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SAFE and Sound in Sasama 　　　笹間: ぎりぎりセーフ

29/9/2022

On the night of Friday 24 September, Typhoon No. 15 (Talas) stalled its eerie windless deluge over parts of Shizuoka prefecture, dumping up to 500mm of rain in a matter of hours. We residents of Sasama are used to landslides occurring as a result of heavy rainfall but this usually happens after the storm passes as water-logged soil slowly gives way, or as a result of trees being blown down. On this occasion, the mass of water became a force of its own, plunging down the steep hillsides immediately taking rocks and debris with it. This debris piled up on roads and choked rivers especially at bridges where the current tore into the soil on either end of the bridge as it raced downstream.

At dawn the next day Sasama found itself completely cut off by landslides and erosion along all three of the roads leading out of the area (see map; situation as of today!). Along the most stable of these roads (to Shimada) the river had dug a huge hole where the entrance to a bridge once was (see photo above). Sasama’s power was cut as part of the 120,000 household outage throughout the Shizuoka area, the telecom tower was down, and water supplies soon stopped. Fortunately, we had gas for cooking and my rotary dial telephone was working. My main concern was to keep my AirBnB guests fed and comfortable until a road opened up.

Sasama sprang into action as a team of locals managed to repair the bridge and clear the road leading to it using only machinery and manpower from the Sasama side (see photo above)! By dusk on Sunday (36 hours later) the road was passable and my guests returned to their home in Shizuoka. By Monday morning power and water had been restored and by Wednesday we had cell service again. (In contrast, my guests are still without water in Shizuoka city!) Although the landscape shows the severity of the storm, we can be grateful for no injuries or major property damage here. Thanks to the resilience and skill of the residents of Sasama we are safe and sound—and prepared--as typhoon season continues…

performance of 'hana ikada' at chaya hotaru　　　　　茶屋「蛍」二周年祭で'花筏’を演奏されました　（伊東明子とクラークシェリー）

11/9/2022

Hana Ikada （花筏）is a classic duet in the koto repertoire portraying, in sound, a scene of flowers floating and swirling on the water's surface. Alternating between fast and slow, bold and soft, and sweet and discordant tones it creates a mesmerizing atmosphere for contemplation. It is not a particularly difficult piece but it requires a solid partnership between the two koto players as they answer and echo each other's musical phrases. I am privileged to have such a wonderful teacher! Thanks very much to Itou Takeshi for the video, to the SasuIchi goldfish for their synchronized swimming, and to everyone who attended. 『花筏』という曲は箏のデュエットで、水面に浮き沈みしながら流れる花の様子を描いたものです。速・遅、強・弱、苦・甘の調べのコントラストが聞く人を夢中にする雰囲気があります。あまり難しい曲ではありませんが、奏者がお互いの音に応え、お互いの音に共鳴して合わせる力が必要になります。このように素晴らしい先生に恵まれ、一緒に演奏できたことを光栄に思います。ビデオを撮った伊東猛さんへ、シンクロナイズドスイミングしたサスイチの金魚さんへ、聞きに来て下さった皆様へも感謝したいです！！