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Otsukimi


Tsukimi or Otsukimi, literally moon-viewing, refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month. These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.

The Tsukimi custom originated from the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The tradition is now so popular in Japan that some people repeat the activities for several evenings following the appearance of the full moon during the eighth lunisolar month.

Tsukimi traditions include displaying decorations made from Japanese pampas grass (susuki) and eating rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango in order to celebrate the beauty of the moon. Seasonal produce are also displayed as offerings to the moon. Sweet potatoes are offered to the full moon, while beans or chestnuts are offered to the waxing moon the following month. The alternate names of the celebrations, Imomeigetsu　(literally "potato harvest moon") and Mamemeigetsu ("bean harvest moon") or Kurimeigetsu ("chestnut harvest moon") are derived from these offerings.

Tsukimi refers to the Japanese tradition of holding parties to view the harvest moon. The custom is thought to have originated with Japanese aristocrats during the Heian period, who would gather to recite poetry under the full moon of the eighth month of the lunisolar calendar, known as the "Mid-Autumn Moon." Since ancient times, Japanese people have described the eighth lunisolar month (corresponding to September on the contemporary Gregorian calendar) as the best time for looking at the moon, since the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon cause the moon to appear especially bright.

 On the evening of the full moon, it is traditional to gather in a place where the moon can be seen clearly, decorate the scene with Japanese pampas grass, and to serve white rice dumplings (known as Tsukimi dango), taro, edamame, chestnuts and other seasonal foods, plus sake as offerings to the moon in order to pray for an abundant harvest. These dishes are known collectively as Tsukimi dishes (tsukimi ryouri?). Due to the ubiquity of sweet potato or taro among these dishes, the tradition is known as Imomeigetsu  or "Potato harvest moon" in some parts of Japan.

Americans, Japanese, Irishman among 14 killed in Nepal plane crash

A small passenger plane crashed amid bad weather in a remote area of Nepal on Tuesday morning,

killing all 14 people on board, including four American women, a Japanese man and an Irish man, aviation officials said.

Kathmandu airport's Rescue Coordination Center confirmed no survivors in the crash of the Agni Air turboprop, which occurred near the village of Shikharpur in Makwanpur district, about 33 kilometers southwest of Kathmandu airport or 100 km away by road.

"A rescue helicopter that reached the crash site has reported to us that all 14 on board the plane are dead," said Bimalesh Karna, manager of the center.

"So far, bad weather condition is believed to have led to the crash," he added.

Airline officials said there were also five Nepali passengers and three Nepali crew members on board the German-built Dornier-288 plane when it crashed, according to airline officials.

Flight AG-101 had left Kathmandu at 7:04 a.m. for the eastern town of Lukla, a popular trekking base in the Mt. Everest region, but it was unable to land there, and it was returning to Kathmandu when the control tower there lost communication with it at 8:26 a.m.

The district's police chief Ram Prasad Shrestha, citing villagers' accounts, told Kyodo News by telephone, "We have received information that the aircraft is in pieces."

He said security personnel were struggling to reach the crash site as it has been raining for three days and floods have obstructed roads throughout the district.

This is the deadliest crash Nepal has witnessed since October 2008 when a plane operated by Yeti Airlines.

Search Continues for Van Gogh Stolen From Cairo Museum

Egyptian authorities are still searching for a painting by the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh stolen from a Cairo museum, a day after mistakenly saying it had been recovered.

Officials say they have stepped up security at Egypt's borders to try to keep the artwork from leaving the country.

Egypt's culture minister Farouq Hosni initially said two Italians had been arrested at Cairo airport with the painting. He later said he had been given incorrect information.

Authorities say the post-impressionist work, known both as "Poppy Flowers" and "Vase with Flowers" was cut from its frame and smuggled out of the Mahmoud Khalil museum Saturday.

It is valued at some $50 million.

Officials at the state-run museum were not available for comment.  But an employee said the Van Gogh painting had been displayed in a room without a guard, and that the one security camera there was broken.

The museum was shut Sunday, while frustrated and saddened tourists were turned away.

Tess Larkin, from Dublin, Ireland, was among those who had been looking forward to seeing the painting, which she had been surprised to find during a past visit at the small palace-turned-museum on the banks of the Nile.

"Absolutely shocked to think that someone would rob a Van Gogh here in Cairo," she said.  "Shameful really."

It was not the first time. The painting was stolen in 1978 from the same museum, but later recovered in Kuwait.

A work of art by such a prominent artist is virtually impossible to sell on the open market, suggesting that it may be being held for ransom, or that the theft was commissioned by a wealthy, unscrupulous patron to display privately.