Inviting Good Fortunes

Happy Chinese New Year!  恭喜發財

日本語はこちらから

Making Setsubun animation with Apple motion, pages, final cut pro, and logic pro in Apple Store Shibuya.

Can you hear the ogres saying, "Oishisou, oishisou(yummy, yummy)" and " Hoshii, hoshii (give me, give me)".


Setsbun(節分) is a Japanese festival in the beginning of February just before the beginning of spring 立春, the first solar term.  People throw dried soy beans to the ogres(beasts) to get rid of them

and invite the Otafuku(お多福）into their home. The Otafuku means many good fortunes.  Ogres represent bad fortunes and sickness.  Also, stick a smelly dried fish head on a holly and put it in front of the house entrance so the ogres won't come in.  In Osaka area, each person faces the lucky direction of the year and eat a big sushi roll which is uncut called "Ehomaki恵方巻き" silently.  "Ehomaki" means lucky direction roll.  Today, the habit of eating a sushi roll "Ehomaki" became  popular in Tokyo and other cities in Japan after 7-Eleven(セブンイレブン) started selling them in many cities.

winter holidays in Tokyo

This is aone of the landmarks in Roppongi Tokyo.  There are shops, restaurants, offices, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Suntory museum, and others.  They have the light show every year in December.

Halloween Scary Night in Tokyo

Happy Halloween!  万圣节快乐

Halloween became a strange ritual in Japan.  Young adults wear Halloween costumes and go out.  There is no "trick or treats". 

They start gathering to Shibuya station in the evening.  This photo was taken before 7:00PM on October 30 2016.  There were full of disguised people and couldn't walk.  Couldn't even see the ground .  More people gather in night and go wild every year.  There were so many police men this year telling them not to stop on the street and keep moving.  It may be scary to walk in the crowd.  Foreign tourists also come watch them. 

The department stores, small shops, and car drivers are complaining about this phenomenon.  They wonder why Halloween has changed into wild party for adults.  Probably no one knows the origin and history of Halloween.      

  

2016 Halloween Night in Shibuya Tokyo 

This Halloween movie was created for the "Best of One to One" as a member of Apple Store One to One in 2014 in November.  

ハロウィン動画を作って楽しむ。日本語はこちらから





There are five scenes: Ghosts coming out of Omotesando Apple Store.  Scary dark Hall.  Purple haunted room.  Green room with a witch, black cat, and an alien   The last room is called Pumpple room. Pumpkin x apple = pumpple 

Apple motion 5 was used for visual effects. 

Logic Pro 10 can create the spooky music using Apple loops.

And Final Cut Pro 10 were used to  this Halloween movie. 


Thanks to Apple Store trainers in Shibuya and Omotesando who taught me how to use these applications and made me able to create such video! 

Still learning and wishing they would continue a good service like one to one membership in the future. 

Japanese Tradition: Fireworks in Summer 日本的夏天

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Summer starts after the rainy season(Monsoon梅雨) in Japan.  Summer in Japan is usually humid, hot, and uncomfortable.  People endure by hearing nice and cool sounds of  "Edo Furin(江戸風鈴)" the Japanese glass wind chime, or watching fire flies(蛍). Big fire works, festivals(祭り), and "Obon(お盆)"--- are probably the best things in summer.  


Celebrating "Obon" (or Bon Festival) is one of the most important Japanese tradition.  It was originally a Buddhist ceremony in which people welcome back the sprits of ancestors and also loved ones who passed away.  


Firework Festivals (花火大会) started in 18th century during Edo Era (江戸時代).  It was for comforting the souls of the dead(鎮魂).  Japanese fire works are beautiful and magnificent which also comfort people who watch them. 




Hawaiian Relaxation Qigong and Taichi Class

Halloween 萬聖夜 Haunted House

HAPPY  HALLOWEEN ! 萬聖節快樂

July 4th Independence Day 美国独立纪念日

Colonial fife and drum corps and 4th of July fireworks animation 

This time, I made a video of the US Independence Day with Apple motion 5.   The fife and drum corps are playing "Yankee Doodle" in the colonial day,  the audio parameter behavior was applied to the  marching soldiers, dancing flag, and blinking 50 stars.  If you watch them carefully, you can tell the musical instruments are affecting their movements. 

When I think of the 4th of July, I recall the spectacular scene of the fireworks over the Washington Monument.     

Chinese Festival 端午节 、2014年6月2号

端午节快乐！

Duan Wu Jie (Dragon Boat Festival) is to wish for health　

Celebrating Duan Wu Jie (端午節 May Festival) on May 5th of the lunar calendar started in ancient China.  Duan (端) means beginning.  The Wu month(午月) is the fifth month of the year.  五(numeral 5) is also pronounced "wu".  五月初五 became May Festival.  The summer begins from the fifth month of the year which is end of May or beginning of June of Gregorian calendar.   When Summer solstice occur, the day time is the longest of the year.  This is extreme Yang(太陽)  as day(brightness) relates to Yang and night(darkness) relates to Ying.  Extreme is out of balance.  The temperature and humidity raises high.  It's very hot and unpleasant.  More dehydration and food poison occur during hot season.  Immune system becomes weaker and easy to get infectious disease and may cause epidemics.

Ancient Chinese people thought May is the wicked month.  To get rid of toxins and prevent bad fortune(disease) , people started the ritual on May 5th.  People ate herbal medicines such as calamus and mugwort for maintaining health.  Drank realgar wine(雄黄酒) to get rid of toxin and prevent inflammation.  Let children wear a small bag of fragrance as an amulet to protect them and prevent disease.

We made a video of the carps because May fifth(of Gregorian calendar) is Children's Day in Japan and people put up carp shaped streamer(鯉のぼり) for centuries.  Also, decorate "Yoroi and Kabuto (鎧兜 armor)" to celebrate and wish health and longevity for children.

Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, 櫻花

Happy Spring! 

I saw a movie called Lost Horizon(1973) long time ago.  The airplane crash landed on a snow mountain of Himalaya.  The passengers were rescued and taken to Shangri-La 香格里拉.  I don't remember the story but I thought people went through the cave and reached a village with ever lasting spring with blossoms.  The villagers  have perpetual life.  I remember the part that a man from outside world peggy backed a village woman(Olivia Hussey) and went back to the snow mountain.  Then the woman instantly became old and died.

My video was inspired by the scenery of this movie.  Shangri-La is an utopia.  We can find the inner peace, warmth, comfort, relaxation, while practicing Taichi, Qigong, or meditation like in Shangri-La.  

Sakura, cherry blossoms bloom beautifully in spring time.  The blossoms have very short life.  They only last for about one week in Japan.  Falling petals are also beautiful like snow.  Japanese people love Sakura as thought it resembles human life.  Our life is also short, especially in the ancient time.  Average life lasted less than forty years.  I guess people wished to live happy and beautiful life.    Spring also represents youth.  People wants long lasting spring.     

Although the blossoms don't fast long, the cherry trees have strong life energy.  Some trees in Japan lives over a thousand years.   

    

Xing Yi Long Spear (Xingyi Quan) 形意大枪

Xingyi Long Spear is a weapon used in Xingyi Quan(also called Xingyi Boxing 形意拳)

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Xingyiquan(Hsing I Ch'uan) is a famous internal martial art.

Xingyi（形意）means form and intent.  Xingyi Quan does not use muscle force.  Fa Jing(發勁), a strong power like sudden explosion is the technique used in Xingyi.  The coordination of form and intent is necessary.  It is advanced skill of Chinese martial arts which can be acquired by internal training.  Xingyi also requires long patient training.  

Xingyi Qhuan consists of Wuxing Quan(Five Elements Fists 五行拳) and Twelve Animal Fists(十二形拳).  Wuxing Quan is the basic and important forms which came from the spear technique.  

Xingyi Long Spear (形意大槍) is difficult to control as it is much longer and heavier than standard size spears.  Xingyi martial artists practice long spear forms to improve Wuxing Quan and produce powerful Fa Jing.  

Demonstrated in Honolulu Hawaii

The Xing Yi Quan was passed down from Master Wenzhong Xu 徐文忠

(the disciple of Master Song Gao Lu 盧崇高) to Master Zhengbao Feng 馮正宝, 

then to his disciples in Tokyo 

Please watch the Spring Festival short video 春節動画

Happy Chinese New Year! 

January 31 2014 is Lunar new year.  The year of the horse.   

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Chinese new year is also known as Spring Festival.  Chinese characters in this video says  春節好 Chinese new year is also known as Spring Festival.   春 節 means spring festival.  It is the beginning of the new year and also the beginning of spring.  The weather usually becomes warmer around this time of the year.   

恭賀發財 Kung Hei Fat Choi!。 新年好 Xin nian hao 。 春節好 Chun jie hao。

 All these phrases are New Year’s greeting words in Chinese.  

People in Hawaii also celebrate Chinese new year as there are large number of Asian immigrants and visitors.  They have special events in China town every year. China town Parade, Narcissus Queen Pageant, Lion Dances, martial arts demonstration, and others.  

 In this video, the martial artist in Hawaii is practicing Xing Yi Long Spear 形意大槍.  His spear is 3.3m(10.8ft) long.  It’s very heavy and hard to keep the balance.  Taichi mark means Yin and Yang 陰陽.   Yin is earth地 energy and Yang is sky天 energy.  They are balanced.  Man is in the center (in between earth and heaven) Tian Di Ren 天地人.  

See the explanation of the phrases in the horse picture from HERE.

Martial Arts for Health

Health is essential to happiness

Happy New Year! 　

2014甲午  is a year of the horse.  

Wishing everyone healthy and prosperous year 2014.

They are the violent scary demons called Namahage.  They come down from the mountain to visit every home to scare bad people.  They will bring good fortune and prosper.  It's a ritual in Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture(Northern area of Japan with heavy snow in the winter) on New Year's Eve.  

Health and well-being is important to our lives.  Exercise is essential to the health.  In this video, Namahages are training the Chinese martial art called Bagua 八卦掌 (Eight Trigram Fists) for health.  The famous Baguazhang masters lived healthy long life.  The training may help maintain the health to become active seniors. 

More story is on YouTube.  

Happy Thanksgiving !（感謝祭）

 Thanksgiving Day

I made a motion graphics with Apple Motion and Logic Pro.  Please enjoy my "Turkeys Parade".

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We teach Qigong（養生気功) and martial arts exercises（武術基本功),  Traditional Yang Style Taichi(伝統楊式太極拳), and Taijiyuangong(太極元功) for health, beauty, and longevity.

Visit Hawaiian Relaxation Qigong and Taichi Class in Tokyo.