the hare of inaba

We find ourselves introduced to a foundational folktale thanks to the stunning illustration by Kureha Rokuro commissioned for a 1943 publication, The Gods of Japan—Nihon no Kamisama, 日本の神さま.
The titular hare of the ancient account, a tale in the origin saga of Japan, who tricks snarks—by appealing to their vanity—to line up for roll-call while the hare bounds over them (counting off as he goes, the sharks sure that the membership of their clan outnumbered that of the population of confined hares) as a bridge to get from the isolated island of Oki to the Hakuto coast, home of present day Tottori. The hare boasts that he has deceived the dumb sharks as he nears the end (possibly the entire rabbit tribe had used this bridge to evacuate the island) and the last shark lashes out at him and rips off his pelt. Bereft of his fur and quite uncomfortable, the hare entreats a passing column of eighty brothers on a courtship embassy to compete for the affections of the Princess of Inaba. To a man, they either had no time for the hapless creature or dismissed it with bad advice. One brother, the lowliest of them all and with the most meagre prospects, took the time however to care for the hare and prepared and applied a poultice that soothed his raw skin and restore his fur. In gratitude, the hare reveals his true nature as a god and promises to elevate the youth who helped him with his kindness and ensured that he would be the one to wed the princess.

floh und trödel

Caught spelunking in the archives of Present /&/ Correct, Things magazine directs our attention to the highlights of four years of visually alluring used books spotted at markets but not necessarily adopted and given a new home. Though I can never quite work up the courage to ask to take just a picture of books, pottery, naïve art or postcards (or sneak one without asking), the dilemma of space and the grief I’ll get when I pretend that it just followed me home is something that I can definitely relate to.

shoryuken!

With the Trump regime already shrinking the size of National Parks in the United States and selling off public lands plus having installed an interior secretary seemingly antithetical and outright hostile to the notion of preserving the country’s natural and historical heritage, a concerned congresswoman inquired about the future funding for the preservation of the camps where US citizens of Japanese heritage (including her own grandfather) were interned after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Flippantly, the secretary thought it an appropriate opportunity to demonstrate his limited Japanese language skills on the congresswoman and replied, “O konnichiwa.” The congresswoman kept her composure in this rather awkward and insulting moment with the gentle correction, stating that it was still “ohayo gozaimasu but that’s OK”—noting it was still morning time and not yet appropriate to use the secretary’s greeting for good afternoon. Though the secretary later conceded that the sites were an important part of the country’s history and the budget cuts were probably an administrative oversight, it is still unclear if any resolution came from this meeting. Another useful phrase that the secretary might want to add to his vocabulary is moushiwake arimasen deshita, I was crude and am profoundly sorry.

media interference

Back for its fourth season, the US National Public Radio podcast Invisibilia (previously) recently released a provocative episode made to make one resort to uncomfortable questions of moral equivalency and whataboutism with the story of the United Nations attempt to undermine the hegemony of an extremist organisation with pageantry, or in other words—to shape reality through reality television.
Somalia, the UN attempted to restore a degree of normalcy with a broadcast talent-show that embodied all the hallmarks of engagement with the liberal democratic process—to include judging on merit, respect for established and agreed-upon parameters and the exercise of free and secret balloting. Relying on an extensive body of research from sociologists who recognised the persuasive value of not only rhetoric but also of the poetic—since our cognition is attuned to storytelling, found that messaging, given the right platform, while it fails to change fundamental beliefs and core values can and does cause a paradigm shift in terms of accepted norms. All of a sudden, it becomes socially acceptable that one’s neighbours might be hauled away as infidels just as elsewhere regressive and racist points of view become again accepted and maybe those outliers are courting retribution down the line. Hosting a Western-style television reality competition maybe did not eliminate extremism in the region, just as the effect of Russian meddling is difficult to gauge for the political landscape of the United States and others, both are examples of social engineering and surely the sewing of discord is in the eye of the opposition. The story of this covert commission is nonetheless an inspiring and transformative one to hear.

offline

Via Slashdot, we learn that to mark the island’s New Year (Isakawarsa) observance on this Saturday, the government of Bali will suspend internet services so Hindu residents may honour Nyepi, the Day of Silence, a time reserved for quiet reflection, meditation and fasting. The date is determined on the Balinese Saka calendar by the day that falls after the new Moon in the month corresponding with March in Western traditions. The streets are virtually deserted for the day and the island’s airport is closed as well—with exceptions only granted for emergencies.

an overwhelmingly american phenomenon

Earlier this week, activists arranged over seven thousand pairs of empty shoes on the lawn of the US Capitol to memorialise the estimated number of children killed in school shootings since the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre and to call out the government for its inaction when it comes to gun control just ahead of the mass-walkout that many, many brave students organised to mark a month since the last tragedy and signal their unwillingness to perpetuate this cycle of violence and hand-wringing. This powerful and direct statement makes the stakes very concrete and not seem abstract at all, no matter one’s distance from such brutality and echoes other times artists and protesters, as Hyperallergic explores, have harnessed the sociological currency that clothes and apparel disembodied or otherwise out of place can impel people to listen and attend and allows people to consider matters otherwise to horrific to contemplate.