Snow

Until I came to Japan, I had never seen it snow.

Well, actually, I had been on one snow trip with my family. And one time, on a road trip, we made a stop at a rest area where there was snow piled up, and we played with it, but I had never actually seen snow fall from the sky.

Perhaps this is why I was freaked out when I first saw it snow.

It was back in the winter of 2006. I was sitting at the office of the school where I worked, when a teacher pointed out the fact that it was snowing outside. "Snow?" I thought to my self. "This I gotta see."

And there, as if it were materializing out of nowhere, were floating strands of cotton-like snow. I was seriously freaked out. It took me a while to get used to it.

I had seen it snow in movies, and I had seen snow be depicted in video games, but it's quite a different experience to actually be there present and watch it snow.

I was riding on my bike that same winter. I must have been on my way home from buying groceries or running some errand, when I noticed the wind was blowing around what seemed like bits of fluff. I could have sworn the wind had picked up dust bunnies, the kind that accumulate behind your couch or furniture that hadn't been moved in a while.

But upon closer inspection, it was snow again!

It was cold enough to snow. That would explain why my hands felt like they were frozen solid as I rode my bike down the sidewalk.

Snow is strange to me...

I associate stuff falling out of the sky with clouds.

If it's raining, there have to be clouds.

Logically, if it's snowing, there have got to be clouds also.

But for whatever reason, snow can materialize out of thin air, and fall to the ground and pile up, and this freaks the hell out of me!

I continue to be mystified by snow.

I hope one day to experience what they call a "White Christmas."

In Osaka, it snows, but it rarely piles up.

They say that once every 10 years or so, it actually snows in Osaka enough to pile up, make snow men and have snowball fights.

The last time I saw it snow like that was in fact that year of 2006.

We're long overdue.

Snow in Video Games
Some of the most memorable games for me had snow in them. In fact, oftentimes, the snow levels stood out in my mind for whatever reason. Either the scenery was visually appealing, or the level had interesting music.

I think the very first time I saw snow in a video game had to be in Megaman, Ice Man's world.

Ice Man's Stage, Megaman I

Fighting Ice Man

After that it had to be Super Mario 3, World 6.

After that it had to have been the snow level in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 for the original NES.

One of the biggest reasons I remember this level is because it had some very memorable music. I've included a link to it here.

But one of my most favorite snow levels was the one in Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts. Aside from being visually appealing, I really liked the music which was set to 5/4 time.

 Listen to this level's music here.

The snow levels in Adventure Island II also had great visuals and music.

Snow and ice were a recurring theme in Megaman games. Ice Man in the very first game, then Blizzard Man in the 6th game, Freeze Man in the 7th game, and Cold Man in Megaman & Bass. Not to mention Chill Penguin and Blizzard Buffalo in the X series.

Blizzard Man Stage

Fight with Blizzard Man

Freeze Man Stage

Blizzard Man

OK, Cloud Man wasn't an ice or snow character, but it did snow in his stage...

Cold Man Stage

Cold Man Battle

Chill Penguin Stage

Battle with Chill Penguin

Blizzard Buffalo Stage

Fight with Blizzard Buffalo

I never really saw it snow in a Zelda game, but then again, I didn't really play anything further than A Link to the Past. I do remember one of the dungeons in the Dark World in A Link to the Past had ice and snow in it however...

Snow appears in the very first Samurai Shodown game in Nakoruru's stage.

Her sister would later on appear in the third game in the series, with the element of snow and ice at her side.

Snow also appears in Samurai Shodown 2, in Jubei's stage.

The Phendrana Drifts level in Metroid Prime was visually beautiful, and it had memorable music I can still recall today...

Listen to the beautiful music of this stage here.

In the game Metroid Fusion, there is a scene where Ridley's remains were frozen stiff in an artificial snowing environment. The music was eerie and strange. The slow, lullaby-like music seemed to personify the ice and falling snow. I'll never forget it.

Listen to the music of this stage here.

Hungry Ghosts

Touched off by my last post on the Japanese holiday of Obon, and the fact that it's Halloween, and tomorrow will be the Mexican Day of the Dead, I decided to write  this post focusing on the concept of Hungry Ghosts.

Since I learned about the East Asian concept of "Hungry Ghosts," I found it intriguing. Initially, I found it rather contrasting with Western ideas of what a ghost is supposed to be, but the more I read about it, the more I have come to think that these Eastern and Western ideas may not be entirely different after all.

When I think of a "ghost" in the Western sense, I think of the spirit or soul of a person who has died, but hasn't yet "crossed over" into heaven or hell. A ghost may be around haunting places, objects, or even people, because it as "unfinished business" on earth; events the ghost would like to see happen before its soul can finally rest in peace.

So when I first read about "the Hungry Ghosts," I thought it was strange. Ghosts are dead. They lack physical bodies that must be nourished by food, let alone digestive tracts that yearn to digest it. This suggests that they can "die" again, if they don't get food. Or what what would the food sustain if it the ghost is already dead?

There are some common threads that seem to run through both the Western and Asian idea of a "ghost." The first is the idea of being stuck somewhere in a realm between the land of the living and a final resting place for spirits. The second is the idea for yearning, want, or desire for something. In this sense, the ghosts in both cultures are "hungry." And the third seems to be the need for some sort of atonement in order to escape this realm; you don't want to be a hungry ghost, you want to be a satiated ghost. The difference seems to be in the objectives or requirements that need to be fulfilled in order for this to happen; the "unfinished business" is different.

Whereas in the West, a ghost is usually searching to fulfill something, finding a lost object, seeing a person that wasn't present at its death, mourning the destruction, holding his or her murderer responsible etc., in the case of the Buddhist Hungry Ghost, the ghost is atoning for the specific deeds of its greed and stinginess as a living being on earth.

 Realm of Hungry Ghosts on the

Buddhist Wheel of Life

This could be telling of where Western and Eastern traditions might place value; in the West, a ghost might be seeking to fulfill an individual, almost selfish desire or want, in the East, the ghost is paying the price for being a self-serving, stingy person in life, who cared more about him or herself rather than helping others.

The moral the Western idea of ghosts seems to be, live life to the fullest; have no regrets. You may be a ghost crawling the earth unless you complete everything on the bucket list. But the moral the Eastern idea of ghosts seems to be, put others before you; don't be so stingy and greedy, or when you die, you will know what it feels like to be on the receiving end.

So in both cultures you can become a hungry ghost, but for different reasons.

In Buddhist traditions, right moral actions on earth determine whether or not you will be reborn in Nirvana, or will continue to be reborn in one of the realms of Samsara, such as the realm of Hungry Ghosts.

The Western Judeo-Christian tradition is similar, but slightly different; right moral actions determine whether your soul/spirit will be sent to heaven or hell, but being a ghost crawling around on earth in between the spirit and physical realm seems to be a separate phase that exists only in those cases where the deceased has "unfinished business" on earth, which seems to have nothing to do regarding his heaven/hell status. Once you "cross over," your soul "rests in peace," until "Judgement Day."

For Buddhists, being a Hungry Ghost IS its own "hell."

There may be a point at which both cultures meet; a ghost in the western sense may be around because of regret of wrongdoing. Perhaps the ghost feels responsible for killing someone and is trying to atone for that somehow. Perhaps a ghost feels responsible for having stolen something in life, or hidden it, or may be responsible for fraud and it may be around trying to "undo" that deed.

The processes may be different, but in the end, perhaps the idea of ghosts in both cultures may be getting at the same thing, placing value on doing good earthly deeds, such as showing restraint and being benevolent to others on earth etc., so that one may enjoy a favorable and/or fulfilling afterlife.

Where both cultures seem to differ is the final destination of souls.

While in Buddhist traditions, all beings continue to be reborn into one of the realms of Samsara and have a chance to attain "enlightenment," if only they would choose to be "awake," acknowledge the Four Noble truths etc., in Western Judeo-Christian traditions, you get only one chance; if you live a righteous life, heaven awaits, if you live a life of sin you will burn in hell for eternity, and there is no escape.

Ghosts in Video Games
My earliest recollection of a ghost appearing in a video game has got to be of when I played Super Mario 3. In the instruction booklet, the bashful ghost that hides its face when you turn to it was called "Boo Diddley."

Similar ghosts appear in Super Mario World, only now they appear in hordes called the "Boo Buddies."

Now just known as "Boo," these ghosts come back to haunt Mario in later games, appearing hungrier than ever.

Inclusively, Mario is able to become a ghost as one of his abilities in Super Mario Galaxy.

Very recently, I ran across a video on YouTube, on a channel called "Gaming Historian." It's about a game I played a long, long time ago when I was in elementary school, called "Conquest of the Crystal Palace."

The video brought back memories, including one where I was mesmerized by one of the levels, namely Level 3, where the music was creepy, and the background seemed like the faces of other-worldly creatures, like aliens of some kind.

Interestingly enough, a girl named Kim is always around at different parts of each level to try and sell you stuff and give you "news bulletins" from a news network called "QNN." She is somehow around in this level despite all the danger.

And the news bulletin you get from her at this part of the stage is the only hint on where you're at. The words of the bulletin stayed in my mind, and seeing the above video made me somehow remember them.

And I had always asked myself... "Hungry ghosts... What are these hungry ghosts..."

Years later, when I began to study Japanese language and culture, I would come across these words again, when I researched the origins of Obon. When I read about Mokuren's mother ending up in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, memories of this game resurfaced. I felt like Dory from Finding Nemo when she started recalling everything at once.

AH!!! HUNGRY GHOSTS! THIS GAME! THAT'S WHAT THIS WAS!!!

After seeing the above video, stuff started making more sense. Before I saw it, I had no idea that efforts were made to censor parts of the game. One of the parts of the game to be majorly affected was Level 3, which looks even more creepy in its original form. The hungry ghosts are more clearly seen.

Perhaps the most obvious reference to the Hungry Ghosts as depicted in traditional Buddhist art is the character Yokai Kusaregedo, from one of my most favorite videogame series, Samurai Shodown.

Yokai Kusaregedo is a tragic character as he is quite literally a hungry ghost that crawls the earth looking for food. He has an insatiable appetite for human flesh.

But perhaps the most memorable ghost for me in video games that has stayed in my mind haunting me since the day I saw it has got to be the ghost from the game Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Gameboy.

Ghosts have appeared in the Zelda series since the very first game on the original NES.

And they appear as normal enemies in Zelda Link's Awakening.

But this one particular ghost starts following you and he won't leave you alone until you do what it asks you; take it to its old house.

After seeing its old house abandoned and dilapidated, one last time, it finally asks you to take it to its grave, the ghost's final resting place.

For your service, the ghost awards you a Secret Seashell which it tells you is hidden in a jar in its old home. And there, your quest with the ghost ends.

This mini side-game/story really stayed in my mind after playing this game. I always asked myself... Who was this the ghost of? What did it do in its life? Did it have relatives? A mate? Why did it want to see its house again?

This was one of those ghosts who was "hungry," but in the Western sense.

For whatever reason, I feel like this ghost right here...

A part of me wishes it could go back to the house where I grew up... To recall all the memories I had as a child...

Related Post:

Summer: Obon Season in Japan

TSUKIMI: A Japanese Autumn Tradition

Summer has come and gone, and now Japan is getting ready to enjoy the fall season. If it's something that the Japanese are traditionally fond of, it's the seasons, and the changing of them. The Japanese have symbols that announce every season, and even the time in-between. In Japan, there are certain flowers, certain foods, certain sounds, certain moods, certain smells, certain songs, certain poetry, certain scenery that is associated with a particular season, or even part of the season.

The time is now Autumn, when the temperature begins to fall, the leaves change color, the days shorten, and certain foods are in season. The Japanese associate the fall with an increase in appetite, so much so that they have a term for it; "shokuyoku no aki." (食欲の秋) This is the time when Japanese take trips to go see the autumn foliage at temples and shrines. The weather begins to get chilly, and people gather at houses and local bars to eat different kinds of food together, in particular Japanese hot pot, or nabe. (鍋)

An Autumn scene in Kyoto

A family enjoying sukiyaki

Autumn is moon viewing season in Japan. That is, the Japanese hold special rites to worship the moon. Traditionally, it is believed that the full moon of the 8th and 9th month of the old calendar are the brightest moons of the year, and the best time to take time out to observe the moon's beauty. The tradition of appreciating and making offerings to the moon is called Otsukimi (お月見), and it is said to be introduced to Japan during the Heian period, when Japanese aristocrats began introducing elements of the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival to the country, making offerings and reciting poetry under the Harvest Moon.

Today, Otsukimi is observed on both the full moons of September and November; in September, the full moon is observed (15th night of the lunar month), while in November, the moon is observed while it is still waxing (13th night of the lunar month). Because the dates refer to the old Japanese calendar, they don't always fall on the same day every year.

For Otsukimi, the Japanese decorate their houses with pampas grass, and make special rice cake dumplings called "Otsukimi Dango." (お月見団子) Traditionally, these rice cakes are made, eaten, and offered to the moon, along with sweet potatoes, which are a harvest of the season.

An Otsukimi offering of rice dumplings, or otsukimi dango

The Harvest Moon is forever immortalized

in the traditional Hanafuda playing cards.
This is the Harvest Moon depicted in the
"August" suit. The 8th month in the traditional

Japanese calendar corresponds with

September in the Gregorian calendar.
Hey! Hadn't you seen this card before?

Speaking of which, I'd like to talk a little bit about one of the foods most often eaten by the Japanese during the fall and winter season, and that's baked sweet potato, or yakiimo. (焼き芋) Come fall, it becomes yakiimo season, and one can begin to see freshly baked sweet potato at grocery and convenience stores.

Sometimes, you can even hear it being announced on loudspeakers, by men selling them out of a truck that has an actual oven for baking sweet potatoes on it. Almost like we would hear an ice cream truck back home, one can hear a passing yakiimo truck announce "Yaaaaaaaa-ki-imoooooo!!!" My wife likes it so much she always tells me to go chase the man down and buy a few for her.

When you buy baked sweet potato from a truck, you'll often get it wrapped in newspaper

A Yakiimo truck. Can you see the stove's chimney coming out the back?

Did you know that in Japan, it is traditionally believed that the image on the moon is that of a rabbit pounding away at a mortar making mochi? (餅) It's true! The association is so strong, that another symbol for Otsukimi, and thus the Autumn season in general, is a rabbit. The image of the rabbit pounding mochi on the moon is called "usagi no mochitsuki." (うさぎの餅つき)

 I always thought that the moon looked like a sad, crying face...

I wonder why it's sad... Maybe when it sees that Americans are being forced to choose between Billary Clinton and Donald Drumpf, it can't help but cry... (HAH HAH HAH! X-D )

One last thing.

There are a lot of reasons why I just love McDonald's in Japan. The service is just so much better in comparison to McDonald's back home, the food quality is also better, and there is just so much variety on the menu that's always changing. One of the things I just love about Japanese McDonald's is that even here, one can observe the Japanese' love for the changing of the seasons. They have special burgers and foods that are served only for a limited time during different times of the year.

Right now, you can go to McDonald's and buy one of three different "Otsukimi Burgers." For whatever reason, a fried egg has been associated with Otsukimi, and if a food has an egg in it, it can be called "Otsukimi" something.

From left to right; the "Mangetsu Cheese Tsukimi," "Cheese Tsukimi," and plain "Tsukimi" burgers.

(Mangetsu, 満月, means "full moon.")

 Tsukimi soba, a bowl of soba noodles with a poached egg on top.
Perhaps the egg yolk is associated with the moon?

Related Posts:
Early Summer: The Season for Lemony Goodness

Japanese Summer Treat: Ramune

Tsuyu Series: Rain in Videogames