Author: Kanariya Eishi

English Rakugo performer and actor based in NZ. A full-time rebel with common sense. A lover of art, books, comedy, Japanese culture/ language, music, peace, positivity, theatre, and trivia. Idealistic, but ain't no saint. 鹿鳴家英志（本名：中辻拓志）。ニュージーランドを拠点とする役者・英語落語パフォーマー。アメリカへの演劇留学をきっかけに、気付くと海外滞在20年。現在ニュージーランドに永住中。アメリカの4大卒業後は日本で英会話講師を経験、その後ニュージーランドの高校教師資格を取得する。ニュージーランドでは英語にてスタンダップコメディーを行い、2005年ニュージーランド国際コメディーフェスティバルの新人大会にて全国優勝を果たす。その後、テレビドラマ、CM等に出演、テレビのレポーターも勤める。

“Hairdresser’s Husband”: The Most Independent Women of Edo!

On By Kanariya EishiIn Japanese Culture, Japanese HistoryLeave a comment
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Hairdressing_in_Japan%2C_1905.jpg/727px-Hairdressing_in_Japan%2C_1905.jpg

Hi all, Eishi here! Hope you are doing well!

I have decided to write a blog article everyday at least until the end of the lockdown, so here is another one!!!

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the society was very male-dominant in Japan, and nearly all women were completely dependent on their husbands.

However, there was definitely one option that enabled women to make a full-time living without relying on their… ahem… lousy husbands. It was the art of hairdressing or kamiyui (かみゆい 髪結).

They of course cut their clients’ hair, but styling was a big part of their job as people of Edo often had rather complex hairstyles 🙂

Their top clients were courtesans at red light districts, and they also visited individual homes to provide their hairdressing services.

Because of the complicated hairdos people had, hairdressers were in high demand, so women in this profession made a good living.

Because of this, the expression “hairdresser’s husband” (かみゆいのていしゅ 髪結の亭主) was born. As you can guess, it meant a man who was financially dependent on his wife/ partner.

In my opinion, female hairdressers were the feminist heroes of Edo!

Actually… Himiko, the first leader of Japan was a woman, but let’s save this topic for another post.

Have a fantastic day, everybody!!!

A Samurai Who Migrated to Thailand 400 Years Ago

On By Kanariya EishiIn Japanese HistoryLeave a comment
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/YamadaNagamasa.jpg

Hi Eishi here! How’s your day going?

After posting an article called “The Origin of ‘Kiseru’/ Japanese Pipe”, my rakugo club friend asked me how in the world it was possible for Japanese to trade with Laotians during the Edo period.

Japan began trading with Portugal in 1543, which was before the Edo period started, and Portugal had already had a strong foothold in South East Asia. So my initial guess was that it could’ve been through the Portuguese.

I don’t know if my assumption was right, but it was a possibility. Japan also traded with China, so it could’ve been through them as well.

Then, I remembered that the Ayutthaya Japanese Village (アユタヤ日本人町) in the present day Thailand had already existed. In fact, Japanese started migrating to Thailand as early as the mid-14th century!!! So it could’ve been through them 🙂

It is said that 1,000-1,500 Japanese lived in the tiny village (570m x 230m) during its heyday.

Now the leader of this village was a samurai warrior called Yamada Nagamasa (1590-1630). He was a great leader and well trusted by the Ayutthayan authorities, and he eventually became the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province !!!

I learned from a TV documentary that he was given a Thai name and completely treated as a local, so some people didn’t even know he was actually a Japanese!!!

  • Yamada Nagamasa’s Army
  • Yamada Nagamasa’s Battleship

[Eishi’s Japanese Trivia 1] The Origin of “Kiseru”/ Japanese Pipe

On By Kanariya EishiIn Japanese Culture2 Comments

Hi all, Eishi here!!! Hope you are having a fantastic day!!!

This morning I was doing a little research for my rakugo and encountered a very interesting trivia so decided to share it here 🙂

Have you ever seen traditional Japanese pipes before?

They look like the one in the photo above, and they are called “kiseru” (キセル). They were already in use in Japan in early 17th century.

It is usually spelled in the katakana writing system, which suggests that it is a foreign word, but I’d never thought it actually was… until today!!!

As it can also be written in kanji or Chinese characters (“煙管”: 煙=smoke; 管=pipe, tube), I had never doubted that it was a uniquely Japanese word.

I was completely wrong!!!

First of all, a Japanese pipe can be broken down into 3 different parts.

The metal tip where you put shredded tobacco is called “gankubi” (がんくび　雁首), which literally means “goose neck”. (* Technically, the very tip of gankubi where tobacco is put is called hizara or “fire dish”.)

The middle part, which is usually made of bamboo, is called “rao” or “rau” (らう　羅宇).

The metal mouth piece is called “suikuchi” (すいくち　吸い口).

Now, the words gankubi and suikuchi make sense as Japanese, but rao doesn’t.

Rao is actually from “Raosu” (Laos) as bamboo for Japanese pipes were often sourced from Laos.

So…

I have learned that the word kiseru itself is from the Laotian language!

We learn something new everyday!

Pinky Promise- Japanese Style!

On By Kanariya EishiIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hi all, Eishi here! Hope you are doing well 🙂

As you might’ve noticed, my blog is very random.

It is a pure reflection of who I am as a scatterbrained Japanese comedian.

Yes, everything here is written from the perspective of an English Rakugo performer, but the topics may vary from rakugo and Japanese language/ culture to wellness, positive psychology, and philosophy.

Today’s post is about pinky promise/ swear.

The other day my son asked me to pinky-promise to take him to a certain fast food restaurant once this chaos is over.

Pinky promise is cute, but do you know how it is done in Japan?

The action of a pinky promise is the same (as in the photo above), but we say the following phrase as well.

ゆびきりげんまん、うそついたらはりせんぼんのます。ゆびきった！

指切りげんまん嘘ついたら針千本飲ます。指切った！

This roughly translates as…

Pinky promise, if you tell a lie, I will cut your finger, hit you with the fist 10,000 times, and make you swallow 1,000 needles…

Kids often don’t know the whole meaning of this phrase, but this is what it actual means…

So, ladies and gentlemen, if you are pinky-promising with a Japanese kid, think twice.

Deliver what you promise, or else…

Another Poem of Hope

On By Kanariya EishiIn LifeLeave a comment

Good morning, everybody! Hope you are having a fantastic day regardless of the temporary challenge we are facing TOGETHER right now!

My friend just forwarded me the following poem written by a priest in Ireland.

I found it beautiful and uplifting, so I wanted to share it with you.

Let’s not forget to sing the song of life!

Lockdown

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing

Brother Richard

Introducing CliniClowns Japan!

On By Kanariya EishiIn LifeLeave a comment

Hi all, Eishi here! Hope you are doing well, wherever you are on this beautiful planet!

I will be updating this blog regularly from now on as I have a lot of time in my hands at the moment 🙂

Today I’d like to share about CliniClowns Japan.

They are a group of clowns who visit sick children and sometimes adults, often with terminal illnesses, to bring humour and smile to the otherwise stifling environments they are in.

If you have watched the movie “Patch Adams”, you know what they do (though the real Patch is actually a doctor as well).

They are also called “caring clowns”, “clown doctors”, etc. depending on which part of the world you are from.

As some of you may know, I was initially trained as a clown myself. My initial goal was to become a clown doctor.

However, caring clowning was not yet recognised in 2003 when I completed my training in Japan. Then, I moved to New Zealand, and this dream was completely forgotten. (But I have realised that whatever I do I am a clown anyway- once a clown, always a clown 🙂 )

I recently learned that my closest friend from the clowning school became a clown doctor. He’s been traveling all over the world with a simple aim of cheering people up. Truly a beautiful human being.

Anyway, he is a part of “CliniClown Japan”, and they have just started a YouTube channel. Please follow them to increase their visibility! It is the people like them who need to be recognised in this world in the process of healing!