2011-04-25-winter-sounds-in-japan.md (2032B)
1 +++ 2 title = "Winter Sounds in Japan" 3 date = "2011-04-25T00:00:00Z" 4 slug = "winter-sounds-in-japan" 5 tags = ["Japan"] 6 +++ 7 8 There are a lot of uniquely Japanese sounds. But the two I'm writing 9 about today appear on cold winter nights, and echo eerily through the 10 dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime. 11 12 Japanese winters are cold. They're not -30C cold, but what they do have on 13 Canadian winters is how drafty Japanese houses tend to be, and the distinct 14 lack of central heating. All across the country the appearance of convenience 15 store oden and yaki-imo wagons mark the arrival of winter. 16 17 {{< figure src="/post/2011-04-25-yakiimo.jpg" alt="Yaki-imo wagon" >}} 18 19 Yaki-imo are sweet potatoes roasted over flames in wood fired ovens in small 20 mobile carts or trucks. They're served up wrapped in newspaper, and are not 21 only delicious, but keep your hands warm too. But the most distinctive thing 22 about yaki-imo is that the sellers sing a very distinct [yaki-imo 23 song][yt_yakiimo]. They typically make the rounds until just after dinner time, 24 and I always found their song a bit eerie drifting though the dark streets. 25 26 {{< figure src="/post/2011-04-25-hinoyoujin.jpg" alt="Hi no Yōjin" >}} 27 28 Central heating is near non-existent in Japan, one result of which is the 29 [kotatsu][wiki_kotatsu], but another is that kerosene and gas heaters are still 30 commonly used for heating. Every year, housefires result from people 31 forgetting to shut of their heaters before bed. As a reminder to shut off the 32 heaters, people walk through town late at night, carrying lanterns and clacking 33 wooden blocks together, calling out "[hi no yōjin][yt_hinoyoujinn]": be careful 34 with fire. The sound of the blocks typically carries for many blocks, and you 35 often hear their calls echoing through town, coming and going for up to half an 36 hour as you lay in bed. 37 38 [wiki_kotatsu]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu 39 [yt_yakiimo]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9yctE9_hQ 40 [yt_hinoyoujinn]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqRIKoVckA#t=20s