New year
Before anything else, happy new year! Feliz ano novo! 明けましておめでとうございます！ Glückliches neues Jahr! ¡Feliz año nuevo! 恭贺新禧! 새해 복 많이 받으세요! szczęśliwego nowego roku! Bonne année! с новым годом! Buon anno!
Etc.,etc...
Yeah... new year... Makes me think of all the new years I've spent. In Brazil, my routine used to be have dinner with family and watch the countdown at a relative's house or at home with my family. In Japan, every year was celebrated in a different way.
In 2005~06 I spent the reveillon with relatives in Japan and after took some pictures at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto before returning to Himeji.
In 2007~08 I went to a friend's house to eat some nabe with a couple of close friends and we went to Manpukuji just a little after midnight. Even though we could stroll around and see the new year illumination, the temple closed shortly after we entered. During the first days of the year, I took some pictures at Daikakuji and Yasaka Jinja.
In 2008~09 I went with some friends to Osaka to watch the countdown at Umeda Sky Building followed by some clubbing. During the new year holidays I also met old friends from Himeji and went with them to Kiyomizudera.
What about this year?
With my thesis still pending, I couldn't do much. For the reveillon, I actually stayed home watching Kohaku Uta Gassen. For those who don't know, it is a traditional TV show for the night of December 31st in Japan. And this year it was the 60th edition of Kohaku.
It is basically a music show with appearance of many popular artists (not only singers. Comediants and others make small appearances during annoucements), some with special performances prepared for the occasion. But there's a "competition" between male singers (red team) and female singers (white team) performance. The competition aspect is actually left on the background during most of the show, though.
Another interesting aspect is that the artists invited for the event cover a wide variety of musical genres. From J-pop to enka, it is obviously a program aimed for people of all ages in a time that families are usually together. (Many Japanese return to their hometowns during new year vacations.) And there are also some "traditions" in Kouhaku as well that are interesting to watch. For me, the highlights were:
Well, to avoid saying that staying in front of TV was everything I did for new year, as it's tradition since I came to Kyoto, we had a dinner with my host family and other "foster international students". Good opportunity to eat like there's no tomorrow and enjoy a more family-like atmosphere. This year someone brought a mochi-making machine. Didn't even know that such a machine existed! And it works nice!
Also, for the first time I decided to take an omikuji (some sort of fortune paper). Yes, in all previous years I went to shrines but never participated in the rituals. My luck for 2010 according to it is "regular" (平). Reading it further, the general message was that I may get what I want if I put effort into it...
Obvious? Meaningless? Maybe, but I prefer to think of it as confirming my usual view about luck:
「俺の運命は俺が決める」, or "My destiny is up to me to decide."
Etc.,etc...
Yeah... new year... Makes me think of all the new years I've spent. In Brazil, my routine used to be have dinner with family and watch the countdown at a relative's house or at home with my family. In Japan, every year was celebrated in a different way.
In 2005~06 I spent the reveillon with relatives in Japan and after took some pictures at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto before returning to Himeji.
In 2007~08 I went to a friend's house to eat some nabe with a couple of close friends and we went to Manpukuji just a little after midnight. Even though we could stroll around and see the new year illumination, the temple closed shortly after we entered. During the first days of the year, I took some pictures at Daikakuji and Yasaka Jinja.
In 2008~09 I went with some friends to Osaka to watch the countdown at Umeda Sky Building followed by some clubbing. During the new year holidays I also met old friends from Himeji and went with them to Kiyomizudera.
What about this year?
With my thesis still pending, I couldn't do much. For the reveillon, I actually stayed home watching Kohaku Uta Gassen. For those who don't know, it is a traditional TV show for the night of December 31st in Japan. And this year it was the 60th edition of Kohaku.
It is basically a music show with appearance of many popular artists (not only singers. Comediants and others make small appearances during annoucements), some with special performances prepared for the occasion. But there's a "competition" between male singers (red team) and female singers (white team) performance. The competition aspect is actually left on the background during most of the show, though.
Another interesting aspect is that the artists invited for the event cover a wide variety of musical genres. From J-pop to enka, it is obviously a program aimed for people of all ages in a time that families are usually together. (Many Japanese return to their hometowns during new year vacations.) And there are also some "traditions" in Kouhaku as well that are interesting to watch. For me, the highlights were:
- Susan Boyle: Yes, NHK managed to bring what was probably one of the most popular names in entretainment in 2009. Her debut in the TV show Britain's Got Talent became one of the most viewed videos on the internet and spread like a virus. What made it so popular? I can only speculate, but it might have been the fact that even though one wouldn't expect much of Susan by her looks, she has an impressive voice that astonished everyone on stage. Why her? I was also asking myself the same question, but after hearing that the 2009 motto for Kohaku is the "power of music" (歌の力), nothing more appropriate than bringing someone whose life was completely changed thanks to a music performance. Her performance was great, but I felt that when she went on stage, with no other than Takuya Kimura, she wanted to be funny (like in her debut video comment to Simon) but couldn't make it.
- Michael Jackson Medley: In one of the special performances of the year, SMAP members did a homage to the "king of pop" with a medley of Michael Jackson's most popular songs. "Billie Jean", "Thriller", "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" were musts; and including Jacksons 5 "ABC" was a nice addition. Last, of course, there was "Heal the World" with all the artists on stage. SMAP did a relatively good performance (including moonwalk and other of Michael's trademarks), although it still paled if compared to the original. SMAP are very popular in Japan, but it seems there was another reason why they were chosen to perform this number: they also have a TV show called SMAP X SMAP and Michael made a special appearance there once. Go YouTube it if you are curious enough.
- Kobayashi Sachiko costume: one of the "Kohaku traditions" is that Kobayashi Sachiko, a popular enka singer, will show up with an extravagant but beautiful costume when it's her turn to perform. This year was no different, and having a giant torso of herself holding her on the "statue"'s hands was a nice idea.
- Angela Aki's song: Angela Aki is one singer in Japan that, although I am not very familiar with her discography, I am often pleased with those I hear. Probably most people will know her by "Kiss me Good-bye", that is also Final Fantasy XII theme song, but in Kohaku she sang "Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~". That song was composed for the 75th NHK National School Music Contest in 2008 and has a nice message. Considering that 2009 was the year that more children commited suicide in Japan, this song comes in a good time.
- Saburo Kitajima's "Matsuri": well, this one is another tradition. "Matsuri" has been the last song of Kohaku for quite some time. And it quite appropriate to be so.
- Ayaka's last performance before "break": that one got me by surprise. I didn't know that Ayaka annouced that she was diagnosed with Graves' disease and that would put her career on hold after 2009. As she was invited to Kohaku, it became her last performance. Although it wasn't that long before her debut, I am familiar with some of her songs, many of which I like a lot; for example "Mikazuki", "I Believe", "Anata to" (with Kobukuro) and "Okaeri". "Why" is another song that more people outside Japan may know since it's the Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core theme song.
Well, to avoid saying that staying in front of TV was everything I did for new year, as it's tradition since I came to Kyoto, we had a dinner with my host family and other "foster international students". Good opportunity to eat like there's no tomorrow and enjoy a more family-like atmosphere. This year someone brought a mochi-making machine. Didn't even know that such a machine existed! And it works nice!
Also, for the first time I decided to take an omikuji (some sort of fortune paper). Yes, in all previous years I went to shrines but never participated in the rituals. My luck for 2010 according to it is "regular" (平). Reading it further, the general message was that I may get what I want if I put effort into it...
Obvious? Meaningless? Maybe, but I prefer to think of it as confirming my usual view about luck:
「俺の運命は俺が決める」, or "My destiny is up to me to decide."
