Ashura exhibition

We have Golden Week holidays in the begining of May in Japan.
Today was the last day of the holiday for most of us.

I went to the Ashura exhibition in Tokyo National Museum.
The sculpture of Ashura is one of the most treasured sculptures made during the beginning to mid-7th century.
Ashura and other statues are the masterpieces from Kohfukuji in Nara, (near to Kyoto) and are exhibited outside the temple together for the first time.

Photos of the sculptures can been seen here:
http://www.kohfukuji.com/property/photo/index.html

I can not believe that such complicated sculptures were made in such a long time ago.
It is said that even with current technology, it's impossible to make same ones.
The craftsmen at that time had incredible skills and might have some powers.

cherry blossom appreciation

The Japanese really love eating and drinking under the trees in full bloom.
And now is the time in Tokyo, Japan.

I go viewing cherry blossom every Spring.
Every time, I think that I could enjoy it much more if the drunk people are not so noisy. ..

Daruma

I visited the Kawasaki Daishi, a big temple near to Tokyo, to pray for happiness for the year.
Every year, I buy the Daruma doll which is round Japanese wish doll from Zen (maybe..)

There are a lot of Daruma shops around the temple. I bought a red one (red is typical color, but there are yellow, green, while, even gold currently). It's a little bigger than last year to achieve the bigger goal.

Dalma's eyes color is alway white. One eye is filled in with Block colore while thinking of a wish. Then, when the wish comes true, the other eye is filled in. Traditionally, the left eye should be filled in first and the right eye is left blank until the wish come true. So, I went home and enjoyed filling in the left eyes wishing my dream.

Temporary Workers

Due to the current worldwide recession, the manufactures such as Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi and so on have started to cut temporary workers. It is called "Haken-Giri" meaning temporary worker cutback in Japan. Government says 85K temp workers will lose their jobs over next six months, and it has become a big social issue in Japan.

I've watched the discussion between politicians and activists in TV programs.
They were saying that Japanese companies used to guarantee lifetime job security and
use the retained earnings in the economic slump instead of laying off. But the recent American type of management values ROE (Return On Equity) too much for shareholders so Japanese companies are no longer allowed to do so. Most of them were criticizing Japanese companies cutting temporary workers.

Of course, we should avoid that thousands of people become homeless after job cuts.
But it is more safety net issue that the politicians should care.
I'm not sure if the companies should be criticized on this matter, because the companies hired temporary staffs for flexible cost control. Most of the temporary workers could get the jobs because it's temporary employment contract. If not, the companies might have obtained labor forces from other countries. So the temporary employment is one of good opportunities for labors. Of course, the management is morally responsible for employment.

I do not support the system of lifetime job security, because it's too risky for companies.
On the other hand, the government should organize the social safety net immediately to avoid this social collapse.