Memoirs of a Secret Empire

Part of the PBS series Empires, the three-part "Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire" focuses on the rise and fall of the Tokugawa shogunate.


Part 3, "The Return of the Barbarians," chronicles how the country's reluctant opening to foreigners revealed the shogunate's — and the nation's — technological backwardness, eventually leading to the shogun's overthrow and the beginning of Japanese modernization.






Re-enactment scenes from part 3, "Return of the Barbarians."


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Shizuoka tea slideshow

John Lander, whose beautiful photographs I featured recently, also has this slideshow of Shizuoka's exquisite world of tea:



Japanese Tea Images Gallery - Images by John Lander


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

The Monk defies you not to smile at the "Trololo Song"

From the Russian singing legend Eduard Khil — a.k.a. Edward Hill — comes "Indeed, I am very glad that I finally am returning home," a.k.a. the Trololo Song:





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

The Tea Guy's videos

Brendan the Tea Guy hosts informative, nicely made videos about tea, such as an overview of steeping devices and this video on how to brew loose-leaf tea with a French press:




—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Japan's smiling dog

At roughly 0:32 in this video, Chiichan's owner asks if he wants to go for a walk, and in response the doggie makes the face that has made him an Internet sensation.




—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Japanese archery and tea—linked by mindfulness

There is a definite connection between martial arts and tea: As explained in part 3 of "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows," in both cases the practitioner's goal is to empty his mind (kokoro wo mu ni suru), to be so mindful as to completely shut out distracting thoughts.


Demonstrating this philosophy at work in kyūdō is a wonderfully insightful video from the wonderfully named Empty Mind Films, the "leading independent film studio for documentary films on Asia":





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Two on the koto

Here are two lovely pieces played on the koto, starting with composer Michio Miyagi's "Tegoto" as performed by Kaori Kimoto.









—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Sunrise over a tea field

A screen capture from "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows."





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Aso's natural spring water drinking fountains

The people of Aso are proud of and particular about their tea and their abundant natural spring water. So much so that the area around Aso shrine has a dozen or so public drinking fountains that serve up naturally flowing natural spring water.


The video below showcases these beautifully designed fountains, including one I blogged about recently.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, videos

Share |

Sake basics

With New Year's just around the corner, now is a good time to learn the basics of sake.

As the video below shows, quality sake begins with the planting of quality rice.




—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Undokai time lapse

From Rocking in Hakata comes a two-minute time-lapse video of an undokai (sports festival) in Japan.


Note also the movement of the ocean in the background.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, videos

Share |

Mt. Fuji time lapse

—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Alma, an excellent "Twilight Zone"-ish short

This has nothing even remotely to do with Japan or green tea, but I just had to share this amazing animated short with you all.

I may actually pay attention to the "Best Animated Short" category in the Academy Awards this time.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Japan tea trip videos in high resolution and subtitled

I never tire of revisiting the spectacular scenery and the warm, wonderful people I encountered during the filming of "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows."


So posting the re-subtitled first and second segments to Vimeo was a more than adequate excuse to watch them again.


So let us brew up a hot, soothing cup of green tea, sit back, and enjoy the people and places together.








—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mellow Monk's tea-buying trip to Japan: grand finale

Here it is, the final segment of "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows," a European documentary in which a Mellow Monk tea procurer is prominently featured. (When watching the video, there will be no doubt as to which one is him.)


We have more videos at YouTube, too. You can also watch this video at Vimeo.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

NHK matcha documentary

Thanks to YouTube user Imarvanriet for tipping me off about a well-done NHK documentary on matcha. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is part 1:





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Grizzly Bear claymation

One word best describes this claymation video for Grizzly Bear's "Ready, Able"—trippy.


And excellent viewing for a green tea break, too.





Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mellow Monk's Tea-Buying Trip to Japan, Part 5

Following up on yesterday's post, here is Episode 5 of "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows," which features one of our tea buyers making his rounds in Kyushu.


You can also watch the Vimeo version and other videos of ours.




—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mellow Monk's Tea-Buying Trip to Japan, Part 4

Here it is: Part 4 of "Kyushu, Where Japan's Tea is Grown," a documentary filmed for European TV. The film crew followed one of our tea buyers on his rounds through the tea-growing regions of Aso and other Kyushu locales.


You can also watch a slightly higher-resolution version of this episode on Vimeo.


For more videos, please check out our video page.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mochi-pounding video

Lest anyone doubt it, making mochi the traditional way is hard work:




—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

How to make taiyaki, by Cooking with Dog

"Cooking with Dog" presents how to make taiyaki:




—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

On the banks of the Kuma River

Here's a video we took recently in Hitoyoshi City, on the tranquil banks of the sometimes rapid Kuma River.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

What is green tea? This video explains

Kim Pham, co-proprietor of the Kaleisia Tea Lounge in Tampa, explains how green tea differs from other types of teas. Great video, Kim.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Bentos and Lafcadio

My monkish instincts tell me that today is double feature Friday, so I present to you Homemade Bento Boxes and Visiting Lafcadio Hearn's Japan.


And as an added bonus, more about Lafcadio Hearn and the bento slideshow's accompanying article.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Japanese school bell

Here's a video of an old-fashioned mechanical school bell at an unnamed Japanese school.


Now wouldn't this be great for the P.A. system at work?





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Doggone good matcha ice cream

A recent favorite of mine on Cooking with Dog is How to Make Green Tea Ice Cream (Matcha Ice Cream). This recipe calls for matcha ... say, something like this.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Pictures of Aso: animated slideshow

Here's an animated slideshow of some photos from our recent tea-buying trip to Aso, Japan. It was so much fun—breathtaking nature, delicious tea, wonderful people.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Tea video double feature

Husband-and-wife team The Houston Hill have produced two wonderful entries for the Calm-a-Sutra tea video contest: "The Teacup Tango" and "The Scale of Tea."








—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Why do you drink tea? Calm-a-Sutra entry by Ryan Gatts

Why Do You Drink Tea? is Ryan Gatts's entry in the 2009 Calm-a-Sutra contest. Ryan's hoping to win the sizable scholarship that the first place prize comes with. Part of the judging is based on the video's popularity on YouTube, so please vote, gentle readers.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

How could you not be mellow at an aquarium like this?

A trip to an aquarium can be a most mellowing day indeed. But if you can't make it to one right now, you can sit back with a cup of green tea and relax to this amazing high-definition video of sea creatures swimming elegantly through a giant tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Raising mellow kids

"Children Full of Life"—an episode of the Canadian TV series "The Passionate Eye"—focuses on a 4th-grade teacher in Kanazawa, Japan, who teaches his students to find happiness for themselves and compassion for others ... and that the two are inseparably intertwined.


You will also be surprised to see what painful experiences some of these young and otherwise cheery-looking kids had been keeping inside them—and how that inner pain was manifesting itself outwardly.

































—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Japan slideshow

In this two-and-a-half minute musical slideshow, James Grey presents every photograph he took on a trip to Japan, in chronological order:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Japanese house shaped like—and not much bigger than—a slice of pie

Japan is known for its small buildings, but this one really takes the cake—a tiny, slice-of-pie-shaped building.


The current owner says his grandfather built the structure about 100 years ago.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Another Kitaro classic: "Silk Road"—performed live!

The title of this piece by Japan's Kitaro refers to the historical trading routes and was composed for an NHK documentary of the same name, whose popularity brought Kitaro international fame.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Japanese girl group Tokyo Pinsalocks

Here are a couple of music videos from Japan's Tokyo Pinsalocks, who have a very unique sound.


Their music may initially seem somewhat cacophonous, but I find their rhythm and melody soothingly entrancing:


"Plutonium"







"Repeat"





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Kitaro's mucho mellow "Matsuri"

Here is the incomparable Kitaro performing his piece "Matsuri" ("festival") for a live—and lucky—audience:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Roll reversal: American sushi

Sushi is popular in America—and worldwide, for that matter—not just among those who eat but also among those who cook, and these sushi chefs are putting their own personal and cultural touch on their culinary creations:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Rubberduckzilla

Rubberduckzilla is the mascot for Japan's "Oasis" bottled beverage, which is billed (get it?) as the drink for "people who don't like water."


I would normally, at this juncture, point out that green tea is a much healthier alternative, and is great for people who do not like to drink plain water, but then I would not want to incur the wrath of Rubberduckzilla:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Mellow moon movie

Japan's space agency has taken some ultra-clear, close-up videos of the moon's surface with its Kaguya orbiting spacecraft.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Another animated slideshow from my tea-buying trip to Kyushu, Japan

I've created another high-resolution, animated slideshow from pictures from a recent tea-buying trip to Japan.


To watch it in full-screen mode, click on the icon in the lower-right corner of the player, between the "Vimeo" name and the sound bars.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

The King sings "I'll remember you"

One of the songs Elvis Presley sang at his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert was "I'll Remember You," which was written by Hawaiian singer/songwriter Kui Lee.


Another nice, mellow Kui Lee song is "The Days of My Youth" [MP3 preview from Mele.com].





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

In Japan, stressed-out city folk head to the hills for "farm therapy"

Stress-out city dwellers are discovering the rejuvenating properties of a day of farming in the country:






Pounding mochi: The farmer gets a helping hand, and the lass gets some much-needed sunshine, exercise, and stress relief.


—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Galactic time lapse

Here's a time-lapse video of the galactic center of the Milky Way rising over this year's Texas Star Party.

—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

The lessons of Japan's rural woodland villages

Satyoyama isn't a specific place; it's a generic term for Japan's rural woodland farming villages.


Anne McDonald has been studying these villages for decades and has been working to promote to the rest of the world the ecological lessons we can learn from them.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Heart-shaped melons

An entrepreneurial farmer in Kumamoto (where Mellow Monk tea is grown) has figured out how to coax melons to grow in a heart shape:


(The audio is in Japanese but can be summarized thus: "The farmer spent 4 years figuring out how to do this and has finally gotten to the point where the heart-shaped melons are just as sweet and tasty as regular melons, so you may see these melons on your grocer's shelves soon.")





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Stringing Tea: The Animoto Version

I used Animoto to make an animated slideshow—complete with musical soundtrack—out of the photographs I took during last year's tea-buying trip.


Animoto, by the way, is very cool.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Tokyo time lapse

Submitted for your approval—a time-lapse video Tokyo set to suitably atmospheric music:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Box-diving Maru redux

Remember Maru, the cardboard box-obsessed cat?


Well, he's back—and taking on bigger challenges:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Time-lapse video of wavy clouds

Here's a great video to sip green tea to:





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Calm-A-Sutra tea video contest

Attention, all up-and-coming filmmakers: The Tea Council of the USA is having its third annual scholarship competition, Calm-A-Sutra of Tea, which "challenges college students to create a one- to two-minute video about the positive benefits of black, green, white or oolong tea in order to win a $15,000 scholarship."


Not bad, eh?


Here is last year's winner, titled "Interrogation." It's actually quite funny and very well done.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Mellow melodies from Masaaki

Here, for your listening enjoyment, are two acoustic guitar pieces from Japan's Masaaki Kishibe.


Hana (Flower)







Hajimari (The Beginning)





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Mellow Monk debuts on European TV

A while back I wrote a series of blog posts entitled "Stringing Tea" about my tea-buying adventures in Kyushu and working with a European film crew that was documenting my journey for Arte.tv's "360° Geo" series.


Well, the show was finally broadcast late last year and I received a copy, a clip of which I humbly present to you here.


The German/French narration is stripped out of this clip. There are no subtitles yet, but in a nutshell, a tea grower is showing off his fields and his tea-processing operation. He explains how he maintains healthy fields through proper soil management and discusses the demanding business of harvesting and processing tea leaves in just the right way to assure the highest quality tea.


Stay tuned for more clips!





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Snowy train trip time-lapse

Brew up a cup and kick back to this time-lapse journey through snowy scenery from New York to New Jersey.





More info here.


—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Become an affiliate
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

Japan's scariest bridge

Deep in the Japanese Alps is the Muso Suspension Bridge, known as Japan's scariest bridge. Are you brave enough to cross it?


Because I'm not.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Become an affiliate
Subscribe to this blog

Share |

There's no stopping the shoji cats

A warning to anyone contemplating installing shoji doors in your home: Don't expect them to keep out a determined cat ... let alone two determined cats:






—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

The meaning of tea

The Meaning of Tea is a documentary that explores the tranquility, healthfulness, and prosperity that this wonderful plant brings to the tea-drinking world:





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Bring on the monkeys!

In the wintertime at Nagano's Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park, people come from all over the world to photograph the wild monkeys enjoying the natural hot springs there.







And if walking amongst a large troupe of wild monkeys sounds like your cup of tea, then Mt. Takasaki, in Kyushu's Beppu City, is the place for you:





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Furoshiki wrapping demonstrated

This video demonstrates a few clever ways to wrap gifts in a furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth—which is also reusable.


You can buy genuine furoshiki here.





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Three more from Keiko

If you liked yesterday's musical offering — and how could you not? — here are three more enchanting songs by the lovely Keiko Matsui.


Nighthawk's Dream







Ruins of Sonora







Night Waltz







—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Three from Keiko

Here are three lusciously mellow songs by Japanese pianist Keiko Matsui:


Water Lily







1942, From Russia







Light Above the Trees







—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Movies of the Aso Valley

Here are a couple of short videos of the Aso Valley (where yours truly's tea is grown), both with and without the unkai ("sea of clouds").








—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Ninja-cat Toyota commercial

I am fairly confident that this is one of the stranger commercials you will see today:






—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Maru the box-diving cat — Japan's Internet sensation

The antics of Maru, a very curious Japanese housecat, have become a veritable Internet sensation in Japan. One of my favorites is of Maru box-diving, shown below. Maru has a whole slew of videos here.





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

The cat and the smelly sneakers [video]

See how this housecat handles a smelly situation.





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Bladerunner minus the flying cars: Shinjuku, Tokyo

Pull up a chair and mellow out to the atmospheric music and enthralling images of Tokyo's Shinjuku district at night:


.


—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

"Deep Quiet" — head-scratching images that are strangely soothing, too. Oh, and more on that cat stationmaster.

This collection of photographs — titled "Deep Quiet" — is a little on the strange side, but they are strangely soothing, too. Great for a green tea break. Here's a sample:







Oh, and remember the story about the Japanese train station with a cat stationmaster? Well, here's a short, English-language video about him:





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

The cellphone orchestra

A Japanese video game company has released software that turns ordinary cellphones into musical instruments, which can also be played together in a virtual orchestra:





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Cat weight lifting [video]

In this segment from a Japanese variety show, the object was to see how big a fish the stray cats in a neighborhood could carry away. What's interesting to see is that at about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds), some cats give up, while others decide to eat it on the spot instead of carrying it into the bushes.





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Salt and sand — as art

Discovery magazine has a very cool online slideshow titled "Each Grain of Sand a Tiny Work of Art," an example of which is shown below:







Next, in the movie below, watch the interesting patterns that salt forms on a metal plate when the plate is made to vibrate with sound. (Warning: This movie has high-pitched sounds. Be sure to turn down the volume on your speakers before playing, especially if you have pets.)





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Tokyo photos ... plus a bonus video

I found a collection of beautiful photos of Tokyo at twilight.



Not far from Tokyo Tower (in the background), a quiet neighborhood is nestled between two lively streets.




Bonus
From the Out of Left Field Department — a video of Richard Dawson losing it on "Family Feud":





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

The rotating grid illusion

Here's a nifty optical illusion. First, you start with this single grid:





It's just an ordinary grid, right? But when it rotates, it appears to be comprised of multiple smaller grids each rotating separately:





Read more about it here.


—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

The baboon-hunting leopard who had a change of heart

A leopard hunting a baboon is unusual in and of itself. But this particular leopard is in for an even bigger surprise at the end of her hunt — and how she reacts to that surprise is simply amazing.






—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

The iron fireman and the golden tiger

Makoto Nagano, a.k.a., the Iron Fireman, takes on what has to be the world's toughest obstacle course in the hit Japanese TV show "Ninja Warrior":







And take a look at the simply stunning golden tiger:



Here kitty, kitty, kitty.


—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Olympic highlights performed by puppeteers [video]

—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

Mysterious goblin shark caught on video

Ever seen a goblin shark in action? Well, here's your chance — a video of one of the elusive creatures filmed by a Japanese diver.


Note how the shark's entire jaw pops outward to seize its prey. Remind you of anything?


The audio is in Japanese with no English subtitles, so here's a rough translation of what the narrator is saying:

The shark shoots out its jaw the instant the diver moves his arm away, simulating fleeing prey. The shark holds on tightly, but the diver reported feeling no pain. Then, after the diver removed the jaw from his arm, the shark became calm again, as if nothing had happened. This dive team had spent several months looking for the goblin shark. After this brief encounter, it disappeared back into the darkness of the deep.

—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |

"The Ninja Convention" and "The Late Riser and the Dictator"

Risking life and limb, a blog reader took a photo at the 5th Annual Ninja Convention.


Next up: Are you a late riser stuck in an early riser's world? If you think you are, you will definitely want to read these "5 Reasons Why Sleeping In Every Day Will Boost your Productivity."


The linked-to article features a hilarious video short — which I am embedding below — which could be titled, "The Late Riser and the Dictator." It's in Korean (I think) with German subtitles (I think), but no translation is necessary.





—Mellow Monk

Go to the Mellow Monk tea page
Subscribe to the blog feed (RSS)

Share |