New Year Food

With humans, it always comes back to food. We love our feast days, and most of our celebrations have some kind of special food associated with them.

New Year is no exception. I celebrated new year recently with a friend for whom sour cream and cheddar chips are an integral part of the evening. He also cooked us a Chinese roast duck; much closer to my ideal celebration.

We spoke to a couple of Bay Area experts about two specialties that are close to us at the museum: Japanese mochi and Buddha hands.

Last weekend, we celebrated the new year here at the museum with mochitsuki (mochi pounding). Local Japanese teacher Yoko Hara writes:

I am from Tokyo, but I’ve never seen mochitsuki there. We bought freshly made big square mochi (Tokyo style) and my father used to cut it into small rectangular pieces. So mochitsuki by Kagamikai was a surprise and delight.
We used to live pretty close to the old site of Asian Art Museum so when my children were still young, we used to enjoy the mochitsuki with Taiko drumming every year. Being a Japanese Teacher, I now spread the word about this lovely event to all my students and friends.

Buddha’s hand has become a common sight at Heart of the City Farmers’ Market, which takes place on Wednesdays and Sundays right behind the museum. Former curator Terese Bartholomew, now a board member of the San Francisco Botanical Garden, shares her knowledge of this funny-looking cousin of the lemon:

One interesting citrus that has appeared in the farmers’ markets in recent years is the Buddha’s hand citron (Citrus medica ‘Sarcodactylis’). This yellow citron with wavy tentacles takes its common name from the shape of its fruit, which resembles the idealized fingers of the Buddha. This fragrant fruit is used as an altar offering during Chinese New Year. The fruit runs completely to rind, and is not edible unless preserved with salt or sugar. Sliced into pieces, the fruit can be prepared the same way as candied citron; dipped in chocolate, these make a most delicious snack. The Buddha’s hand citron is beloved by the Chinese because its name, foshou, puns with blessings and longevity.

Tell us what’s on your Lunar New Year table – or share your recipes for Buddha’s hands.

I Wayan Wija

Although you might guess that things around the Museum are winding down–we’ve less than a month of the Bali exhibition left–think again.

The rare opportunity to see noted puppet master I Wayan Wija brings an added benefit: Wija has brought a number of his puppets and miniatures, several of which will be available in the Museum Store through his Asia Alive residency, which runs until August 28th.

Current favorites include the frogs and lion (with wagging tail), and quite a few of the miniatures, which are essentially small, unmounted paintings done in the style of the wayang (puppets).

Ratih, the Balinese goddess of romantic love, lust, & everlasting pleasure

And then there’s my personal favorite:

If you can’t make one of the performances or talks, stop by the Museum Store to see the work of one of the world’s greatest living masters.

It may be the year of the rabbit…

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Celebrate India

By Saturday, August 28th, the city’s sweltering summer heat will yield to a more accustomed winter chill, so we recommend warming up with the Asian Art Museum’s Celebration of India.

Get moving with the Chitresh Das Dance Company, flex your mind and body with yoga gallery tours, sample Indian desserts and spices, and create your own works of art.

And since no fewer than five people have asked about it today, yes, Sanjay Patel will be presenting his new book, Ramayana: Divine Loophole.  Check out his Gheehappy.com, or learn about his influences (he has excellent taste) and read an interview on Pixar’s site.

A huge new shipment of South Asian books just arrived in the Museum Store, so if the docents pique your curiosity, you can take some of the museum home with you.  Namaste!

600 years of tradition at HustleMania

Kyogen is a form of traditional Japanese theater and performance art. Kyogen can be literally translated as “mad words” or “wild speech”. This art form grew out of folk and Imperial court song and dance. Later the art form gradually divided into two branches. The more serious forms and elements further evolved into the masked no drama, the more comic forms and elements evolving into kyogen. Eventually lineages or schools of kyogen came into prominence and codified many of the traditions. I could go on and on about the history of kyogen and the intricacies of the art form, but that type of discourse is best left to my far more eloquent and expert colleagues.
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Fidelity in Revenge

Mase Chudayu Masa-aki takes aim

What great tale that comes to us through the fogged lens of history has not been inflated, top-heavy with embellishment? The Chushingura—the “Treasury of Loyal Retainers”—is perhaps the most famous of samurai narratives and requires no exaggeration.
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Sitar concert tonight

Tonight I have the honor of introducing our visiting musical guest from India–sitar artist Smita Nagdev and her tabla accompanyist Debopriyo “Bubai” Sarkar who lives in the Bay Area. The concert starts at 7pm and is free with admission ($5 after 5pm). Please come early and visit the South Asian galleries on the 3rd floor. Whenever I show people that gallery, they always say “Wow, I didn’t know the Asian Art Museum had such wonderful Indian art!”

You can hear a music clip performed by Ms. Nagdev here:

via tempostand.com

http://www.asianart.org/performances.htm

our wonderful guests

The scene:

May Target Sunday (our monthly free day) at the museum, around 4pm or so. Our very special guests, Lopen Netem and Lopen Gyem, are monks from Bhutan who have been here since February to protect the sacred artworks in The Dragon’s Gift. Throughout the run of the exhibition, visitors have been privy to their daily purification rituals for the objects, as part of our artists-in-residency program, AsiaAlive.

Here, the charming monks have attracted quite an inquisitive crowd of diverse folks, demonstrating the stirring sounds of an instrument (sorry, I don’t know its name!). The infectious energy, folks’ curiosity, and monks’ sweet smiles of sharing and pride all make for a somewhat poignant moment.

And some photos:

If you’re around, come by and say “Kuzu zampo” (hello!) to our special guests. The show closes on May 10.

Sand mandalas at the museum

Only six days remain in the run of our exhibition The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan, and I think everyone at the museum will be sorry to see it go. The visiting Bhutanese monks, Lopen Neten Dorji and Lopen Gyem Dorji, have been wonderful. Visitors can observe them performing daily purification rituals and prayers (puja) for sacred objects in the exhibition at 11:00 and 3:00 on most days. They have also created two beautiful sand mandalas. A detail from one is shown above.
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