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昭和 [shouwa] : The Showa Era When a society is filled with a suppressed atmosphere, we tend to look back to the good old days with nostalgia. Over the past few years, the Showa Era, especially the 30s (1955-1964) has been given a lot of attention. The Showa Era was 64 years of historic turmoil during which Japan went through war, defeat, occupation, restoration, and became the second largest economy. It was during the 30s of this period that people began to enjoy a comfortable life with TV, cars, refrigerators, etc. The Shinkansen debuted, and the first Olympic games in Asia were held in Tokyo. Air travel became open to public. People had high hopes for a brighter future.

By Minako Sato

Brrrrr. That was a cold February today the high is 3 degrees Celsius. One good thing about the lasting cold weather is the delayed onslaught of the hay fever season. Usually by the end of January we start to feel the pollen, but this year, even in mid-February the pollen count is low. Yay! However, we hope that March will be a little milder. This issue of features

s why Enoshima holds an annual event called Valentine

Dragon, one main figure in the story is a dragon. In the Bulletin Board we call your attention to two events, a ceramics exhibition and a Zazen session in English. TSP is always happy to help publicize your activities, whether volunteer or individual business ventures such as teaching. Please drop us a line at the hotmail address found on the back page. We would like to hear from you by about the 15th of the month

free-of-charge on a space-available basis. Let us know if we can try to help get your information out. The editorial year of The Shonan Post begins in May, so the staff is currently in discussions about the next editorial theme for our feature articles. As always, we have had very fruitful brainstorming sessions, and at this point have narrowed our focus to a particular theme. Now we have to figure out how to title the theme. We hope you enjoy the April issue, the last of

, and from May, our new theme. Terri Nii for The Shonan Post Crew

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A R E A E V E N TS

Music & Stage Chigasaki Civic Cultural Hall 茅ヶ崎市民文化会館 0467-85-1123 http://www.chigasaki-arts.jp/hall/ K aori Muraj i Guitar Recital 2012 Mar. 3 (Sat.) 18:00 Small Hall Bee Gees: How Deep Is Your Love;

Mahler: Symphony No.5 4th Movement Adagietto; Ryuichi Sakamoto: Prelude, etc. Adm: 5,500/4,500/3,500y Cyprien K atsaris Piano Recital Apr. 29 (Sun.) 15:00 Large Hall Haydn: Piano Sonata in C major Hob.XVI, 35; Mozart: Fantasia in C minor; Chopin: Nocturnes; Military

Polonaise, etc Adm: 5,500/4,000y 2,000y for students Kamakura Performing A rts Center 鎌倉芸術館 0467-48-4500 http://kamakura-arts.jp/index.html Daishin K ashimoto & Konstantin L ifschitz Duo Recital Mar. 10 (Sat.) 15:00 Large Hall Beethoven: Violin Sonatas No. 2 in A major; No. 6 in A major; No. 7 in C minor; No. 8 in G major Adm: 6,000/5,000/4,000y Musical Picture-Book: Cool B rass Mar. 26 (Mon.) 14:00 Large Hall Turkish March; My Neighbor Totoro Medley; Mambo No.5, etc. Adm: 2,000y, 1,500y for junior/senior high school students, 1,000y for elementary school students and under A kiko Suwanai Violin Recital Apr. 30 (Mon.) 15:00 Large Hall Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor; Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 Spring; Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, etc. Adm: 7,000/6,000/5,000y Yokosuka Arts Theatre 横須賀芸術劇場 046-823-9999 http://www.yokosuka-arts.or.jp/en/e_index.html Paul Badura-Skoda Piano Recital Mar. 3 (Sat.) 15:00 Large Hall Bach: Partita No. 1 in B flat major; Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, etc. Adm: 4,000/3,000y

Japan Str ings Quartet Masterpieces Mar. 25 (Sun.) 15:00 Small Hall Mozart: String Quartets No. 3 in G major; Borodin: String Quartet No. 2, etc. Adm: 3,000/2,500y Dési rée Rancatore Soprano Recital Apr. 21 (Sat.) 15:00 Large Hall Massenet: Good-bye, our little table from Manon; Saint-Saëns: The

nightingale and the rose; Gounod: Je

veux vivre from Roméo et Juliette, etc. Adm: 6,000/5,000/4000y Others H iratsuka Chuo Community Center R O B A Music Theatre: Garan-Pi-Poron Concert Mar. 24 (Sat.) 14:30 Large Hall Adm: 1,000y, 500y for junior high school students and under

Seasonal Events Taura Bairin-matsuri Ume (plum) Blossom Festival 田浦梅林祭り until Mar. 11 (Sun.) Taura Ume-no-sato 2,700 Ume and narcissi blossoms Inquiry: 046-861-4181 Miura International Marathon Mar. 4 (Sun.) 8:00 - 13:00 Miura Beach Variety of events, attractions, Miura products stalls, etc. Inquiry: 046-882-1120 http://miura-marathon.com/ Shonan Enoshima Spring F estival Mar. 1７ (Sat.) - 18 (Sun.) around Enoshima Flea market, Japanese drum performance, mini-live show, street performance, etc. Inquiry: Fujisawa City Tourist Association 0466-55-4141 Saigyo-sai 西行祭 Mar. 25 (Sun.) Shigitatsu-an 鴫立庵, Oiso Festival connected to the prominent Buddhist priest as well as tanka poet, Saigyo. Haiku and Tanka sessions (14:00), Koto performance, etc. Inquiry: Oiso Tourist Bureau 0463-61-4100

Museums Museum of Modern A rt, Hayama 神奈川県立近代美術館 葉山 Feb. 11 ‐ Mar. 25 9:30 ‐ 17:00 (Closed on Mon.) 2208-1 Isshiki, Hayama Painting: Murayama Tomoyoshi, Get All of Me Seething Adm.: 1000y; students 850y; high school students 100y; junior high students and under free Inquiry: 0468-75-2800 Details: www.moma.pref.kanagawa.jp/ K aburaki K iyokata M emorial A rt Museum 鏑木清方記念美術館 Mar. 15 ‐ Apr. 15 9:00 ‐ 17:00 (Closed on Mon.) 1-5-25 Yukinoshita, Kamakura Japanese-style painting by Kaburaki Kiyokata Adm.: 200y; Elementary and junior high school students 100y Inquiry: 0467-23-6405 Details: kamakura-arts.or.jp/kaburaki/

Tours

Volunteer Guided Tours The tours below are in Japanese. For an

English-speaking guide, please contact the organization at least one week in

advance.

Tour A Mar. 30 (Fri.), 31 (Sat), Apr. 4 (Wed.) and 5 (Thu.) 10:00-14:30

Walking from Dankatsura to Highland to enjoy cherry blossoms

Tour B Mar. 26 (Sat.), 28 (Mon.), Apr. 1 (Fri.) and 5 (Tue.) 10:00-14:00

Visiting temples to explore the history and nature in west Kamakukra Fee: 500y (excl. admission and transportation fees) Registration deadline is a week prior to the tour date. Inquiry: NPO Kamakura Guide Association. (formerly Kamakura Silver Volunteer Guides) Tel: 0467-24-6548 http://www.kcn-net.org/guide/index.htm

Information current when

going to print. Please call in

advance to confirm details.

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Feature Story

!"#$%&'()江ノ島

by Hiromi Kubota !

dragon s mouth hill, which is the present Katase-yama 片瀬山, and the place where the mouth of dragon lay became Tatsu-no-kuch 龍の口. Ryukoumyo-jinja Shrine 竜口明神社, was erected nearby to console its soul. Though the shrine was moved to Nishi-kamakura, the original place where the body part was placed together with Enoshima-jinja Shrine are worshiped as couple s shrines now, and the grand memorial festival is held every 60 years (next 2060), and the annual festival is held in early October.

The scen

That story seems like a fantasy; however, it contains many geographical elements. The dragon, for example, is thought to be a metaphor for the violent local river that had been causing floods. Its five heads were probably four of the river's tributaries plus the mouth of the river. The descent of the goddess may have been combined with the inspiration from natural phenomena to make Enoshima more mysterious and attractive.

As regards the origin of the name, it is said there are two possible sources. One is from the beautiful shape that looks like a picture. Actually, it was once called Eshima 絵島, picture island. Another is from the geographical features having lots of e 江 or irie 入江, inlets and encroached coastlines, among which caves called iwaya 岩谷 have long been religious places and now have become sightseeing spots.

There is no surprise that the mysterious legend, profound history together with scenic beauty and cultural spots make Enoshima a Wonderland in Shonan that keeps attracting many visitors all through the year.

Enoshima is a small island at the mouth of the Katase-gawa River. It is at the center of the Shonan coast looking out toward Mt. Fuji in the far distance and one of the most popular sightseeing spots. It was the venue for the yacht race for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and has been popular as a mecca of marine sports. It enshrines Benzaiten 弁財天 , the goddess of music and entertainment in Enoshima-jinja Shrine, so it has also been attracting many pilgrims since long ago. To learn about the origin of Enoshima, Enoshima Engi 江 ノ 島縁 起 , the illustrated handscroll written by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kokei 皇慶 in 1047 A.D. tells an interesting story.

A very long time ago, the villagers near Enoshima were terribly plagued by a destructive, merciless, five-headed dragon that lived in a nearby lake. On April 12, 552 A.D., a great earthquake occurred and it continued to shake the ground for 10 days. When it stopped, suddenly a small island (present Enoshima) arose from the bottom of the sea. The goddess Benzaiten descended onto the island. She was so beautiful that the dragon instantly fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. However, she rejected the dragon's proposal and made it understand that it had been doing wrong to plague the villagers. Ashamed, the dragon firmly promised to stop its wrongdoing and made efforts for the villagers from then on. Finally, Benzaitan accepted the marriage proposal and the two together did their best for the happiness of all. As time went by, the dragon became old and infirm. Feeling its life departing, the dragon promised that it would die to become a mountain to protect the villagers forever and devotedly laid itself with its head in the direction of Enoshima, where Benzaiten lived. Since then, people called the mountain Tatsuno-kuchi-yama 龍 の 口 山 ,

Markets Antique Mar kets Hoshu-no-ichi 宝珠の市 Hoshu-ji Temple, Fujisawa Mar. 3 (Sat.) Inquiry: 0466-34-0819 Yugyo-ji Temple, Fujisawa 遊行寺 Mar. 4 (Sun.) and 24 (Sat.) Inquiry: 090-4544-7063 Ryuko-ji Temple, Fujisawa 龍口寺 Mar. 18 (Sun.) from sunrise to evening Inquiry: 0466-25-7222 F ish Mar kets Katase Harbor, Enoshima Mar. 4 (Sun.) 9:00 http://business4.plala.or.jp/ek1qaz/ schedule.html Koshigoe Harbor, Kamakura Mar. 15 (Thu.) 10:00 Oiso Harbor, Oiso Mar. 18 (Sun.) 9:00 - 14:00 General Markets & Bazaars Hayama Market Hayama Harbor, next to Hayama Marina 葉山漁港 Every Sun. 9:00 11:00 Cancelled in case of bad weather Inquiry: 046-875-0315 Zushi Road Oasis Zushi Beach, Road Oasis Mar. 10 and 24 (Sat.) 10:00 14:00 Inquiry: 046-871-1145 Zushi Marche Kamegaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine, Zushi Mar. 11 (Sun.) 9:00 15:00 http://ichiba.geocities.jp/kaminoichi/ F ureai Shop ふれあいショップ Rapport bazaar by people with disabilities living in Kamakura Mar. 1 (Thu.), 6 (Tue.), 8 (Thu.) and 13 (Tue.), 15 and 22 (Thu.) Kamakura City Hall 1F Mar. 1, 8 and 22 (Thu) Shogai-gakushu Center 0467-22-6886 (Miyauchi)

!

Doll Festival Hina Matsuri 雛祭り By Machiko Sakamoto

On March 3, families celebrate the Doll Festival by displaying Hina Dolls (Hina Ningyo 雛人形) in costumes from the Heian Era (794-1183) to wish for their daughters health and happiness.

This festival originated from the Chinese custom of purifying oneself in water and holding a banquet to ward off evil. This custom came to Japan in the 7th century and became a seasonal festival combined with the Shinto ritual of floating paper dolls (Hitogata 人形), which contained people’s evil spirits, down rivers. As playing with paper dolls (Hina 雛) was also popular among young girls in the Heian Era, this led to more sophisticated Hina Dolls and the Doll Festival in the Edo Era (1603-1868) and March 3 followed by three court ladies, five court musicians, escorts, and guards. In the Showa Era (1926-1989), the positions of the

The Shonan Post is a community paper brought to you by a volunteer staff. We meet and print at the Kamakura NPO Center and Fujisawa Shimin Katsudo Suishin Center. Article submissions and Bulletin Board items are run on a space-available basis and are due by the 15th for inclusion in the following month s issue. Subscriptions, accompanied by ￥1,200 in stamps (15 x ￥80), are welcome. Bulletin board items, news coverage requests, and general inquiries are accepted via e-mail: theshonanpost@hotmail.com or by post: KNT, PO Box 51, Fujisawa Post Office, Fujisawa 〒251-8799. Please allow at least two weeks for a response. The Shonan Post C rew members are A. Harrington, J. Hendricks, Y. Hirakawa, K. Ichimura, S. Kagaya, M. Kimura, N. Kobayashi, H. Kubota, M. Kojima, T. Nii, J. Saito, M. Sakamoto, M. Sato, S. Suzuki, Y. Terai, and F. Usami. Logo design by C. Ito. TSP ports of call include Cinema Amigo, Tina s Grooming, Shimamori, Kamakura Tourist Information Desk, Parasol Village Kataseyama, Fujisawa City Tourist Center, Enoden Fujisawa, Enoshima, and Hase Stn., JR Kamakura, YMCA, Kamakura City Hall, Chaya, Piny s, Union, Suzukiya, Fujisawa City Hall, Shonan Grand Hotel, La Chanson, Shonandai Library, Shonandai Culture Center, and area kominkan community centers. See The Shonan Post on the web: http://issuu.com/shonanwife/. The May 2011 April 2012 editorial theme is !"#$%&'(&#&)"*(#(&+#,-.

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Emperor and Empress were reversed to reflect the Western style.

Hina Dolls are exhibited at the Kamakura Museum of National Treasures 鎌倉国宝館 between Feb. 17 (Fri.) and Apr. 1 (Sun.) and at the Kitakamakura Old Private House Museum 北鎌倉古民家ミュージアム between Feb. 4 (Sat.) and Apr. 8 (Sun.).

The Doll Festival is especially significant this year after the earthquake and tsunami of last March.

Bulletin Board Zazen for Everybody: mental training in the traditional manner of Rinzai-Zen. Communication in English and private interview with Zen Master available. 5,000 yen for three days, March 9-11. Mokuso-no-Ie, Kamakura. Contact: Mr. Kobayashi 080-5299-8511. Swanica L

Ginnosuzu Gallery in Kamakura March 29 to April 3, 10am-5pm. Ginnosuzu Gallery is 15 minutes walk from Kamakura Station. 0467-61-1930, www.ginsuzu.com. More information about Ligtenberg and her ceramics at www.swanceramics.com

Movies Location

Title

Yokosu*1 Tsuj ido*2 Chigasa*3 H iratsu*4

Hugo 3/1~ 3/1~(2D/3D) 3/1~(3D/2D) War Horse 3/2~ 3/2~ 3/2~ 3/2~ Doraemon to Kiseki no Shima

3/3~ 3/3~ 3/3~ 3/3~

Liar Game (JP) 3/3~ 3/3~ 3/3~ 3/3~ Okaeri Hayabusa (JP) 3/10~ 3/10~ 3/10(2D/3D) 3/10~(3D/2D) Sherlock Holms 3/10~ 3/10~ 3/10~ 3/10~ The Iron lady 3/16~ 3/17~ 3/16~ Star Wars Episode 1 3/16~(3D) 3/16~(3D) 3/16~ Puss in Boots 3/17~ 3/17~IMAX

/3D 3/17~ 3/17~

Bokura ga ita (JP) 3/17~ 3/17~ 3/17~ 3/17~ Precure All Stars New Stage

3/17~ 3/17~

Kobito Gekijyo (JP) 3/24~ Bokutachi Kyuko (JP) 3/24~ 3/24~ Ouran Koukou (JP) 3/17~ Ultraman Saga 3/24~ 3/24~ The Help 3/31~ My Week with Marilyn 3/24~ Drive 3/31~ *1 Yokosuka H umax Cinemas 8 046-820-0200 www.humax-cinema.co.jp *2 109 C IN E M AS Shonan 0466-34-0109 www.109cinemas.net *3 Warner Mycal C inemas Chigasaki 0467-57-1000 www.warnermycal.com/chigasaki *4 C ineplex H iratsuka 0463-25-2500 www.kadokawa-cineplex.co.jp/hiratsuka

K amakura Performing A rts Center 鎌倉芸術館 0467-48-4500 Goethe 3/6 11:00, 14:00 My Best Enemy 3/19 11:00, 14:00 Take a copy of The Shonan Post to the box office for a special price of 1000 yen. (courtesy of Ms. Tanabe)

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