I love the new ping pong set-up at Bryant Park. The design is so Japanese (to me). Compare and contrast with these Japanese Zen gardens. I am totally entering their Wednesday night tournaments this year.

We just enjoyed free tacos @DomoTaco @Diesel pop-up in Williamsburg. They had veggie! The slaw was Japanese-esque. Beans, avocado, tomato, and very saucy. He was like dōzo and I was like dōmo (arigato). Well that was an unexpected treat!

These videos are random. Why am I posting them? I stumbled upon this article on CNN today, Ten Japanese Fashion Flops. Number 5, "Glamour Nails" led me to research the bizarre concept of Japanese gyaru (translation: gal) fashion. Please read this article, but comment in particular on numbers 3 & 4. I am fascinated. I want to learn more and more and more.

In Ganguro fashion, a deep tan is combined with hair dyed in shades of orange to blonde, or a silver gray known as 'high bleached.' [...] The ganguro culture has evolved its own synchronized dances, called Para Para. Participants do predetermined moves at the same time, usually as accompaniment to J-pop music.

Hence my posting of these Para Para videos. This one below, is a television ad for a certain Japanese "pasta sauce" where the ingredients are cod roe, and not much more. I became obsessed with this Tarako ad a few years ago to the point of learning all the words in Japanese. I didn't realize the moves are Para Para too until today. Now all I have to do is get the Para Para moves down. Oh no, I feel a new obscure obsession coming on. How do they do those elbow swivel arms?

13" d x 3.5" h sushi hangiri, made of spruce with copper bands, $27.19

I can't even believe Amazon sells the key ingredient to my hand-rolled sushi party: the wood bowl used to cool the sushi rice while imparting delicious natural wood flavors. The sushi hangiri! Um, I sort of got rid of mine when we moved, believing something this large would not fit in our Brooklyn apartment. I was wrong, we had the space. But oh well. I can always buy it again on Amazon, and for a great price too.

Tada! Sushi Party!


My current rice and vinegar of choice. Easy-to-store packaging.


Smoked salmon is what we're calling the Nova we got from ACME
for this sushi party. Wholesale!


Preparing the J omelet in the J egg pan.

Well we didn't get a snow day, my husband and I, but we did have a delicious sushi party after work yesterday, just the two of us. It was totally worth it to lug the 4 pound bag of Japanese rice from Midtown to Brooklyn. I'd do it again. You see, I told you pics would surely follow.

J omelet, cukes, smoked salmon, seaweed sheets


And a little sake, why not.


Lettuce, wasabi, sesame grinder, prepared sushi rice, egg


Roll prep: rice, J omelet (mixed with soy sauce & cut into strips), cukes,
smoked salmon, Boston Lettuce all arranged diagonally on a 1/4 seaweed sheet


Then rolled up into a hand-held sushi trumpet. Dip and eat.
In Japanese, temaki zushi

mini rice paddles at-the-ready
it will be temaki zushi (roll-your-own)

Last night on the eve of Impending Blizzard #2 I thought it be cool if everyone who worked in the Garment District got a call from the CFDA tomorrow telling us it's a Snow Day. Is the president still Fern Mallis? Oh, it's Diane von Furstenberg. It was never Fern Mallis?

Well, I didn't get my call from Diane von Furstenberg this morning, so the sushi party for two will have to wait until after work. Pictures will surely follow.

Feast your eyes on the Lychee Lassi from Curry-Ya
[image via Serious Eats]

The word sappari in Japanese may have many meanings, including "completely; entirely" or "not in the least; not at all." For the purpose of this post, I mean it to mean "refreshing; light; clean." And so, I point you all to Curry-Ya, a Japanese-style (not Indian-style) curry restaurant on E 10th Street in the East Village for a totally sappari cold drink. A Lychee Lassi. Yes, lychee! I don't know about you, but this lassi has my name all over it. Particularly between the hours of 4pm and 7pm when it is half-price. I love a good Lassi Happy Hour, don't you?

The Lychee Lassi is normally $4. During Happy Hour, it is $2. Tell your friends!


Curry-Ya
214 E 10th Street (1st/2nd Avenues)
East Village
New York (map)
212.995.2877

This is what I would call an annoying gloss-over of meaning. The host got caught up in the fabulousness, and forgot about the content. Dear host, the word is kawaii (cute), not kowai (scary) as you said. Hahah. But whatevs.

Definitely some interesting imagery here. And I see Murakami made a Louis Vuitton logo into a 3-d mythical Japanese creature called a kappa. His work is so saturated with references. I love trying to decode it.

Miso ramen with tofu at Rai Rai Ken

The scene!

The noodles, revealed. Behold!

Nothing says, "I love you" like a hot bowl of miso ramen with tofu. And so we went (and at last I am posting the deliciousness) to Rai Rai Ken in the East Village on Valentine's Day. It was heavenly and lovely and romantic and delicious.

Rai Rai Ken has become our favorite ramen shop in the last six months, and the only one we frequent. After a few visits, I worked up the courage to speak with the chef and find out his story. He is from China, but had a ramen shop in Japan for 14 years, which is totally the best of both worlds when it comes to ramen. For those of you who haven't seen Tampopo or read Oishinbo, ramen in Japanese cuisine is a Chinese-style noodle re-imported into Japan, and too often badly made by Japanese, according to my reading. Chef Rai Rai Ken, however, makes the perfect East-meets-East bowl.

The name Rai Rai Ken, written in Chinese characters, translates roughly to "coming and coming to the counter." In other words, a bowl of well-made ramen equals a quick turn and lots of happy customers. The space is tiny and narrow. There are only about 20 stools (but I think I exaggerate) on 10th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. I have little recollection how we found this heavenly spot. I do remember we were in hot pursuit of a vegetarian broth, because typically ramen is served in a pork broth. And we found it. We get the miso ramen everytime. Hold the chicken -- substitute tofu instead. $9. Totally reasonable. And totally delicious.



Rai Rai Ken
214 E 10th Street (1st & 2nd Avenues)
East Village
New York, NY
212.477.7030
Open Mon-Thu,Sun 12pm-12am, Fri-Sat 12pm-2am

Just look at the side elevation: cabbage mounded up & topped with crispy garlic!
Yes, I lovingly love this bowl of ramen.


One of the assistants spooning out the broth.


The Master [R], with his two able assistants [L]

The key part of the menu.

This shot is a little overexposed, but I had to show you
how narrow it is. You hang up your coat on hooks behind you.
And if anyone wants to go past, you have to lean forward.

A strangely mesmerizing experience. Berryz Kobo (Berryz工房), or "Berryz Workshop."


I just entered a conveyor-belt sushi drawing (Yushi on 47th and Lex) on Midtown Lunch. I wrote a very heartfelt entry (scroll to the bottom). I hope I win!!!! Anyway, I found Berryz Kobo in the process.


***
If you have now become a fan of Berryz Kobo like I have, click for more videos here. And, if you speak Japanese, and want to make a Berryz Kobo song your karaoke number (which I totally do!!), click here for complete lyrics, both in Romaji and Kanji.

Cool! I really want to learn the words to Genghis Khan. Here it is! Along with the video. Sadly, the "Mongolian Dance Version" video is not online. But this will do nicely.

Jin Jin Genghis Khan
Hey Brother, Ho Brother
Nice Brother, Go Brother
Jin Jin Genghis Khan
Hey Rider, Ho Rider
Nice Rider, Go Rider

Take a look! This is totally going to be my karaoke song.

Yakumi Zaru Tofu at Soba Totto
Fresh Tofu served cold with grated ginger, bonito, and slivver-thin chive
[image from Flikr]

Soba Totto. A real Japanese restaurant in NYC. There are so many Japanese restaurants in New York that are inauthentic, that I forgot what real Japanese food tastes like. And then I took a bite of the tsukemono (Japanese pickle) at Soba Totto last night. Is this smoked daikon? Yes! Smoked daikon? I have never had such a tasty treat, even in Japan. Their cold tofu, pictured above, was so fresh and unadulterated. Delicate. Creamy. Everything was heavenly at Soba Totto, including the service. We tried and loved the kinoko & horenso namuru (spinach, eringi mushroom marinated in sesame oil), another special mushroom dish with a silken tofu coating of sorts, the mori soba served with cold dipping broth, along with glasses of cold sake, served overflowing into a spouted saucer. Wow. The presentation of the sake was gasp-worthy. I did actually gasp. With happiness.


Soba Totto
211 E 43rd Street (2nd & 3rd Avenues)
Midtown
New York
212.557.8200

Hitoma portable tea ceremony [image via Cool Hunting]

Sometimes I am so glad I click when I do. Clicking on Cool Hunting this morning, I found that I have not missed checking out this potentially really cool Japan Pop-Up Shop here in NYC. Check out the below article from Cool Hunting, in its entirety. I know what I am doing at lunch today!

The Japan Brand Pop Up Shop, currently at NYC's Felissimo through 30 May 2009, is full of the latest fashion accessories, kitchen props and home décor straight from Japan, but what really caught our eye was Hitoma—an enormous portable tea room meant to easily turn any room into the perfect tea or meditation retreat.

The project's title, Hitoma, signifies a room used to promote a time and place of relaxation. Built from Kishu timber, a high-quality cedar from the city of Gobo and known for its extraordinary grain patterns and long life-span, the portable tea room is a soft, calming space reminiscent of the forest from which it came. Sliding doors covered in bamboo paper display calligraphy or a woodblock print while tatami mats cover the floor, each holding a pattern that signifies an animal or a plant, much like a family crest.

The tea room was developed by the Gobo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and retails for $18,000.

Japan Brand Pop Up Shop
Through 30 May 2009
Felissimo Design House
10 West 56th Street (5th & 6th Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
tel. +1 212 956 4438

Payless Shoe Source advertising poster, detail 1


Artist, Takashi Murakami 'posterizing' his signature eyeball in Superflat,
a show in 2001 that Murakami curated and exhibited


Payless, Evolution of a Logo, (my title, not theirs), detail 2


Takashi Murakami, Jellyfish Eyes - Black 4, Offset Lithograph, edition of 300
[image from Blind Angle]

I don't know about you, but I see a clear similarity between Takashi Murakami's Jellyfish Eyes - Black 4 and the current advertising poster for Payless Shoe Source, Evolution of the Payless Logo (my title, not theirs).

After all, why wouldn't Payless want to plant the Louis Vuitton/Takashi Murakami seed in their customer's minds? "Luxe for less" (copies) is their concept, isn't it? When you look at images of Murakami's and Payless' side by side, the reference seems overt.

The Payless Logo Poster in a traditional Japanese two-panel screen format,
on display in the window on 39th Street (corner of Fifth Avenue)


Murakami's signature eyeballs mixed with Louis Vuitton icons and logo
in a print the artist made for the luxury handbag maker.

Why do I always gravitate towards the Japanese artists? via BOOOOOOOM!

Yuri Shimojo is based in Brooklyn among other places.


Great Artists Live in Brooklyn Every design magazine, fashion magazine and art magazine I read lately features some important directional artist making big contributions to their genre. And where do they live? Brooklyn!

My former professor, Samuel C. Morse, is speaking at the Asia Society on April 8. I am so excited to attend this lecture. Click here to get tickets for the event.



Lecture 3 of the 3 Lecture Series. The Sherman E. Lee lectures honoring Dr. Lee, who passed away this year, consider how his role in the East Asian art world changed the scholarly and curatorial landscape in the west. Samuel C. Morse, Amherst College explores the Japanese elements of the collection.

Nana Shiomi, Mitate 41 Tea Whisk, from the series 100 Views of Mitate,
woodblock print, edition of 10, 18"x18"


Nana Shiomi, Mitate 46 Teabowl, from the series 100 Views of Mitate,
woodblock print, edition of 10, 18"x18"


Nana Shiomi, Mitate 62 Caddy Spoon, from the series 100 Views of Mitate,
woodblock print, edition of 10, 18"x18"
[images: wills-art.com]

Speaking of Zen contemplation with a twist, the woodblock prints pictured above feature traditional Japanese tea ceremony accoutrements -- tea whisk, tea bowl, tea scoop and caddy -- in the style of Edo period Ukiyo-e prints from the 1800s. But these prints also have a twist.

Japan-born, London-based Nana Shiomi makes mitate-e (pronounced mee tah tay-ay), which are "parody" or "replacement" pictures. Artists of the Edo period, including Ukiyo-e artists, employed mitate to make playful or ironic connections between the contemporary and the historical, or the exalted and the banal. And the audiences got all the references. Having seen Nana Shiomi's work for the past three years at the Affordable Art Fair, and now investigating what she does more thoroughly, I have a deep desire to acquire one of her mitate prints.

In my first semester at college, it was a lecture on mitate by Dr. Tsuji Nobuo, the leading Japanese art scholar on the subject, that convinced me to pursue Japanese art history as a major, which in turn lead me to study in Japan. I could get into a lot more detail here, but suffice it to say, mitate is somehow responsible for where I am today, and will always have a special place in my heart.

I have two choices I suppose. I can wait until next year's AAF and hope Will's Art Warehouse, the London gallery which represents Shiomi, will participate again, or I could order one online for 180 pounds. They have a shopping cart. How convenient.

Tee Haus by Tokyo-based Kengo Kuma & Associates, was created for a recent exhibition of applied art from Japan at the Museum of Applied Art Frankfurt. Kuma describes the inflatable 9-mat Japanese teahouse, made of a double-membrane material called Tenara, as "breathing architecture," a dynamic structure that "becomes small as it holds its breath, and at other times breathes in deeply to become grander." [from Architectural Record, June 2008]

I could watch this all day, even though it is 4 minutes long and rather repetitive. I love the syncopation. The minor key. I want to learn this song and do it at Karaoke. It could become my signature song. Think of the possibilities. Tarako tarako tappuri tarako...

Here is a Website that relates to the product: Kewpie Tarako Pasta Sauce. No it is not 'tomato sauce' for your spaghetti. It is cod roe. (tarako=cod roe. I confirmed it this morning with my Japanese friend at the Y.) I would gather that tarako is shaped like their hats. Or is it shaped like the bottle? Or both?

Here is the Kewpie Website. Hmm.

Here is a better Website for the product line.

Here is a tarako-specific site. Amusing.

Brooklyn Museum logo by Murakami

The much-anticipated Takashi Murakami exhibition opens today at the Brooklyn Museum! By now, you probably know all about the controversial museum store featuring Murakami's designs for Louis Vuitton. Yes, well...

If you feel game to brave the crowds this afternoon, you might want to check out the Target First Saturday free tie-in event beginning at 5pm.


© MURAKAMI
April 5 - July 13, 2008
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY
718.638.5000
click here for directions