Japan Video Topics 2010/03
Cyber Power Suits (4'30")
Japanese anime and manga often show robot heroes helping and rescuing humans. Advances in technology are making this dream a reality, with robot nursing assistants able to lift the heaviest bedridden person and cuddly robot animals that provide interactive therapy. Most impressive of all is the robot suit HAL. When sensors on the wearer's skin pick up nerve signals to muscles, HAL's motors provide the power to move or assist the intended limb. A full HAL suit provides extra lifting power for care givers, while partial suits can make effective training aids to help recover function in specific limbs.
Kumiko Latticework (3'44")
Kumiko latticework is a craft tradition that became established in the 17th century, when craftsmen were brought together from all over Japan to decorate the shogun's great mausoleum at the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. Ideas and techniques shared during this project formed the basis for the distinctive look that the craft would develop in later centuries - complex geometric patterns, often imitating nature, created from lattices of thin wooden sections. These are sawn or planned to an incredible precision of 1/100mm, so that they will fit firmly together without any nails or adhesive.
The Essential Bean (4'26")
Rich in protein, soybeans have been an important source of nutrition for the Japanese since ancient times. Grown in many colors, shapes and sizes, these beans are used in an wide variety of products, the most famous being tofu, a highly nutritious food introduced to Japan from China at the start of the 8th century. The Japanese went on to develop their own distinctive styles of tofu, and now use it as the base for many dishes. Soybeans can be eaten fresh or cooked, processed into soy sauce, flour or miso, or even fermented in straw to produce sticky, flavorful natto, prized for its many health benefits.
Pillars of Flame (3'43")
Toyohashi City in Aichi holds a unique festival each July. The 400-year old Gion Festival centers around a firework display, but instead of the usual rockets these are long sections of specially cut bamboo trunk, wound with straw rope for extra strength, and packed with gunpowder material. The young men of the city hold these bamboo cylinders barehanded as they shoot pillars of fire into the sky. Flames can be 10m high, raining fiery sparks on the holders, and hundreds of fireworks are set off during the three hour festival. Traditionally a rite of passage from young adults, it's still a stirring test of courage.
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