Children Of The Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick

A little over a year ago China quietly ended its three decades of international adoptions. This cessation came almost a decade after China—again quietly—put an end to its one-child policy, which also lasted more than three decades. While reporting from China for the LA Times, the author uncovered some difficult truths about international adoptions in a country that was supposed to be the among the most ethical in the world. She weaves the histories of both China’s one-child policy and Chinese international adoptions into the story of a pair of separated twins, making for a thrilling narrative that is hard to put down. Identical twins Fangfang and Shuangjie were born in a mountainous village in Hunan province, the third and fourth children in their family. Fangfang, the older of the twins, was a healthy baby, but Shuangjie was a little sickly and needed more care. Fearful of the local family planning office, the twins’ parents worried that they would be caught and punished for having more than one child. They already had a second daughter after their first was born, but they worried they would have a difficult time evading attention with twins. So, they sent Fangfang to live with her aunt and uncle. The author writes about two scandals that plagued Chinese adoptions. The first involved individuals trafficking babies and toddlers, taking them from their homes and bringing them to orphanages. The second involved government family planning offices doing the same. Both the individual traffickers and the family planning offices made massive amounts of money “facilitating” these adoptions to foreign parents. It is hard to know how common this was, and with DNA testing a lot more is being uncovered, but this is a fascinating read.

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa, Japan

The National Craft Museum was moved from Tokyo to Kanazawa, but was closed when we were there—luckily we were able to see the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, which has an excellent permanent display of Kutani pottery.

Kutani ware is a pottery produced in the Kaga region of Ishikawa Prefecture, with a history spanning over 350 years. It is characterized by the heavy brilliance of the five colors of navy blue, red, purple, green, and yellow that are applied to the bold and daring lines. Its long history has evolved through the tireless efforts and enthusiasm of people who have sought innovation while maintaining tradition. These are Edo era mostly but this type of pottery is still made in this region.

Tōdaiji Temple Complex, Nara, Japan

The Buddhist temple Tōdaiji in Nara Prefecture is a priceless trove of history and culture. Founded some 1,300 years ago, the UNESCO World Heritage site is home to the Great Buddha of Nara and other national treasures. The Great Buddha of Nara stands 15 meters high, making it one of the largest such images in the world. It is a depiction of the Roshana Buddha, also known as Biroshana or Vairochana in Sanskrit, the so-called cosmic Buddha or “great illuminator” who shines mercy upon the earth. The statue is normally hidden from view from the outside, but at certain times of the year a special window overlooking the sandō and central gate is opened to reveal the face of the Buddha.

Tōdaiji’s roots are with the temple Kinshōsanji, which was built in 728 for the repose of the spirit of the son of Emperor Shōmu (701–56). In 743, following several years of natural calamities and political turmoil, Shōmu issued a proclamation for the erection of a great Buddha in the hope of returning peace to the land. The colossal image represented an unprecedented undertaking, but Kinshōsanji’s head priest Gyōki used his influence to solicit money, materials, and labor from around the country. The image was completed in 749, followed by the Daibutsuden Hall in 752. It was around this period that the temple also came to be known as Tōdaiji.

There are some guardians in the temple, as well as outside guarding the Buddha. The Great Buddha that stands today represents reconstruction work spanning four periods of Japanese history. The chest and base are part of the original image cast in the Nara period, while the waist dates from the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the upper body from the Warring States period (1467–1568), and head from the Edo period. A careful observer will notice that the bronze making up the face of the Buddha is in better condition than the chest, which is several centuries older.

Yoshikien Garden, Nara, Japan

May the New Year bring new beginnings. Last year was a very rocky ride, but here is to new beginnings. Here is a bit of history of gardens in Japan (spoiler alert--they were influenced by China, which is very clear to see ). During the Asuka period (538–710), Japanese merchants were inspired by gardens in the imperial courts of China. The first gardens in Japan were created using Chinese building methods and designed to channel Buddhist beliefs through an appreciation of the natural world. Few gardens still exist from this time, but many modern versions echo Buddhist principles. Each following period has influenced garden design in its own way, reflecting the society of that time. Some of the best-known gardens are for strolling, made popular by the nobility of the Edo period (1603–1868), where society’s elaborate social structure encouraged a patronage of the arts.

Here is what they say about the garden’s history: An old illustration of Kohfukuji Temple reveals that the "Manishuin," a branch temple of Kohfukuji used to be on the Yoshikien premise. This site was privately owned during the Meiji period (1868-1912) and then its current structures and garden were designed and built in 1919 during the Taisho period. At the end of the Showa period (1926-1989) ownership of the property was transferred from a corporate guest house to Nara Prefecture. With the intent of having it be widely used for viewing the garden and tea ceremony, it was opened to the public on April Ist, 1989.

Sacred Deer of Nara, Japan

These deer are everywhere. I wondered about getting off the city bus we took from the metro station when I saw the first ones, but we perservered and took it to the furthest destination, which was a very good move because there are lots of deer everywhere. There is no missing them.

The Nara Park deer are wild animals inhabited the area for over 1,300 years. They have long been regarded as divine envoys of the kami (Gods) of Kasugataisha Shrine and have, therefore, been carefully protected. The deer of the Nara Park are the same species as the Japanese Sika found in other places, but they have inherited DNA from ancient deer species and are designated natural monuments of Japan. Genetic analysis conducted by Fukushima University revealed that the deer around Kasugataisha Shrine probably branched off from an ancestral group during the Asuka period (592-710) and have survived as a lineage with a unique genetic type for a long time. As a result, this unique genetic type has been maintained without interaction with other deer populations. The World Heritage Site, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, is said to have been founded in 768, roughly overlapping with the period when the deer in Nara Park branched off as a unique lineage. It has become clear that these deer are extraordinary creatures protected by people for over 1,000 years and are considered living cultural assets.

Izakaya Hamagumi, Kanazawa, Japan

We arrived at the restaurant about 10 minutes before it opened and there were two parites waiting ahead of us--this is a popular place, and reservations would be recommended. We sat at the bar and had a good view into the kitchen--this was a common theme on this trip, and for me it definitely added to the fun. I had the best saki of the trip here, and enjoyed watching them prepare carafes for other tables as well. To begin we had pickles a raw shrimp dish, an octopus amuse bouche, and small whole shrimp tempura that I failed to photograph but loved best of all. A close second was the collar of yellow tail--I love this dish, because it is fish on the bone that is easily managed and also not to much food.

This restaurant was in the samurai district in Kanazawa, which was noticably old architecturally and also distinct from the districts we had been in up to then. It's historical value lies in its unusual state of preservation. It has escaped large-scale fires, including the firebombing that damaged other large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka during World War II. Accordingly, it retains many features from the Edo period: narrow streets, a drainage and water supply system that remains in use, and restored samurai houses. Many of these residences maintain their original earthen walls (tsuchi-kabe), which are still covered in the winter with straw mats to protect them from frost and subsequent cracking

Kenroku-en Garden, Kanazawa, Japan

The top three gardens in Japan are the Kenroku-en Garden in Kanazawa, Kōraku-en Garden in Okayama, and Kairaku-en Garden in Mito. Collectively known as the "Three Great Gardens of Japan" or Nihon Sanmeien, they were all created by feudal lords during the Edo period and are renowned for their beauty and historical significance. We are not getting to the last two so spent some type absorbing the Kenroku-en.

It is Known as the "Garden which combines six characteristics," it is celebrated for its spaciousness, serenity, and scenic views. It is especially famous for its picturesque snow-covered landscapes in winter, which we are unable to verify. The Kanazawa Castle has been slowly and faithfully restored. Many features of the castle including the original castle tower were destroyed in two major fires over its long history, and many of them have been rebuilt. Two of its longest lasting features are the Ishikawa-mon Gate, which was rebuilt in 1788, and the Sanjikken Nagaya which was rebuilt in 1858. Reconstruction continues.

Kanazawa, Japan

During the Edo Period (1603-1868), Kanazawa (金沢) served as the seat of the Maeda Clan, the second most powerful feudal clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and fief size. Accordingly, Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). During World War Two, Kanazawa was Japan's second largest city (after Kyoto) to escape destruction by air raids. Higashi Chaya District is located in the Higashiyama area of Kanazawa, adjacent to the Asano River. It is the largest among three well-preserved historical geisha districts in Kanazawa along with Nishichayagai. We walked through on Cultural Day.

Big city Japan is very nice, but this much smaller town (half a million) was our favorite--yes, it had some large roads and modern buildings, but it had lots of small neighborhoods--including the small boutique hotel we stayed at--and lots of charm. It does not have a metro, but we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go, so we didn't even try to decipher the buses, but would have managed that if need be.

Yakitori Tsukada, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

We tried a lot of different types of places our first couple of days in Tokyo—a tendon place, a ramen place, a yakiniku place—all costing about $10 per person. We did a fancer meal our last night at Yakitori Tsukada, a yakitori place specializing in chicken, and really enjoyed it! The other thing to point out is that there is a lot of fish and beef in Japan, and it is nice to have another option altogether when you are eating out each and every day.

I love skewers, but the meal started with something I plan to try to make at home--potato leek miso soup. We managed to score quite a few different types of miso when we were in Osaka, and I think it would be possible. The fortune cookie style chicken cut out stuffed with chicken liver is not on that list, but we did pick up some persimmons at home because we had so many good ones, including here. Every part of fowl was offered, including some grilled quail eggs, duck breast, and even a chicken meatball to dip in a raw egg! My favorite was that, and my spouse liked the chicken shoulder best, but really, everything was delicious and I would recommend it.

Inventing Japan by Ian Buruma

As you might suspect with a book that covers a hundred years of history and the core of a nation's identity in under 200 pages, there is some reductionism at work here. I read this in preparation for a tourism trip to Japan, and it reinforced other things that I had read, and seemed less anti-Asian than many other things I had read. Japan has been assiduous in its early days about isolation. The original opening of Japan came in the mid-1500s when European traders and Christian missionaries arrived. But the nation was closed back up at the start of the 17th century when the overt practice of Christianity was snuffed out and all trade reduced to Dutch sailors in Nagasaki. They didn't completely cut themselves off--Japanese intellectuals studied Western science and ideas — known as Dutch learning — in order to borrow what was useful. But the culture continued in seclusion until Commodore Matthew Perry appeared in Edo Bay on July 8, 1853, with four armed ships. This book covers the time from American Commodore Matthew Perry’s explosive appearance in Edo Bay to the end of the shogunate, the failed attempts at democracy that followed, the rise of militarization and colonialism, a war against Russia, a war against China and finally World War II, the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Douglas MacArthur as American overlord and a post-war commitment to an overheated economy with an emphasis on construction for the sake of construction. And in the epilogue the author takes the story even further with the boom of the Japanese economy and talk of a “Japanese Century” — and then the bursting of the bubble. There is so much more to the story, but this is a kind of Cliff Notes introduction.

Gardens in Tokyo

There are some huge beautiful green spaces in densely populated Tokyo, where you can sit on benches, listen to birds and get away from metros where you might on occasion have to shove yourself in backwards and hope the door closes—my close encounter involves having to stand n one foot initially because my other foot kept the door from closing. These were imperial grounds, shrines, and feudal gardens that remain today—and are free to roam. We visited two and it is amazing just how far from a busy city you feel in the The Imperial Palace East Gardens is a historical garden in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. The gardens were first used by the Tokugawa shogunate. The garden was built on the grounds of Edo Castle. Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. There are wide open spaces and on a weekend day there were dozens of couples and families fanned out over the lawn enjoying the peaceful surroundings.

Sumida Hokusai Museum, Tokyo, Japan

I love the Japanese Edo era woodblook prints, as did the impressionists, who I also love. This museum has just the works of Katsushika Hokusai. He moved dozens of times, but he was born in now Sumida-ku now and spent much of his life there. He also wrote some pieces of ukiyo-e of this area. This museum has collected only works of the artist. He is most famous for his wave print, and I love his Mt. Fuji series, but we saw depictions of courtesan life. These were produced in huge numbers and were hugely popular during the Edo period (1615 – 1868). They are known as ukiyo-e, and depicted scenes from everyday Japan. Ukiyo-e literally means 'pictures of the floating world'. The 'floating world' referred to the licensed brothel and theatre districts of Japan's major cities during the Edo period. Inhabited by prostitutes and Kabuki actors (Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of theatre), these were the playgrounds of the newly wealthy merchant class. Despite their low status in the strict social hierarchy of the time, actors and courtesans became the style icons of their day, and their fashions spread to the general population via inexpensive woodblock prints.

Nippori Fabric Town, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo has neighborhoods and Nippori Fabric Town lies in a quiet part of Nippori, just east of the Yamanote Line station and makes for just as exciting of an adventure for fabric aficionados, as it does for most of us non-connoisseurs. There are dozens of shops selling anything from fabrics, leather, buttons, zippers, beads - you name it - Nippori Fabric Town has established itself as a hotspot for Tokyo’s textile lovers over the past century and is an ideal place to get some inspiration for your next creative endeavor. Start your journey through Nippori Fabric Town by making your way up the central street (Chuo-dori) that runs towards the east of Nippori Station and you’ll soon notice the yellow signs that mark the beginning of textile heaven. Tomato is perhaps the neighbourhood’s most famous and easily most recognizable establishment, boasting several shops along the main street and a main building that stretches over a whopping five floors. Each of Tomato’s stores is dedicated to slightly different types of fabrics including textiles for interiors, a shop dedicated to sewing kits and even an outlet where can have your very own fabric designs printed. There is a lot of high quality Japanese fabric for very good prices, but if you are looking for kasuri or shibori, you need to go to a used kimono store to find that.

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan

Tsukiji Outer Market (築地場外市場, Tsukiji Jōgai Shijō) is a district adjacent to the site of the former Tsukiji Wholesale Market. It consists of a few blocks of wholesale and retail shops, as well as restaurants crowded along narrow lanes. Here you can find fresh and processed seafood and produce alongside food-related goods such as knives. A visit to Tsukiji Outer Market is best combined with a fresh sushi breakfast or lunch at one of the local restaurants, which typically open from 5:00 in the morning to around noon or early afternoon. Because most of the fish served and sold at Tsukiji Outer Market is delivered directly from Toyosu Market, it is one of the best places in Tokyo to enjoy fresh seafood. We were there before the sun came up and it was a good start to our Japan vacation.

Tea Growing in Munnar, Kerala, India

After sweating at lower altitudes in Tamil Naru, the hills of Munnar were a welcome alternative. The hills abound with tea here. Tea or Chai is the most widely drunk beverage in the whole world. The tea plant, Camellia Sansis, is a cultivated variety of a tree that has its origins in an area between India and China. There are three main varieties of the tea plant: China, Assam, and Cambodia and a number of hybrids between the varieties. The China variety grows as high as nine feet (2.75 metres). It is a hardy plant able to withstand cold winters and has an economic life of at least 100 years. The Assam variety, a single stem tree ranging from 20 to 60 feet (6 to 18 metres) in height. Regular pruning keeps its height to a more manageable 4 to 5 feet tall. It has an economic life of 40 years with regular pruning and plucking. When grown at an altitude near that of Darjeeling (Assam) or Munnar (Kerala), it produces tea with fascinating flavours , sought after around the globe. The Cambodia variety, a single stem tree growing to about 16 feet in height, is not cultivated but has been naturally crossed with other varieties. Tea growing in this region was started by colonialists, starting in the mid-19th century.

Lost Wax Bronze Casting, Tiruchchirappalli, India

We watched a demonstration of lost wax casting of bronze figures in a shop behind the temple in Tiruchirappalli. Dokra (also spelt Dhokra) is an Indian Heritage Craft known for casting of non-ferrous metals (mainly Brass and Bell Metal). It originated in India over 4,000 years ago. Lost-wax casting technique used in producing Dokra artefacts is one of the oldest enduring metalwork methods on Earth. Dokra is a skilled craft form producing objet d’art. Dokra artisans create small, delicate artefacts, such as figurines (human, animal or divine), jewelry, lucky charms and utensils. One of the earliest known lost-wax artefacts is the ‘Dancing Girl o’Mohenjo-Daro’. The lost-wax casting technique is eponymic to Dokra Damar tribes, the main traditional metalsmiths which initially resided in Bankura-Dariapur belt in West Bengal, parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Despite different locations and difference in language this tribe extends from Jharkhand to West Bengal and Odisha. The members of the tribe, over the centuries, have moved to southern and western parts of the country, thus presently covering large parts of the country.

Key features of Dokra art because of which there is increasing demand for these products. • The oldest surviving metalcraft process – the lost-wax casting technique. • The historical and cultural significance of this art form related to temple art. This workshop is within line of sight of the temple. Lost-wax technique – A wax model of the desired object is painstakingly crafted in beeswax. The wax model is then covered in a clay shell, and the clay shell is baked. The wax melts and runs out of the clay shell, leaving a hollow space. The clay shell is then filled with molten metal, and the metal cools and hardens to form the final object.

Thanjavur Art Gallery, Thanjavur, India

Thanjavur Art Gallery, located in the Thanjavur Palace has an exquisite collection of ancient sculptures and coins. It is officially called the “Raja Raja Chola Art Gallery” and locally known as “Thanjavur Kalaikoodam”. These bronze sculptures of Hindu Gods and Goddesses range from 9th century A.D to 19th century A.D. Some very unique deities and saints can be seen. Early Indian lifestyle, their clothing, ornaments and even hairdo are carved in these statues. I really enjoyed the sculpture on display here.

Artifacts are placed in a hall which used to be the Kings’ royal court (Durbar Hall). The walls and the ceiling of Durbar hall are ornamented with paintings and statuettes. Even the pillars and arches are decorated with fascinating scenes from Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. The highlight of the art gallery is the collection of stone sculptors and bronze idols that belong to the Chola period, Vijayanagara period and later periods. There is so much to see here that it is easy to get overwhelmed!

Brihadeshwara Temple Thanjavur India

This is a top five temple, in a trip replete with spectacular ancient temples. I would recommend a slower pace than we accomplished, but the content of the trip, the places we went, were all recommended, not a clunker amongst them. One of the largest temples in India, the Brihadeeswara Temple, also known as Peruvudaiyar Kovil, is located in Thanjavur. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, represented as a huge ‘Lingam’, the temple was built around 1010 AD by the Chola king Rajaraja Chola I. The temple continued the Hindu temple traditions of South India by adopting architectural and decorative elements, but its scale significantly exceeded the temples constructed before the 11th century. The Chola era architects and artisans innovated the expertise to scale up and build, particularly with heavy stone and to accomplish the 63.4 metres (208 ft) high towering vimana.

This is a telling of the building of this temple in ancient Tamil. The text wraps around the building, with no punctuation (we are told), as a chronicle of how they moved the massive granite blocks and built this temple.

Airavatesvara Temple, Kumbakonam, India

Airavatesvara Temple was my favorite temple after the temples at Mahabalipuram. This temple, built by Chola emperor Rajaraja II in the 12th century CE is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur, the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram that are referred to as the Great Living Chola Temples. The temple is dedicated to Shiva. It also reverentially displays Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism, along with the legends associated with Nayanmars – the Bhakti movement saints of Shaivism.

There is just so much carving and detail throughout the temple. Hinduism is replete with myths and stories--there is a lot of material to work with--and a lot of it is carved into stone here. From the UNESCO website: The art work that adorns the temple is extremely detailed, intricate and beautiful. It’s sheer poetry in stone. Built in the Dravidian architectural style, the main stone work of the building resembles a chariot. The entire temple complex is filled with rich carvings and inscriptions that narrate stories from ancient Indian Puranas. Words don’t do justice to the charm and splendour that the structure emanates; it’s one to be seen and experienced. Every carving tells a story.

Climbing The Mango Tree by Madhur Jaffrey

My spouse and I picked this out to listen to while traveling by car together because the author is an icon in cooking. She is the most recognizable Indian cookbook author in America and the most prolific. This is not about that at all, but it is still worth a listen. Daniel Boulard encourages aspiring cooks to explore what they know, to understand the food of the culture that they grew up in, and the India of Jaffrey's youth was very multi-cultural before independence and partition. She had a very privledged childhood, in which her barrister grandfather lived on a road that was named after him and the family had a full-blown folk tale about its origin, involving an ancient kingdom and a massacre from which one infant boy was saved by the sheltering wings of a kite. This bird became the tutelary goddess of the family, henceforth held sacred by all its descendants. While the memoir is not about food, her taste memories sparkle with enthusiasm, and her talent for conveying them makes the book relentlessly appetizing. She provides many family recipes (which we did not listen to), including one for split-pea fritters, as well as directions for preparing both traditional and easy tamarind chutney. The whole package — fritters, yogurt, chili mixture and chutney — is a stupendous dish, and not too hard to make at home. But the full magic of Jaffrey’s description has less to do with the chaat’s extraordinary flavor than with the presence of the khomcha-wallah and the wondering appetite of a child. This is worth having a go at, but it is not about the cookbooks so much as it is about the author.