MY LIFE IN JAPAN a blog from kyoto for friends and family

I have been having a lot of adventures in Shuwa, which is Japanese sign language. last weekend we went to a Japanese Deaf Conference, and met our friend Fumiko and some other deaf people, including Okamoto-san. We had lunch at a very european style restaurant, and then they took us for a walk around the Arashiyama area, which is famous for temples (what else?), a huge river regulated by an ancient dam, a truly spectacular view of the mountains, and also, though we didn't see them, the famous Arashiyama macaque monkeys. One reason is:

Provisioning of Japanese macaques with food has led to special developments and fascinating observation of their "culture." One famous example of this is potato washing in a troop of Japanese macaques in Koshima, Japan. When researchers provisioned a troop of Japanese macaques by putting sweet potatos along the beach to bring them out into the open, one macaque began to wash the sand off of her sweet potatoes in the water instead of brushing it off with her hand as other macaques did. Over time, this behavior spread to other members of the troop and was passed on from generation to generation. Interestingly, this potato washing behavior became even more modified as Japanese macaques began washing their sweet potatos in salt water rather than fresh water, apparently to enhance flavor.

Many researchers in the Japanese forested mountains have also documented an unusual activity of the Japanese macaques. The animals know how to make tiny snowballs in their hands, using their opposable thumbs, and then roll them along the ground to create larger snowballs, much like human children do. While this behavior doesn't appear to have survival purpose, whole troops of Japanese macaques engage in the activity as a social process.

Interesting, ne? In the picture, I am saying "oishii", in shuwa, which means, "tasty"...

Labels: life in japan