Day 240 - 27th of April

10:46pm　セミナーハウス

天気：雨天、風が吹いて

I’ll be back in Australia a month from today!!! My feelings are still very mixed; just like the weather apparently. It was an awfully windy, rainy day today; not much fun at all. Thankfully though, it wasn’t raining on my way to, or from uni; very lucky… In Speaking today, we reviewed for the lesson test, before having to fill out a course evaluation sheet; I was designated to collect, and hand them to the office. Saigo sensei was such a fun teacher, and I think everyone in the class appreciated him as much as I did; we joked that we should all write in the comments to give him a raise. In the hour break, I sat with Julie and studied. Then we went onto Religion class, and today we talked about Pure Land Buddhism, which is one of the less appealing forms of Buddhism; as far as researchers are concerned. It has many similarities to Christianity, but many differences also. Probably one of the most controversial, and the reason why it’s unpopular, is the notion that anyone can go to Pure Land, and eventually reach Nirvana, just by saying the 念仏 (Nebutsu), or prayer that invokes the spirit of 阿弥陀 (Amida); the central Buddha of this form of Buddhism. And the evil man is more likely to make it because he will not rely on self-power, he will not have the ego or pride of a good man, so he’ll really mean it when the time comes. Also, when you get to the Pure Land, you’re a man; there are no women. And further, you must say the nenbutsu to reach the Pure Land. This means that if a baby dies, it can’t go there, since it can’t speak; kinda sad. Anyway, I won’t go on any more about that.

After religion, I spent the next few hours studying, and talking with Chelsea and Julie. Finally, it was time for koto, and after picking up the key, I made my way over. It was basically a repeat of yesterday, with Mori and Midori Sempai coming later; no one else showed up. Maarika and I have vastly improved at Miyabi, and I feel pretty confident about performing, with Mori Sempai on second koto, on Friday; it’s going to be fun. Getting home, I didn’t know what I wanted to cook, since it was already late, and I want to get a bit more study in. So I ended up just heating up some stew. I stayed in the kitchen till a bit after 9, and then came back down here, intent on study; I got a little distracted. Rachael contacted me, saying she’d bought a PS3, and not just any PS3, but a Cloud black PS3; she beckoned me to come and see it. I obliged, since I did really want to see it and I wasn’t disappointed; it was so cool. It came with a trail version of FFXIII and the Blu-ray version of FF:AC Complete. So, seeing as she now had two copies of FF:AC Complete on Blu-ray, she decided to give me her other one; this made me very happy!!! I’m going to have to get her something now to pay her back; that was really nice of her. Then, she showed me something else that made me even happier. She had bought Cloud’s outfit!!! So, of course I had to try it on. Soon, I had her and Katie (she came in with Sarah to practice their skit), getting me dressed in it; so my straps, and belts, and buttons. It didn’t come with the sweater, which was a bit of a shame, but it still looked epic. I had to run downstairs and show it off to everyone in the lounge; they were watching Beauty and the Beast. Reluctantly, I eventually parted with it; now I’m on a quest to find one for myself. After all the excitement, I basically just spent the rest of the evening going over vocab and grammar; I’m feeling good about the test…

Day 236 - 23rd of April

天気：曇り

While threatening clouds dominated the sky throughout the day, it never did actually rain; it was still cold and windy though… Waking up this morning, I got ready, and then had a little bit more time to study for my test; not that I really needed it. I rode to uni with Rachel, and then got to class with plenty of time to spare. The test turned out to be pretty easy; I remembered all the kanji and grammar patterns. That done, I went to Speaking, and we spent half the lesson going over the pick-up lines people had come up with yesterday; some of them were quite funny. We quickly went over the grammar patterns (which again were from level 3), before watching an animated short in Japanese; it was interesting, to say the least. After that, I was free to go home for a little while. After picking up some groceries, I had lunch, and then did some reading. Getting back to uni, I met with Ash and Katie, who were on their way to USJ this afternoon; making the most of their season passes. I was soon in Gender and Sexuality, and after short discussion about host and hostess clubs, we went onto our final topic; sexuality and gender minorities. Today, we discussed homosexuality. It was interesting to contemplate homosexual as a sexual activity, and homosexual as an identity, because they are different things. There are many examples of what is called “institutionalised homosexuality”, activities or behaviours that do not reflect sexual preferences or lifestyle, but are simply parts of the norms of the institution or society.

Throughout Japanese history, there have been numerous examples of age-structured practices of men-loving-men, from Buddhist institutions to the warrior class. These acts were done in order to strengthen the relationship between priest and acolyte, subordinate and commander. Kabuki and the urban class also have a long tradition of homosexual practices. During the Edo period, homosexuality was banned for just 8 years, and the fact that no other effort has been made since to restrict male/male sex indicates that Japan doesn’t have an elaborate, punitive view of certain sexual acts, unlike other countries where religious beliefs come into play. Another interesting thing to note is the shift between homosexuality as behaviour to homosexual as a person (the medical model), which brought about new terminology in Japan. The word 同性愛 (douseiai – lit. “same sex love”) came about in the early 20^th century, when the occurrence of female/female sex was identified in many girl’s boarding schools; before this, there had been no context for putting men and women in the same category. The funny thing is, the word for heterosexuality 異性愛 (iseiai – lit. “unusual sex love”) was derived from the homosexual term. And that was me done for the day; the weekend upon us once more.

Getting back home, I tried to do my homework but failed, and a look at my Alice in Wonderland ticket stub, lead to a chain reaction that resulted in me having a huge chuck-out. I went through all my draws and tidied them, got rid of all the bits of paper, magazines, flyers and the like that I really didn’t need, dusted my shelves and started getting the books and merchandise I had collected boxed up, and then vacuumed the floor; it was quite invigorating actually. It about two hours, but I was really happy that I was able to start getting things sorted out for going home; I probably threw away about 10kgs worth of paper and plastic. Of course, I kept the important things, like the pamphlets and tickets from places I’ve been, and some nice wrapping paper; I can handle lugging that home. Afterwards, I managed to get my homework done, and then I went up to make dinner; it was about 6:30, and the kitchen was empty. I was well into cooking my chicken pasta dish before Rachel and Sarah arrived. Sitting down, we ate while watching Doraemon on TV, and at about 7:30, Julie came in asking if we were still up for watching ゲド戦記 (Gedo senki – i.e. Tales from Earthsea), directed by Goro Miyazaki; son of Studio Ghibli’s Hayou Miyazaki. While I hadn’t particularly liked it the first time I’d seen it, I was willing to give it another go, so Julie, Rachel, Chelsea and I all went up to Julie’s room and squished up on her futon, in front of the laptop.

Honestly, I enjoyed the movie a lot more this time around and I think it might have had something to do with the fact that we watched it in Japanese; poor dubbing can see the downfall of any good movie. However, in comparison to other Ghibli films, it’s definitely not up there for me. This was the first time I’d seen it in Japanese, and something that confused me was the use of a female voice actor for the main antagonist, Lord Cob. In the English version, the character (which is male, although I suppose it is a little ambiguous) had a creepy man’s voice, but in the Japanese version, it was a clearly a women’s persona; not a womanly-man. So that was a little strange, especially considering it had been produced in Japanese first. After the movie, we lounged around for a little while and then, since Chelsea was hungry, we decided to go to Fresco to pick up some food; it was already past 10:30 at night. In the hallway, I bumped into Katie and she had candy canes to give us. Going to her room, I asked the two about their day at USJ, and they said they had a wonderful time, and got a chance to go on the new ride, which was amazing; I kinda wish I’d gone. Then I received the candy canes from Katie (which were left over from Christmas), and a Hetalia pin from Ash; I have to go collect more now! I went to the kitchen, and handed a bunch of the candy canes out, and then got rugged up for our outing. We ended up riding to Fresco, and I couldn’t help buying an ice cream while I was there; everyone else was. Chelsea got some gyoza and fresh yakitori so she was very satisfied when we returned home to eat. It was about 11:30 when we gathered together once more, but in the kitchen this time, since Jazz was going to bed. To end the night, we ended up watching Aladdin, and I enjoyed watching Rachel mouthing the script throughout the entire movie; it’s clearly her favourite Disney movie…

Day 227 - 14th of April

9:50pm　セミナーハウス

天気：曇り

I am so full right now! I just finished eating a heap of okonomiyaki, which I cooked from scratch tonight; I’m so proud of myself!!! My body is still aching from the sports festival practice today, which was really intense, but such a rush; I had such a good time. So, today was a pretty awesome day all round, except for the chilly weather… I got up at about 9, but managed to get to uni with half an hour to spare; I don’t really know why I got there so early. I did get to sit with Rachael and listen to some awesome music with her though, before going to class. After Speaking (which was fun as usual), I went to the CIE office, and inquired about the letter from national health insurance I had gotten yesterday; there was a form and unsealed envelope within. Turns out I didn’t have to fill anything out; it was only necessary if I was staying longer. So that turned out easier than I was expecting. After that I spent a bit of time in the lounge, doing some of the reading for Gender and Sexuality, and revising for the vocab quiz. That went well, and for the remainder of the lesson, we went over some new grammar patterns; I know how to express fractions and ratios in Japanese now! Once again, I infiltrated the Monsters class, and gleaned some interesting information from the Professor about the future of learning at Kansai Gaidai.

Gender and Sexuality was really interesting today. After covering sexuality in general, we moved into the realms of Japanese sexuality, and looked at a number of issues including methods of contraception, and the differences in how men and women can, or are expected to, express their sexuality. Did you know that in Japan, condoms are the most popular form of contraception after withdrawal coupled with the rhythm method? These forms of contraception are considered “traditional”, and yet they still play a dominant role in facilitating sexual activity in Japan. Other methods, such as the pill, are considered “modern”, and are met with great resistance in Japan, the pill especially. As little as 1% of the female population in Japan is on the pill; lack of knowledge and fear of side-effects are the main factors behind this. Another reason though is that, women who take the pill are seen is sexually “free” and therefore somehow promiscuous. While it’s okay for women to have sex, it’s not okay for them to want it. Through this logic, it could be seen that women on the pill are preparing themselves for the advent of sex, and therefore want it. In general, both men and women in Japan are very reserved when it comes to talking about sex, or seeking advice about it with counsellors and even doctors. For women especially, going to a gynaecologist can be very embarrassing, and many of them do not even want to look, or talk about that part of their body while they are there; this can make the gynaecologist’s job very difficult.

We learnt a lot more in class, but I won’t go into to that now. Needless to say, sexuality in Japan is very different to the West. Of course, it is slowly changing, and the double standards are disappearing. Anyway, next time we’ll be moving onto youth and sexuality, and I’m sure that will reveal some of the changes that have taken place. After class, I went back home and after lunch, I talked with Mum and Ben over Skype, and managed to successfully book the hotel in Hikone, Alex and I will be staying at for two nights during golden week. At 5:30, I made my way with Rachel to uni once more, as the sports festival practice would be taking place on the basketball courts. We were the first people there, but were soon joined by Brett and then Chelsea. It was very cold, and also very windy, but I reassured myself that I would warm right up as soon as I got moving. And before practice even started, we got an opportunity, helping the wind ensemble catch their manuscripts as they went flying; that was a lot of fun. A bit after 6, Yuji eventually showed up, bringing with him a trolley on which was the tug-of-war rope. But that’s not what we were starting off with. No, we were starting off with jump rope, and rope we jumped for the next hour. More people trickled in, and by the end of that time, we had everyone who had signed up. We weren’t quite 20, as Yuji had hoped, but the 13 (well 15 with Yuji and Natsuki) were doing pretty well. Yuji figured out the rules for jump rope, and eventually we had a set up where, in three minutes, we had to get as many people through the rope as possible, without making a blunder; gosh it was quite exhausting, but fun. It eventually got to a point though were we couldn’t even see the rope; it was that dark!

At around 7, we went onto tug-of-war. Yuji split us into two teams, and then we got to it; I think we ended up doing about 6 rounds. The adrenaline rush felt amazing, and although I was completely wiped out after it, I was on such a high. After winding the rope but up (which turned out to be incredibly long), and doing our Seminar House 2 team pose, we disbanded for the night. After getting my bike, I made my way over to Kirindo, to pick up the rest of what I needed for okonomiyaki, and then decided to go get some meat for it from Fresco. On the way there, I met up with Rachael and Sarah, who were also shopping. Now with everything I needed, I rode back home, and got straight into cooking; this turned out to be a very long process. I had a general recipe to follow, but really didn’t have idea of how to cook it properly. After getting the batter burnt and stuck to the bottom of one of the pans, Yuji suggested I use another, and that maybe the 中華鍋 (chuukanabe – wok) would work best. Still a little hesitant, I got Julie over, who had been taught how to make okonomiyaki, and she was a great help. Apparently I needed way more cabbage in the batter, so after adding that, we tried a small amount in the wok. That turned out really well, so I poured the rest in, and ended up making a huge one. Both of these turned out so much better than the first (which I still ate), and I was soon sitting down enjoying the big one, topped with bonito flakes, sauce mayonnaise, and seaweed flakes; it was pretty good considering it was my first try. I think next time, I’ll be able to do it in a much shorter amount of time too; over an hour is too long…

Day 202 - 20th of March

天気：晴れ、風が吹いている
Today was so much fun, though very exhausting… I woke up at about 9:30, and got ready for the day. Since it was such a nice, sunny day, I put on some laundry, trying to be as quiet as possible; Hugo was still asleep. At around 11, I heard the reception desk bell ring, and I knew straight away that it was Ash, trying to sign her parents in; by the sounds of things, Otousan wasn’t coming. Soon after, Ash came to my room, and asked if I wanted to go to the park for a picnic; of course I did. I went out to meet her parents, and then let them know I’d catch up in a bit, since I had some washing on. Like Katie, Hugo was going to the graduation at Kansai Gaidai today. I had wanted to go, but at the same time, I wanted to go to the lake with Ash and her parents. After putting my washing out, I left on my bike, and in no time at all, caught up with them; Rachel had also joined. The walk to the park was surprisingly hot, and I found myself stripping down to just my shirt. Getting to the park and some relief from the sun, we made our way around to the northern side of the lake; I abandoned the group to take photos of flowers at one point.

I met up with them at an undercover area, and we sat down to enjoy our “picnic”, which consisted of grapes, Ritz, chips, bread sticks, and chocolate. We sat for a while and just talked about various things; Ash’s parents are very well travelled. At around 1, we continued our walk around the park, and came across a grove of what might have been sakura; not entirely sure. Indeed, there were many people taking advantage of the warm weather, lounging under the beautiful blossoms. It was quite windy by this point, and it was an amazing sight to see all the petals flying about; many other flowers were out too. We circumnavigated the lake, wandering through the bamboo grove, and watching the carp, before making our way out. Ash had decided that we go straight to karaoke; we would meet a few others there. So, we made our way back along the river, a route I had never taken, on to Makino; it was very pleasant, with lots to see along the way. Getting to Sanko, we stocked up on a few supplies, before continuing on to Karaoke. Rachael and Katie met us along the way, and when we got there I went around to the back to park my bike; by this point it was more of a burden than anything else.

Getting inside, I signed us in, and then we had to wait for about 30 minutes to get a room. Peter arrived just as we were about to go in; perfect timing. Since it was almost 4, we decided to get daytime free time, which goes till 7. We soon found Peter to be an amazing singer; I was equally as impressed as I was jealous. Seriously though, his singing voice sounded completely different to his normal voice, and he really knew how to get into it; he was doing funny things with the mic chord. Rachael didn’t feel comfortable singing much, but we made her sing a few, as we did Ash’s parents, finding out that Ash and her Mum have the exact same singing voice. All in all, we had a wonderful time, although I was a bit disappointed we didn’t stay that long. Peter had to leave a little early, so he missed out on doing purikura with us when we got out; we had to do it with Ash’s parents. After that, we walked back, intending to go to Sandoru in Makino for dinner. When we got to Sanko, both Rach(a)els decided to go straight home, Rachel because she was going to Tokyo tomorrow and had to eat the rest of the food in her fridge, and Rachael because she isn’t too keen on Japanese food; Rachel was kind enough to take my bike back with her.

When we got to Sandoru, we soon realised it was closed; Friday and Saturday are regular holidays! So that idea went out the window. We walked back down the street, and ended up coming to a place called Zenya; the menu looked good so we thought why not. After a short while, we were seated; the interior was really nice, and traditional. After ordering, the conversation began to flow. For a Japanese restaurant, it actually took an uncharacteristically long time for our meals to arrive. And, there was a bit of a mistake. Ash had ordered two of the same set for both her parents, and they only ended up bringing out one. When we realised this, we promptly informed the waiter, and eventually Ash’s Dad got a meal. That sorted, we all had an enjoyable dinner, and I even got to finish off Ash’s rice and her mum’s meal; so lots of variation for me! After hearing Ash being referred to as Chirstina (or Chris or Chrissie) by her parents all day (it is her name after all), I had to bring up the, “Why is your name Ash,” question; and tonight, I finally got the answer, and not from Ash. Her mum proceeded to tell as that Ash was short for Ashley, a boy’s name Christina liked and would use as part of her pen name if ever she were to publish a book. Ash herself had completely forgotten this, so it was really awesome to have the mystery behind the name finally revealed.

At around 9:30, we made our way back out into the windy night, and Ash escorted her parents back to the uni, so they could find their way back to the hotel, and Katie and I went home. I was quite tired by this time, and was very grateful to Hugo for bringing my laundry in. I spent the rest of the night chatting with Carly and Alex. Much to my surprise, I found out that Alex would in fact be in Kyoto tomorrow; the time just stuck up on me. So, after going to Nipponbashi for the parade tomorrow, I’m going to go meet up with Alex, and her Aunt and Nan, and we’re going to go to karaoke; can’t wait…

Day 186 - 4th of March

10:43pm　セミナーハウス
天気：風が吹いて
Just tried to download a Yoshida Brothers album off iTunes, but unfortunately, it’s only found in the American store, and of course, I’m not allowed to buy off that one; so stupid. The Yoshida Brothers, are two brothers (obviously) who play the 三味線 (shamisen – the 3-stringed, guitar-like instrument), in both traditional and non-traditional genres. Saigo sensei showed us one of their performances today, and it was amazing; their hands moved so fast. So yeah, tonight I thought I’d try to download some of their music, but no; obviously Australia hasn’t heard of them yet. Well, I guess I might be able to find their CD’s somewhere. Anyway, today… rainy in the morning, and windy in the afternoon! Since I didn’t have class till 12, I got some reading done this morning, and ate lunch before getting to uni; it was still raining. Speaking class was a lot of fun today. Apart from seeing the Yoshida Brothers, we had a lot of laughs, practicing new grammar. In the last couple of minutes we had to talk about how to make things i.e. how to prepare things like meat, tofu, etc. As in – you add salt, and fry in it oil; that kind of thing.

The last question was one where you had to use your imagination; we have to do this a lot. Saigo sensei told as that one of the students from his class last semester (he does this a lot too), made the question, “How do you make a baby”, and then proceeded to ask me. Using my quick wit, and the grammar at my disposal I said, 「男の人を女の人に乗せます」 (You place a man on top of a woman); a bout of laughter ensued. Saigo sensei was in tears; it was great. I went down to the lounge and talked with Rachel, Rachael, and Simon for a bit, before I had to go to Religion. We had a discussion about the interviews today, and it was really interesting. There was a great mix of religions, new and old. Mostly though, the interviewees said they weren’t religious, even though they visit shrines, buy Omamori, believe in ancestors and the like; this is not “religion”, just the way things are. After that, I followed Ash and Peter around for a little while, and then went to Fresco and Kirindo for groceries. The wind was so strong this afternoon that, when I came out of Fresco, all the bikes had toppled over; I had to rescue mine from under another. I was very glad to get home, and unpacked my groceries before going back to my room. Hugo was there, and I decided I should start practicing koto.

Otousan understood straight away, and eagerly past it on to me, saying it was fine for me to practice in my room; awesome. Hugo enjoyed listening for a while, and then had to leave for class. I continued just playing around for a little while. I really don’t know what I should do for the performance. Maybe I should see if I can find some sheet music on the internet; I wonder how hard that will be. After I finished, I took it back to Otousan, who encouraged me to use it every day, at any time. After that I talked with Simon in the computer room for a while. He talked about all the foods he missed from home, and asked my advice as to what he should ask his Mum to send him. I honestly can’t say that I’m terribly craving anything from back home; and that’s not to say I don’t like anything from Australia. I’m just content with what I have here; it’s really fine. It’s just stuff that I know I can live without, and be perfectly okay. After completing Plants vs. Zombies on my iPod (yay me), and listening to the music video a couple of times (it is epic), I went up to make dinner; it was about 6:30 by this point. It was pretty quiet at this point, which was nice; I made yakisoba. Pretty soon though, people started trickling in. Pokemon was on TV, but I was preoccupied watching Julie cooking her Chijimi.

It’s Korean cuisine, and resembles okonomiyaki; her friend showed her how to make it. She used takoyaki flour and an egg, to create the pancake, and then just added vegetables; you can also add seafood. I was her guinea pig, and got to try a heap of it, and it was amazing; and so simple too. I really want to try and make it. I had already finished eating my own dinner and washed up by the time the group had assembled. Then we proceeded with our usual “2 and a half hour” chat session. During that time, Rachel needed some TCL (issues with friends back in America), and I gave her a big hug; that made her feel a heap better. I made me feel good too; I miss hugs. Lol, the first thing she said when I hugged her was, “you’re skinny”; yep, that I am. We also organised what we’re going to be doing tomorrow. Since I’ll be going with Rachel into Hirakata to get her alien registration sorted, we’re going to pick up New Delhi food for everyone (excluding me – in an effort to save money I’m just going to have my leftover yakisoba), on the way back. Then we’re all going to sit around the TV and watch some more episodes of Firefly; can’t wait. Got back down here at about 10, and then had my plight with iTunes. Well, better get ready for bed now; one more day before weekend once more…

Day 123 - 31st of December

10:05pm　牧野駅
天気：寒い、風が吹いて
We’re in Makino station in the waiting room…

10:16pm　特急
I’m with Katie, Jo, and Nadezhda and now we’re on a limited express to Gion Shijo; switched over at Kuzuha. We’re going to the Chionin temple first, and then Yasaka shrine. Today was lazy… I got up at about 10:30, had breakfast and caught up with Ash and Katie; they had just arrived back from Tokyo via night bus. I was able to see the pictures of their trip on Ash’s camera; she then explained to me she wouldn’t be coming tonight because she felt under the weather. I made a quick trip to Sanko to pick up some meat and milk; since basically everything is closed on New Years. I got back and watched Ghostbusters on TV with Jo, Nadezhda, and Alex, and planned our night. I had a late lunch (very late) at about 4, and watched a bit of Lost with Vince on his laptop. I talked with my family on Skype for a while, before chatting with Alex and Carly.

At about 8, I went and had dinner (leftover yakisoba), and talked with Katie and Ash while watching a New Years singing competition; I saw Angela Aki in the ensemble performance! Susan Boyle was also on as a guest singer, and sung I Dreamed a Dream; how predictable. Since Jo was a guest, and she wanted to watch the program, she set up a chair in the corridor just outside the dining room door, and got me to prepare her cup noodles; it was rather funny. She ended up going back down to the lounge to eat however, and it was then I discovered there wasn’t much time left before we had to leave. So I rushed to get ready, and we made it out just past 9:30. The walk to Makino was freezing, and it was windy. Hopefully we’ll be more sheltered in Kyoto…

Day 39 - 8th of October

9:49pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天、寒い
So it ended up that we every one's morning classes were cancelled due to the storm warning. It wasn't withdrawn until 8:30, so that meant that I still had my two afternoon classes. I was happy about that, cause with all the holidays we have already, we can't really afford to miss another day. The winds were really strong in the morning. When we found out that morning classes were officially cancelled, Diego went back to bed! He didn't have any classes for the rest of the day. As for me, I had to get ready for the afternoon.

I finished my project proposal for Culture and Everyday life, which I'm going to abbreviate to CEL from now on okay, cause I'm too lazy to type the whole thing, xD. I went up to the kitchen and ate a pear, while looking at the destruction the typhoon had caused on the news. It was not until about 15 minutes before hand, that I realised my class was due to start at 1; the typhoon really put me off! So I rushed to uni and made it just in time; you can actually get there quite fast if you put the effort in. We watched a video for the first 10 minutes, about a preschool in Japan. It was really interesting to see the difference in how the children are managed in Japan, compared to Western preschools. Japan has a very different set of values and beliefs. To be honest, I kinda like their style. For instance, this one kid had been playing up all day, and instead of disciplining him/punishing him, the teacher just let the other children sort out the problem. This would teach the other kids how to deal with these sorts of situations.

History class was equally enjoyable. We have now entered the Heian period (9th century). We now see a slow shift away from China as a "big brother" figure, and Japan begins to come into it's own, eventually breaking all ties with China by the end of the century. After driving the indigenous Emishi (likely ancestors of the Ainu) of the north out of Honshu, the capital now had widespread control over the main island. Through this campaign, the military style was changed from the Chinese standing-army style, to a more focused group style with a general at its head. This lead to the rise of the Shogun... The hand outs we got today were crazy. The family trees are really complicated, cause most of the Emperors had many wives, and of course, incest occured frequently. Basically though, during this century, one tribe stood out among the rest; the Fujiwara tribe.

By marrying into the imperial family, and maintaining several ties, they become a very powerful and influential family within the capital. The first child Emperor is appointed at just 8 years old; Seiwa. This leads to the need for a regent (who weilds power in the Emperor's name), and Yoshifusa of the Fujiwara family, grandfather of Seiwa takes the position. Over the course of the century, the Fujiwara family strives to stay strong, while stamping out any competition. Next time we move into Heian literature, and I've picked up the book "The Gossamer Years" to read, which should be really interesting. So after class, I got some more money, bought the book, and had a late lunch in the cafeteria. Then went to do some grocery shopping.

That was fun! I ended up going to no less than four different stores. I went to this new store that just opened, and got some bargains. Then I went to Fresco, and picked up some more stuff. Then I went to the 99円 store to get some orange juice. I walked all the way back to the seminar house, bags in hands; it was great for my muscles. I got back and put the stuff away, then realised that I didn't have any carrots. So I walked to Sanko and picked some up, along with a bunch of other stuff; it was cheap okay! Got back (again), and talked with Mum before making dinner. I had stir fry with udon noodles. It was really nice. I'm getting good at this cooking thing, :D. Still, I want to try more. Anyway that's about all I have to say, my homework's up to date, and I'm sorting out things to do on the weekend. Hopefully going to Kuzuha mall and getting my hair cut! Yay!!!