Beating the Elements
With the coldest month of the year decending upon us, it seems appropriate to take up the theme "Keeping Warm Over Winter". Most of this month's LIK is devoted to this topic, which I hope you will find helpful.
To kick things off, I'd like to suggest a few tips on how to stave off the dreaded common cold. After all, prevention is better than a cure.
1) Party! Unconventional you say? Well, at least go out and have fun with your friends. It can boost your spirits and your defenses. Studies in the U.S. have shown that people who had a variety of social relationships had 20 percent greater immune function than more introverted people. Social ties help us cope with stress, which in turn boosts our body's ability to fight off infections.

2) Sleep well! Apart from needing plenty of sleep to recover from partying, in general, people require six to eight hours of sleep a night. But keep in mind that quality of sleep counts just as much as quantity. To boost snooze quality: exercise, eat a balanced diet, and avoid (as much as possible) alcohol and smoking before bedtime.

3) Laugh a lot! Go to a comedy club, rent a comedy flick or just hang out with funny people. The positive emotions associated with laughter decrease stress hormones and increase certain immune cells.

4) Listen to Music! Groovy tunes help our body fend off diseases by heightening relaxation.
But most importantly, just enjoy life!
Ed.

Home-Gotatsu
You have probably seen a low Japanese style table with a heater attached underneath, covered over with a futon. It is called a home-gotatsu (àxà�). Best suited to traditional style tatami (straw mat) flooring, kotatsu are great for playing mah-jong on or just sitting in and relaxing during the cold winter months. It is thought that perhaps the kotatsu's design originated from the irori (ˆÍ˜F— ), or open hearth (see above). In terms of appearance, irori are about one meter (in both length and width) square, and sunk into the floor. It is used for cooking as well as heating an iron kettle often found suspended over it. Traditionally, the seating positions around the irori were strictly arranged, with a special seat reserved for the head of the household. Located at the center of the household, when guests visited they would always be seated around the irori. While there are few left in the city nowadays, you can still find them in old homes in the countryside.
In the city, irori were replaced by the hori-gotatsu (Œ@‚èàxà�), a heater located under the floor with a low table above. You sit on the tatami matting, which acts as a chair, and warm your feet below in the "dug out" area. The present home-gotatsu was developed because of course it is not possible to have a hori-gotatsu in an apartment or condominium. Furthermore, the home-gotatsu can be set up anywhere so long as there is an electric outlet.
I. Hashimoto

Belly Warmers
Sake-kasu soup (Sake lees soup) is very popular in Kyoto in winter as it is not only delicious, but warms you up. Furthermore, with the town of Fushimi, just south of Kyoto, home to 37 sake breweries, there is no shortage of sake-kasu, the rice malt remaining after the sake has been squeezed out. Sake-kasu is packed and sold at the vegetable section in the supermarket or grocery shop, and costs about \150 for 300g. You may cook sake-kasu soup without meat, but it will add a more delicious finish using chicken, pork, salmon or yellowtail. If you prefer a milder sake taste, you can simply reduce the quantity of sake-kasu or mix in some saikyo miso (white miso).
Sakekasu Soup
Ingredients (2 servings)
1 3/4 oz / 50g each of thinly sliced pork flank, daikon radish, burdock and carrot.
1 small potato, 1 shitake mushroom, 1/4 cup konnyaku jelly, 1/2 a thin deep-fried tofu, 1 tsp dashi (fish stock) powder mixed with 400ml water, 100g sake-kasu mixed with 200ml water,and 2 tsp sake, 1 to 2 tsp dashi powder, and a pinch of salt and soy bean sauce.
1) Cut sake-kasu into small pieces and dissolve in dashi stock (water and dashi-powder)
with 2 tsp of sake.
2) Peal burdock and soak in water. Blanch konnyaku briefly and cut into thin slices.
3) Cut the remaining ingredients into manageable sizes.
4) Put the ingredients and dashi stock into the pan and cook until soft. Then add sake-
kasu soup from (1).
5) Add salt and soy sauce for flavoring.
6) Serve in a bowl and sprinkle with sliced spring onion.
Another delicious yet simple dish you can prepare is Keiran Udon.
Keiran Udon
Ingredients: 4 cups soup stock, 2 tbs light soybean sauce (usukuchi shoyu), 2 tbs mirin, 1 tbs sake, 3 tbs starch, 3 tbs water, 2 packs of udon noodles (or sufficient for 2 servings)
If you want to make your soup stock as delicious as possible, it is a good idea to use konbu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings) instead of instant dashi powder.
Ingredients: 5 cups water, 10g konbu, 10g katsuobushi. Pour 5 cups water into a pan, add the konbu and bring to the boil. Then add the katsuobushi and boil for a few minutes longer. Filter the hot soup stock.
1) Put soup stock (4 cups), light soy sauce, mirin and sake together into a pan and boil.
2) When the soup stock is boiled, add starch mixed with water to make a jelly like soup base. Keep heat on high.
3) Lower heat and slowly add whipped eggs.
4) Add boiled udon.
5) Serve udon and soup into the donburi-jyawan (deep bowl) and sprinkle with ground ginger (tsuchi shouga).
I hope you enjoy making these dishes!
A. Tara

Sento - The Best Way to Keep Warm
For an investment of just \350, you can while away the hours soaking in the luxurious bath tubs of a sento (public bath). Although the majority of sentos are of a size which corresponds to the number of residents in the surrounding area, several have special features such as large bath rooms or various types of baths. For example, Goko-yu (ŒÜ��“’ -
Tel:075-841-7321) and Shomen-yu (�³–Ê“’ -Tel:075-561-3232), both located in Shimogyo-ku ward, have modern and interesting baths which deserve a visit. They have quite spacious bath rooms, including saunas and herb, salt, whirlwind, electric and hot outdoor baths.
I recommend you find a favorite sento in your neighborhood. It is the ideal place to connect with your local community, a chance to communicate with your neighbors in a relaxed environment. Just look for a tall chimney or a shop curtain (noren) reading “‚ä”(yu - hot water) to find your local sento.
When you visit a sento, there are a few unwritten rules or basic manners you should observe.
1) First enter the appropriate dressing room(’j“’: male, �—“’: female) where you take off all of your clothes and put them in a basket. Leave a large towel with your clothes, and enter the bathroom only taking a small towel, soap, shampoo etc. for washing yourself. If you have not brought anything with you, you can generally buy those things at the entrance.
2) After you enter the bathroom, (before you take a bath) sit on the plastic stools provided (don't stand) and wash your body and hair. Be careful not to splash water on other bathers. Washing prior to bathing also prepares your body for the high temperature of the bath water, usually 44 - 46 �Ž.3) When entering the bath tub, be careful not to disturb other bathers who are already settled. Gradually lower you body into the hot water, and most importantly, relax until the warmth reaches your bones.
4) If you want to behave more discretely, cover your front with your towel when you walk around.
5) Before leaving the bath room, take a final rinsing or agari-yu (�オ‚è“’) in order to wash away the bath water you shared with others.
Now your body should feel nice and warm, you may even be a little thirsty. Many public baths have a drink vending machine inside or in front of building. Some also have an area offering udon noodles or takoyaki (octopus balls). Personally, I prefer to go straight home and have a glass of beer to quench my thirst before jumping into a warm, comfortable bed.
S. Sakae

Herbal Bath: A Hot Spring in the Home
Taking a warm bath is one of the small pleasures we can enjoy at home during these cold winter days. I recommend adding herbs to the water, as you will be surprised how much it enhances the relaxing effect. Not only a pleasant fragrance, lavender, basil, laurel, thyme, celery, kumquat and citron are all effective in maintaining body warmth. It is thought this actually helps reduce the chances of catching a cold over the winter months.
Since ancient times, western people have been taking herbal baths to remedy illness, promote health and a general feeling of well-being. In Japan, people have traditionally enjoyed herbal baths as a seasonal event, such as a yuzu bath (—MŽq“’: a yellow citrus) on winter solstice, or an Iris bath (�ÒŠ—“’: stem and leaf) on the day of the Boy's Festival (Žq‹Ÿ‚Ì“ú), the 2nd of May. Sometimes I pick kumquats with leaves from my garden and float them in my bathtub. They are colored a beautiful yellow and green and have a calming effect. My mother, who suffers from a heavy backache, says, "its the best treat, just like a hot spring!"
Put either one hand full of dry herbs or two hand fulls of fresh herbs in a bath bag (a small laundry-net or a used nylon stocking is useful as a bath bag). It is a good idea to take a long bath as it takes some time for the body to absorb the herbal extracts.
N. Suematsu

Chilly Weather Wear
In classical Japanese, February is called "Kisaragi" (”@ŒŽ�Aˆß�X’…), which literally means "to wear several layers of clothing". As Kyoto experiences the extremes of both summer and winter due to the basin in which the city lies, it is no wonder (if you have lived through a winter in Kyoto you will understand) that the basin is also goes by the name "sokobie"(’ê—₦) or "chilled to the bone!" Which is why it may be appropriate to give a few pointers on what to wear to protect oneself from the cold - a daily concern for me during winter. The following are basically common sense:
1. Wear several layers of thin clothing - rather than just a couple of thick layers - but not so many that your body sweats.
2. Wear cotton underwear, a woolen sweater and synthetic fiber overcoat or jacket.
3. Cover exposed areas like your neck, wrists and ankles to shut out the cold and
insulate the warmth.
4. Such articles as mufflers, scarves, shawls and gloves are fashionable and practical.
5. Wear a warm hat and appropriate footwear - most of our body heat is lost through these areas.
M. Matsushita

Drinks to Warm the Soul
I'd like to introduce some traditional Japanese hot drinks to warm you up when you get cold this winter.
1) Tamagozake (‚½‚Ü‚²Žð)- a drink made from sake and egg.
Recipe: Pour 1 cup of sake and a beaten egg into a small saucepan. Heat the mixture over a low flame, stirring continuously. Remove from heat before it comes to the boil. Mix in one to two teaspoons of sugar. It should appear a little thick and creamy.
2) Amazake(ŠÃŽð)- a sweet drink made from sake lees or sakekasu (Žð””).
Recipe: Cut 30 grams of sake lees into small pieces. Put them in a small saucepan and add 1 cup of water, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt. Heat the mixture over a low flame and stir while it is simmering. Remove from heat when the sake lees are dissolved.
3) Shogayu (�¶›I“’)- a drink made from ginger juice and boiling water.
Recipe: Squeeze freshly grated ginger to produce 2 teaspoons of juice in a teacup. Pour boiling water into a cup and add 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Note: 1 cup = 200ml / 1 teaspoon = 5ml / 1 tablespoon = 15ml
Honey can be used instead of sugar in all of the above-mentioned drinks.
Drinking any one of these hot drinks is thought to be one of the most effective ways of getting rid of a cold. If you suspect you might be getting a cold, it's a good idea to have one these hot drinks and then go to bed straight away, but please keep in mind that sake lees, which are available at most supermarkets, contain a small amount of alcohol. Be careful not to drink too much, otherwise there may be some side effects - a slight hangover! As a matter of fact, I practised making and tasting tamagozake and amazake several times this evening in order to write these recipes. As I write this I feel quite tipsy, and will surely sleep well. Good night! Z-z-z-z....
H. Fukuoka

A Wish for Warmer Times
Though a new century has begun, and there is much to look forward to, some of our ways don't appear to be changing. Why does it seem that cruel and heartless deeds are only becoming more frequent? I am truly sick of it. Don't you think we ought to be doing more to improve our society before it's too late?
We may lose ourselves in the flood of information, the rapid progress of science, and the material world we are creating - but there will still be times when we must face difficulties in our lives. We are but "thinking reeds" (B. Pascal) - so stop and think of the consequences before you act in desperation. Don't forget that it is not only the perpetrator and the victim that suffer. Everyone who is associated with both sides is effected. We can not disregard public morality in our society.
So how do we deal with the many problems facing our society? Money does not solve all our problems. What ever happened to compassion and a kind heart? Economic problems are often linked to social problems, so why not start at the heart, with the heart? Let's reassess our values and consider what is really important. The mutual exchange of kindness and thoughtfulness surely make us better people, not to mention happier people. Of course it takes time and effort, but we must start changing things now.
Recently my husband passed away after a two-year battle with a serious illness. It was the bitterest time of our lives. But during that difficult period, we received much kindness and support from those around us. I will never forget their kind words and deeds that helped comfort and cheer us up. I learned there is nothing so precious as a warm heart.
Fortunately there exists a great deal of goodwill.
I wish a happy future for you all and the best for the New Century, and only ask that you give a little consideration to others.
Y. Matsuda

Disposable Pocket Warmer
"Haru", "Hokaron", "Hokkairo" - these are the brand names of disposable pocket warmers, or hand warmers. The disposal warmer is very convenient when doing outdoor activities or just whenever you feel cold. Simply tear open the plastic package and remove the pad. Within minutes you have a small heat source that stays at about 50 C for eight hours or more. You can place a warmer on your waist, back (often one side has an adhesive stick) or just sit it in your pocket. However, please do not apply it directly to your skin as you may get burned.
You can buy pocket warmers at pharmacies, supermarkets, convenience stores and station stalls (e.g. kiosk). You can also choose from various types of pocket warmers. There are regular size, mini size, adhesive type and special ones just for your feet! The average price of a pocket warmer is about \50 or so, but recently they have been sold in packs of 10 for around \300.
K. Kimura