of this 8% heavy hitter. Although it's carbonation is light, it has a bitter kick to it; every swallow is strong, rich, full, sweet (tastes like honey, too!)
á Terre is right next to a park so the 2nd floor café has nothing but greenery to be seen from the windows (check out the photo below!). When I visited there was a photography exhibition on the 3rd floor, showcasing various snaps of Osaka. The gallery was also full of sofas that á Terre produces in house.
I've been to all placed marked in Red, and I'm planning to go to all marked in Blue. There's a lot to put it still, so it's not finished. Click below for a larger map!
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I'm an Australian living in Kansai (Japan), wandering around blogging about all the creative stuff I come across. I have a profound interest in Ji-beer (Japanese craft beer). I really like Kansai.
