Hanashi Station

Matsuri in Matsudai

Administrator — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 01:30:04 +0000

Matsuri in Matsudai (10′15″ 9.4 MB MP3)
Every year on August 26th, the village of Matsudai in Niigata prefecture holds its summer festival. This year I was was in town to see some of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial and I stayed over to enjoy the festival. I recorded some of the singing and dancing fun to share with you.

Credits
Singing by the townspeople of Matsudai; background music from the Kinseees! performance soundtrack.

Contemporary Art Festival in Niigata

MJD-S — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:17:56 +0000

Art Triennial (13′01″ 11.9 MB MP3)

The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, one of the world’s major contemporary art events, is in full swing this month in Niigata Prefecture. In this podcast, you’ll meet Emi Suzuki, a Japanese artist walking 80 km for her art; Andrea Kliest, public art program manager visiting from Melbourne, Australia; and Hanako Murakami, leader of the Fibonatti Kingyo art support team.

Links & Resources:

Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial Japanese - English

Hotta Rakashi Memorial Museum

Travel information: To get to Matsudai from Tokyo, take the Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa station. Transfer to the Joestu line heading towards Naoetsu. At Rokamachi, transfer to the Hoku-Hoku line (some trains are straight through, no transfer required). Get off at Matsudai Station. The trip takes about 2 1/2 hours and costs about 7500 yen.

Credits

Piano music by Ehren Starks, magnatune.com

Hanashi Station - Relaunch August 1

MJD-S — Sun, 21 May 2006 06:20:42 +0000

We learned quite a lot during our first experiment last year, so we’ve decided to have another run at it.

We will be relaunching on August 1, 2006.

We are also keen to welcome new presenters/producers. If you are interested in producing a program please mail us at www@hanashi-station.net, with your program idea.

Program content
Programs must be related to Japan, but pretty much any format goes: talk, interviews, readings, environmental sounds, field reportage, news, rights-cleared music. Programs may be presented in English or Japanese.

Program types
Series: monthly or bi-monthly programs based on a theme (for example Japanese Kitchen)
Specials: one off programs on a particular theme or topic.

All programs are 10-15 minutes in duration (after editing). For more in depth details see How to Create Your Podcast.

Further news to come!

Comments closed

MJD-S — Sun, 21 May 2006 05:41:40 +0000

Comment spam is out of control! So all comments have been closed on all older entries for now.

Japanese Kitchen

Administrator — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 15:01:14 +0000

Japanese Kitchen (12.1 MB MP3)

In this program, you’ll learn about miso soup, including how to make dashi, the simple sea stock that is the base of miso soup, and all the two classes of ingredients you should include in your soup.

RECIPES

Dashi (sea stock) Broth
(1 serving)

150 ml water
1″ dried kombu
small handful katsuobushi (bonito) flakes

Put the kombu in the cold water and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle katsuobushi over the water. When the flakes sink, strain the material from the broth. Done!

Miso Soup
(1 serving)

150 ml dashi
splash of sake
1 Tblsp miso
80-100 grams of umami and scent ingredients (at least one of each - see lists below)

If you choose onion or leek for your soup, sautee briefly then splash in some sake. Pour in the dashi and bring to a simmer. Add any ingedients that need to be cooked (carrot, diakon, etc) and simmer for about 10 minutes. If you are using tofu, add it to warm. Turn off the heat and stir in the miso. Lay any leafy scent ingredients in the bottom of your bowl and pour the soup over.

Scent ingredients - choose one or more
mitsuba, crysanthemum leaves, celery leaves, leek, scallion, fresh ginger, celery, onion, mushrooms

Umami ingredients - choose one or more
carrot, daikon, tofu, abura-age, cabbage, chinese cabbage, gobo (burdock root), wakame, celery, onion, mushrooms

Credits
Conveyor Belt Sushi theme music by Haco.

Derailed

Administrator — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 07:53:31 +0000

Was is a penny on the tracks? The conductor asleep on the job? A broken switch? We’re not sure of the cause, but it seems Hanashi Station derailed in the autumn. Hope you haven’t been waiting on the platform all this time…

But we’re back on track with a show scheduled for December 30 - the Miso Soup edition of Japanese Kitchen–and hopes for more episodes of Brain Dump in the new year.

If you’re interested in doing a show with a connection to Japan, drop a line and let us know. We’d be thrilled to hear you on Hanashi Station.

Graveside Chats: Kate Wildman Nakai on Zoshigaya Cemetery

Administrator — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 04:53:32 +0000

Moss and ivy covered tomb at Zoshigaya cemetery, Toshima-ku, Tokyo

Graveside Chats: Kate Wildman Nakai on Zoshigaya Cemetery (13.4 MB MP3)

Kate Wildman Nakai tells Jonathan Wilder about some of the graves in Zoshigaya cemetery. They make brief stops at the graves of the famous, like Lafcadio Hearn and Tojo, and the not so famous graves that are under threat of removal.

Links

Listing of Foreigner’s graves at Zoshigaya cemetery. (PDF)
Monumenta Nipponica Homepage
Foreign Legacy Society (nascent NPO), formed in 2005 to preserve the foreign
section of Aoyama cemetery in Tokyo.

Tomb of William Wright

Example of an “eviction” notice put up in 2003 (taken down in 2004.)

Tomb of Alexander Hare, professor of English for forty years.

Production – Many thanks to Kristen McQuillin for the loan of her recording equipment and MJ Daniels-Sueyasu for putting all the bits together.

Podcast produced by MJD-S.

Japanese Kitchen

Administrator — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 15:01:59 +0000

Japanese Kitchen (12.1 MB MP3)

In this program, you’ll learn about tsukemono, Japanese pickles, and pickling techniques from food culture expert, Elizabeth Andoh. Kristen McQuillin invites you to her kitchen to try a simple pickle recipe. And we hear a little bit about Washoku theory and Elizabeth Andoh’s forthcoming book.

Recipe
Impatient Pickles

1 Japanese or English cucumber
1 carrot
1/6 wedge green cabbage
1/2 tsp salt
2 1×3 cm strips kombu (dried)

Slice the vegetables thinly–the thickness of a 1 yen coin (American dime) or thinner. Mix with the salt and allow to sit until the vegetables begin to wilt and weep. Press them gently between your hands, taking care not to bruise them. Increase the pressure until liquid drips from them. Discard the liquid.

On a plate, lay a strip of kombu. Spread the vegetables in an even layer over the plate. Top with another strip of kombu and the second plate. Weigh the plate down with a can of tomatoes or soup. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes.

Rinse the brine from the pickles in cool water and gently squeeze dry. Serve with rice and miso soup for a simple Japanese meal, or use them in a Western-style salad.

Links & Resources
Taste of Culture, a Japanese cooking school in Tokyo
Washoku, Recipes from the Japanese Kitchen by Elizabeth Andoh
The Well-Flavoured Vegetable by Eri Yamaguchi

Credits
Conveyor Belt Sushi theme music by Haco.

Graveside Chats - Rescheduled

Administrator — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 03:06:51 +0000

Graveside Chats has been resheduled to Friday September 16.

Kate Wildman Nakai tells Jonathan Wilder about the graves of the not so famous which are under threat of removal with brief stops at Lafcadio Hearn’s and the infamous Tojo in Zoshigaya cemetery.

Remember to tune in!