Tale of Japanese (mis)identity

This blog entry provides me with an excuse to put up
one more photo from my recent Japan trip -- this one taken
inside the Engyoji temple complex up on Shosazan

Some months back, I did a meme in which I mentioned that my ethnicity and/or nationality tends to get mis-identified a lot, including when my mother and I visited Taiwan last December and got frequently mistaken as Japanese. Well, after my most recent trip to Japan, my conclusion is that (my mother and) I do seem to come across as Japanese to even the Japanese -- or, at the least, it tends to be assumed by many of them that we can speak and understand their language!

Additionally, while in Hong Kong, I've been asked more than once, "Are you Korean or Japanese?" Whereby people get rather stunned when I tell them that I'm Malaysian. Part of the reason for their surprise, I think, is that I seem to be the rare Malaysian in Hong Kong who cannot speak Mandarin (because I attended Malay rather than Mandarin medium school in Malaysia) as well as is not all that fluent in Cantonese (because I'm from Hokkien-majority Penang rather than, say, Cantonese-dominated Ipoh -- the hometown of Michelle Yeoh -- and Kuala Lumpur). (On a related note, one reason why I never get mistaken for a Mainland Chinese person -- as a Hong Konger friend of mine pointed out -- is that I don't speak Mandarin.)

Among other things, this state of affairs resulted in an amusing conversation transpiring when I went to the laundry the day before I headed to Japan. To cut a long story short: The woman at the laundry that I spoke to (in bad Cantonese) asked me where I was from. When I said "Malaysia", her response was, "then why don't you speak Cantonese?" But, then, after I told her that I was off to Japan the next day, she seems to have figured that I had mistakenly told her that I was from Malaysia and, instead, was actually Japanese. Going on from there and thinking that I was Japanese, she changed her mind and decided that I spoke Cantonese very well!

All of which has me concluding that I speak Cantonese very badly if measured using the standards usually applied to Malaysians but very well if measured using the standard usually applied to Japanese folks...! ;b

Japan vignette (photo-essay)

Last weekend, for the first time in quite a while, I didn't take part in the weekly Photo Hunt. The not so good reasons included my having the kind of stressful as well as busy work week that left my feeling in desperate need of a holiday break as well as so run down that I came down with a cold. On a more positive note, I did manage to arrange to get away for a few days -- starting early last Sunday -- and head over to Japan, the land of Hello Kitty, Totoro, great food and so much much more.

Over a course of five days and a trip that began in Sapporo before also taking in visits to Osaka and Himeji, I managed to snap more than 100 shots as well as partake of a lot of delicious local delicacies, imbibe some delicious draft beer, check out a few interesting places and take in some memorable experiences. The following photo-essay hopefully provides some idea of how I enjoyed myself in the Land of the Rising Sun along with a fair sampling of choice shots of Japan's various faces and attractions:-

Blue skies over New Chitose Airport --
a welcome sight that, alas, I didn't see enough of
in rainy Sapporo as well as don't see enough of
in air pollution-ridden Hong Kong

Penguins in Osaka -- more specifically,
the wonderful Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan) that is
Japan's largest (and, I'd imagine, best and most beautiful)

The world's largest ferris wheel
at Tempozan Harbour Village, Osaka

A bird's eye view of Osaka (including the Osaka Dome)
from atop the ferris wheel
(one of many, incidentally, that we saw in Osaka!)

Two culinary dreams fulfilled over the course
of a single evening: One being a visit
to the eating establishment-lined Dotombori;
the other being to sample -- among other delicacies --
some fugu sashi (i.e., thin slices of raw blow fish)! :b

The main tower of the very impressive as well as historic
Himeji-jo, Japan's largest castle and
a UNESCO World Heritage Listed site

Fish and stone ornament in the Kokoen --
a complex of 9 reconstructed traditional style
Japanese gardens located in the shadow of Himeji-jo

The Engyoji Temple complex atop Mount Shosha --
an amazing place I wish I could have spent more than
the little more than one hour checking out

Self (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Having missed last week's Photo Hunt, looked forward to returning to taking part in this Saturday -- and often into Sunday as well -- activity. At the same time, as many regular visitors to this blog know, I'm not at all keen on taking or putting up pictures of myself on the internet -- so this week's Photo Hunt theme looked to pose a bit of a problem for me. And how much can be seen by the above grainy photo being the only snapshot I've ever conscientiously taken of (a part of) myself!

Re the photo itself: The story behind it is that there's a cinema over here in Hong Kong with a particular art-house reputation and accordingly art-house type lighting in the corridor that you go into on the way out of a theatre into the street. In particular, the overwhelmingly green lighting reminds a friend of mine and me of that which prominently features in Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels; and so much so that we wonder whether one got the lighting idea from the other! In any case, it can make for quite the cool visual effect, don't you think? ;)

latest bc magazine linkorama

The very personable director
of The Pye Dog and The Moss

My apologies for being late with regards to the latest bc magazine linkorama but I only returned from a (way too short but nonetheless wonderful) holiday in Japan yesterday. And yes, you can expect several Japan-themed photo-essays in the not too distant future. But in the meantime, here are heads up and links to the following articles:-

i) Juggling Jerome -- The Compagnie Jerome Thomas' juggling Rain/Bow show;

ii) Moss Appeal -- Derek Kwok talks about his sophomore directorial offering;

iii) Baroque Joy -- Baroque dance choreographer Beatrice Massin talks about her Let My Joy Remain and general love of music (*And it's Bach in the hard copy, don't know how it became Back in the online version of this piece!);

iv) The Editor's Diary for May 29 to June 11;

v) Review of Thai film, Ghost of Mae Nak; and

vi) Review of Derek Kwok's The Moss.

Enjoy? Hope so! :)

Festival Time in Shau Kei Wan (photo-essay)

At the beginning of this week, I got pretty snap happy at the Tam Kung birthday parade in Shau Kei Wan, a local festive event that tends to be overshadowed by the Cheung Chau Bun Festival and Buddha's Birthday that take place on the same day as it every year. One day, I will make it out to check out the Cheung Chau Bun Festival but, if truth be told, the thought of the sure to be huge -- and potentially ovewhelming -- gathered crowd for this much hyped up event put me off heading over there this year and also last.

(As an aside, that's one of the great things of the Tam Kung birthday celebrations: It really felt so communal and untouristy -- and thus all the more authentic and enjoyable to someone who may have got out of anthropology some years ago now but still feels like there's quite a bit of the anthropologist in her still...)

Starting close to where we left off:

with Taoist priests and disciples -- this time around
also with a symbol-laden mock-up boat in tow
 A portable shrine, complete with what looks to be
a Taoist baby god, temporarily at rest
in the middle of Shau Kei Wan Main Street
 It's rest-time too for a pair of unicorns
while they wait for their time to gallivant and shine

The colorful dragons, on the other hand,
are happily on the move, doing such as
chasing after an equally brightly-colored ball

...as they weave expansively along the parade route

The dragons are so eye-catching that
I simply can't resist including another shot of one! ;)

Lions at play on nearby Tam Kung Temple Road

Near journey's end -- big headed creature by Victoria Harbour
waiting to pay tribute at Shau Kei Wan's Tam Kung Temple

Candy (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Do these delectable egg tarts with a creamy coconut filling -- encountered in a restaurant on my most recent trip to Macau -- qualify as actual candy as well as foodie eye candy? I'll be the first to admit that I'm not completely sure.

On the other hand, post tasting them, I can most definitely vouch for them being very sweet -- and, in fact, the sweetest things I, who tend to go for savoury rather than sweet snacks, have a photograph of! And since 'sweet' is the equivalent British English term for the very American candy as well as the word for a particular kind of taste, I hope tnchick and co will indulge me and allow me to submit this delicious looking image for this week's Photo Hunt... ;b

Prostitute Dramas, Solo Ho Show and more!

The stars of Call Girl '92 --
one of my favourite films from a genre
that I care for a lot more than many might think

Back in July last year, I wrote an article that ended up being kept as a back up because it was non-time specific. For a time, I feared that it would never see the light of day. But now, I'm very happy to say, it finally has -- along with quite a few other pieces more recently written by moi -- in the latest issue of bc magazine! And yep, that article in question really is about prostitute dramas... and is one I hope you'll enjoy together with the other writings that I'm providing links to in this blog entry:-

i) My Name Ain't Suzie -- Hong Kong prostitute dramas;

ii) Solo Ho Show -- Not what you think but, instead, about a play entitled Ho Chi Minh in Hong Kong whose premiere I attended earlier this evening! :D ;

iii) An Adventurous Frame of Mind -- The Etha Dam dance company's Aduna, Land of Adventure;

iv) Two By Two -- Interview with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong's artistic director, Leanne Nicholls, and its new chief conductor, Jean Thorel;

v) It's Not the Years, Honey, It's the Mileage -- Indiana Jones returns (soon)!;

vi) This issue's Editor's Diary;

vii) Review of Wong Jing's My Wife is a Gambling Maestro;

viii) Review of first-time director Stanley Tam's Breeze of July; and

ix) The magazine's inaugural Macau section.

Additionally, although it's not written by me, I reckon that more than one of you will find it worth checking this feature article by Rachel Mok on the Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market. :)