The View from the Towers 塔からの眺め A web log by Nigel Ruddock of life in Germany as an expat, with excursions to Japan and the UK.

Tag: cello

  • 🎍 Happy New Year from Japan 🍶

    日本から新年あけましておめでとうございます!

    2026年1月1日🎉 January 1st 2026

    👉 You see this picture? It’s the stereotype of Tokyo isn’t it? The glittering glam city on the Eastern edge of the world…..

    新宿

    👉 Well, it was the film that brought us here. A newly released Japanese drama directed by a Sang Il-Lee, a Korean director. It’s called Kokuho, and deals with the world of Kabuki Theatre and the Yakusa (Mafia). Well worth the 3 hours! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6k9Y-irvOE

    新しい映画「告白」を見に行きました。最高でした！

    👉 That’s if you can bear the thought of a cinema on the 9th floor in the Shinjuku district……

    👉 It’s a crazy time to be in Japan. “Christmas” has promptly been dismissed, and everybody is on holiday for the New Year. The decoration has already appeared on the gate of “my” house…

    日本人ならご存知でしょうが、私にとってはとても興味深いです😉

    👉 It’s not as cold as it should be. Climate change no doubt. The gingko fruits are scattered on the ground…….

    銀杏

    …and the sun is really quite warm….

    ….filtering through the late autumn leaves…..

    地元の公園で…素敵

    and onto the ground……

    There are tasty things in the shops……

    このたい焼きが大好きです！

    👉 I had one of these Taiyaki (a waffle shaped like a sea bream and filled with sweet beans ) with a coffee….having got lost in the local mega store.

    Looking for a thermos flask, I found myself in the wheelchair department for some reason…..may need one of these some day……!

    私たちは皆、いつかは年を取ります…..

    …Do I need a shrine?….er….no…..

    …or maybe a tasty fin?………

    美味しい？よく分からないけど…

    👉 As you know from my blogs from Langen, I am fascinated by building sites. I am sure you share my enthusiasm…….ahem……well….what’s this then? On a very steep slope in Hoshikawa they look like they have built parking spaces…I couldn’t work it out – especially the little trees….

    家が建てられているのを見るまで、私はこれらの空間が何なのか理解していませんでした

    👉 but oh no….of course….you dimwit….they will construct wooden houses in these spaces. Like the one down the road…..perfect high quality woodwork….very impressive…!

    👉 Whilst we are looking at what Nigel can see from his bedroom window we can pause and look at the fantastic evening light the other day…..The View of the Towers

    塔の眺め

    Not appreciated by all. Miro-chan has other priorities…..

    ミロちゃんには他に優先事項がある

    👉 You will remember* that last week I mentioned playing music (* I expect you to read all my blogs diligently of course) .

    Portrait of a ‘cello at Senzoku-ike railway station….before…..

    智子さんとの音楽…….🎵

    ….and after….

    👉 Well, this week Tomoko and myself finally got it together…..(no, I am not inserting the recording here. Nobody wants to hear two amateur musicians scraping away 😅)

    👉 So if you are not playing chamber music or sitting in the luxurious seats of a Tokyo cinema, what can you do here in December then? Well, go to the beach of course. No, not to swim. They are horribly crowded in summer, but in winter?…….let’s have a look at Muirakaigan – only 45 mins south of Yokohama……

    ビーチに行こう………

    👉 Hello Japan in winter.……yes, it’s a kite….

    凧が見えますか？

    ….and there are horses….

    and pretty shells…..

    きれいな貝殻ですね…。

    ..and odd things….like radishes drying in the sun…

    天日干しされた大根

    and….well…what’s this?…..

    これは何ですか？

    …..a fish left high and dry…poor thing !

    彼は海にいるはずだ……

    ………a fishing boat that didn’t make it home….

    この船も港にいるはずだ

    …and always that seductive sound of the sea…..

    海の音は魅惑的です…

    👉 I love to see what efforts have been made in the past to haul boats out of the water. Either with muscle power….

    or with the help of a motor……

    古い機械…。

    But the sea always wins in the end…..burying the boats…..

    最後は必ず海が勝つ

    or carrying nutrients to the rock pools….

    海は栄養分を岩のプールに運びます…

    or by it’s mere presence….See those people? They were collecting shells, and had a little saucepan of water to clean them.

    blue is the colour……

    青、青、青……。

    👉 So there you are. No Kimonos, no cosplay, no temples…..but I did find a few Buddhas…..They crop up in mysterious places….like in Oppama further up the coast….

    …some are even coloured……….

    追浜の近くには岩に彫られた仏像があります

    Some are too big to be coloured….

    👉 Sometimes you find an old book of Sutras to pray with……However, the elements or the ants have got to this one …

    👉 No Japan blog is complete without this scene is it? I was of course photographing the power lines when I noticed that volcano in the background….

    この風景なしでは日本のブログは完成しませんよね？もちろん、電線を撮影していた時に、背景の火山に気づきました…。

    Well, that’s all for this week. Take care everybody. Try and avoid the ‘flue, and again …🎍あけましておめでとう…akemashite omodeto…Happy New Year!

    Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

    読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

    See you またね 🍾

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    https://www.instagram.com/nigelruddock/

    The End

    終わり✨

  • 🐈‍⬛ Purrrrfect practise 完璧な練習

    🐈‍⬛ Purrrrfect practise 完璧な練習

    Dec 27th 2025年12月27日

    🐈‍⬛ …….

    ミロちゃんはここにいる猫の中で一番速いです…

    👉 Miro-chan is the sharpest one of the bunch who roam Misako-san’s house in Yokohama. To be honest, I enjoy them all, if they want your company or not.

    A cat’s bigger relative is the lion, so we now go over to our lion correspondent down on the coast……….猫（ライオン）の親戚が報告します：

    👉”…… I used to have a quiet life guarding this shrine. It’s got a bit battered by sea winds in it’s time, but it’s still there….

    かつて私はこの神社を守りながら静かな生活を送っていました。

    …along with my neighbouring Buddha….

    私の隣人、仏陀

    But look down there! All these humans came and started to stack these boats up. It wasn’t like that in the old days….

    昔はそうじゃなかったのに…。

    And they spend half their time in or out of the water. I mean the’re not fish are they?…..”

    👉 “……You should try being a poodle, mate. I mean, I knew that foreigner was taking my picture, but he didn’t ask me did he? only my owner….so I turned away didn’t I?…

    プードルであることは違う

    …..all these humans do is leave their junk around. I mean, that was a perfectly good post van once….

    人間はゴミを放置する

    Not to mention the postbox…..I suppose it’s all texting these days…

    👉 Mind you, they respect a good designer when they see one…Here’s an Alec Issigonis I saw the other day……lovely job…

    しかし、彼らは優れた自動車デザイナーを尊敬しています!

    worth a second pic if you ask me…..

    👉 But come on. It’s Christmas. Never had that in my day though. It’s all this western influence. Mind you, some do it well. Like that choir in Rikkyo. They know how to do a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Sounded great under maestro Shaw-san. And didn’t all those students get so excited?…”

    立教大学ではクリスマスです

    👉 “……At least I managed to compliment the violinist who played in the Wexford Carol. That was lovely – In all the choir was accompanied by three guitars, violin and flute, plus the organ…

    Needless to say I couldn’t get a word in….🤣

    Here’s the view outside: Rikkyo University chapel, Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

    👉 I even found myself singing “Adeste Fideles” in Japanese. Lucky I know the harmony off by heart, so I could concentrate on the words….

    👉 Look mate, you poodles just spend your time being poodled around. We cats choose our own spots…. Mugi-chan, that’s me. My owners actually live next door, but I like it here. Better company.

    私の名前はムギちゃん。どこに座るのが一番いいか知っています

    We arrange ourselves tastefully around Misako-san’s living room according to seniority and availability of sunlight…

    👉 Christmas was actually pretty yummy, because Misako-san’s husband provided this outrageous creamy stawberry cake….

    トシさんがクリスマスケーキを切る

    Christmas Eve, Hoshikawa – all guests present….

    👉 Now I didn’t put those hiking boots into my suitcase (max 23kg!) for nothing. With the help of my hosts’ walking book ….

    逗子周辺をハイキングします

    …..and google maps, I find myself on my third day in Japan in the hills near a town called Zushi, (no, not Sushi) about an hour south of Yokohama….In the distance you can see Enoshima Island, which is beside Kamakura (The place with the really big Buddha)

    The camelias were still making a brave show. Amazing flowers these…

    👉 One thing I like about walking through the woods in Japan is seeing strange birds. Ok, this guy looks like a pigeon, but with that subtle brown shaded plumage he comes under the name of “Streptopelia orientalis” or Oriental turtle dove…..lovely !

    👉 So much for my bla bla about sunny days here. The rain decended at about 2pm, just as I had reached the Zushi marina. As luck would have it I spotted a modest little eating joint. Out of the rain, into the Ramen. Wow!

    小さなラーメン屋を見つけました

    This was a new one. Two different types of seaweed with a pickled plum in the middle. It was delicious, though I had a few problems with the consistency…sort of slimy 🤣

    👉 Later on, as I was waiting at the bus stop I turned to a lady standing beside me >

    “Can I use a Suica card * on this bus?” I asked. (*travel card)

    Although I had spoken a sentence of correct Japanese, she instantly deflected my question to her daughter (a teenager). This is a typical reaction I get here. The parents seem to asume that their children are better at English. However, I was having none of this and continued

    ” I can speak a little Japanese you know”.

    The mother then relaxed a bit and asked me what I was doing here just before Christmas of all times. Fair question. But they would probably would never understand that one of the reasons I was there was to flee a European christmas 😉and….to play the ‘cello.🎶.

    I tracked down ‘cellist Aki.san at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan – the Metropolitan Festival Hall, where she was playing in the Fauré Requiem.

    私はチェロを借りるためにこのコンサートに行きました

    The place was packed ……

    The (Waseda University) student choir was incredibly disciplined, most of them singing from memory I noticed! And thanks to the excellent acoustics I could hear every word.

    Nightime rendezvous in Ueno Park…..the handover…..😅

    チェロのランデブー 😉

    👉 Ueno to Yokohama on the Keihin-Tohoku Line takes about an hour, but it’s a straight run. You just have to hold on to your cello ….

    京浜東北線

    The next day Tomoko booked a rehearsal studio in Tennocho….

    天長リハーサルスタジオにて

    👉 With time for that all-important FOOD slot on the schedule……..You know, sometimes I feel I could just eat my way through Japan 😋 with a spot of chamber music now and again.

    リハーサル後の食事！

    p.s don’t be conned by the signs in English – they are just there for show. You see that word “Royal” ? ….Well I dunno what that was about. Like this train which I saw yesterday….

    Kamata Station. 王族の人は見かけませんでした😂

    No idea. Better not to ask. Just go with the flow. With or without the Royals.

    Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

    読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

    See you またね 😉

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    https://www.instagram.com/nigelruddock/

    The End

    終わり🍱

  • 🎹 “And that’s where the piano comes in” 「そこでピアノが登場するんです… 」

    November 18th 2025年11月18日

    As is typical for this season in Germany, the day starts with that drippy feeling….

    11月の朝に水が滴る..💧

    …..but the goods must be delivered…….

    列車は商品を運びます…..

    …and the buildings must be built (they start at 7am every day)……

    ….そしてビルダーは午前7時に開始します…!

    And the Gingko must make a blaze before the winter…..

    素敵なイチョウ

    This wild rose has not yet given up….

    このバラは11月でもまだ咲いています！

    A flash of defiant colour …..

    暖かい色

    Meanwhile, far away, in the warmth of a city hall in Kanagawa, 友子 san is playing in a community orchestra….

    神奈川で第一ヴァイオリンを演奏する智子さん

    Back in Langen. Here’s me waiting for the next customer……no time to tune up, just sit down and play an Irish 🍀 tune. Simply doing something that makes me feel good that’s all……………..

    🎧recommended….

    お客様を待っている間にアイルランドの曲を演奏しています 🍀 ヘッドフォン推奨 🎧

    I can’t find my kindle. Yes, it’s in my flat somewhere, and I’ve been looking in every nook and cranny for it. Ironically, instead of finding this state-of-the-art device, I stumble across a small catalogue picked up in a second-hand bookshop in Cardiff many years ago. It was printed in 1870, and lists the musical instruments in possesion of the “South Kensington Museum”, aka the V&A .

    Kindleを探しているのですが、皮肉なことに、このとても古いカタログを見つけました

    The loan record has one entry: the “S (?) of Art Cardiff. Date of issue: 21.2.71 (ie 1871). Date of Return :When recalled ( never….)

    1871年2月21日

    Amongst the copper plate engravings of instruments of Asia, I found this plate of a Koto…(the artist doesn’t seem to have seen many Japanese women in his lifetime!)

    このアーティストは日本人に会ったことがないと思います！

    …..and one of a Biwa “a kind of lute”…(bought, Paris Exhibition 1867). This must have been during the “japonismus” fashion that gripped Europe in the 19thc.

    Imagine my surprise then, when almost on the same day, Scott posts this picture on Instagram….

    He is accompanying a Biwa player on the organ!

    Enyo-san is giving a recital next Thursday, Nov. 20th, at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. In Chinese this instrument is called a pipa, apparently. Well if you’re in Tokyo just now…..

    One last curious note on this museum catalogue. The list of donors and lenders…….At the top we see His Highness The Viceroy of Egypt. Heavens, who was that? Well, as the British hadn’t taken over Egypt yet at that time (they did in 1882), this must be Is’mail Pasha of Egypt, Khedive (Viceroy) of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879.

    このコレクションのためにエジプト総督が楽器を寄贈しました。

    Known as Is’mail the magnificent, he led Egypt into such severe debt with his economic policies that he was forced to sell off his shares in the Suez canal (to the advantage of Britain of course, the canal being the life-line to India)…

    The other names would not be out of place in an Agatha Christie novel…..(!)

    I still haven’t found the kindle. But what also came to light was some early Japanese revision notes. On the subject of counting. Now counting in Japanese is not easy, as it depends on the shape of the object which you are counting. Thus apples and small compact objects have their own system – ” there are 2 apples” is : Ringo (apple) ga (particle) nikko (specifically 2 apples and not bottles of beer) arimasu (there are).

    日本語の数え方に関する復習ノートも見つけました!

    Many moons ago, when I first came to Germany as a violinmaker, a rather eager young journalist asked me that classic question “und was hat Sie hierher gezogen?” (what brought you to Germany?)

    “Kaffe und Kuchen” I replied. I am still at it, over 30 years later…..

    photo: Olexandra. フランクフルトのボッケンハイムでコーヒーとケーキ

    I am smiling here, but an hour beforehand I was furious. Furious at the Shirn Art Gallery. I had arranged to meet up with a friend there. On arrival at said Art gallery (Just near the cathedral) I was met by metres of high metal fencing. Only when I found the entrance to the Music school (who share the same premises) did I notice a rather pathetic A4 notice stuck to the door informing me that the Schirn had temporarily moved to the other side of Frankfurt at Bockenheim. Wow! Thank you Music School, but not the Schirn, who had left no sign as to their whereabouts. I checked the website. The first thing you see is this:

    As a mother-tongue genuine article Englishman, I took this headline at face value. (” so where is that then, please?”) But the dropped pin symbol and the co-ordinates where just there for decoration. Useless 😡. I later discovered that this was the name of an Exhibition, not a helpful signpost. I have since written a letter of complaint to the Museum Director. When I actually got to the new site the confusion just continued (there are two entrances). We eschewed the musuem café for a local one nearby ☕.

    The exhibition is all about Suzanne Duschamp, a rather neglected figure in the Dada movement. This arose at the beginning of the 20thc. as an anti-war, anti-art, anti-a lot of things movement. Here are just a few impressions….

    Dadaism was probably also anti-the-heavy-solidity of Jugendstil. I had walked past a classic example in Darmstadt the day before…The obelisk in memory of Princess Alice, who was, incidentally, British.

    The full inscription reads “Der Unvergesslichen Großherzogin von Hessen und bei Rhein / In Verehrung Liebe und Dankbarkeit / Gewidmet von Frauen und Jungfrauen Hessens / Errichtet im Jahre 1902.

    From the base of the monument you get a view of the Staatstheater Darmstadt, which was unkindly nicknamed the petrol station (or words to that effect in German) by those who work there. I like it, but it’s going to need a facelift soon…

    ダルムシュタット劇場は、意地悪くガソリンスタンドに例えられてきました…。

    Petrol station or not, it is the home of some fine opera and regular chamber music recitals. That’s why I was there. For Brahms’ string sextet 🎵 Sublime……It reminded me of how much I miss playing chamber music…..Thank you Sarah, 1st violin, for the invitation 🙏

    ブラームスの弦楽六重奏曲を聴きました。崇高な音楽です！

    So, before I leave you, I have to finish off my rant. In English it’s called letting off steam ……..

    Living in Germany, It is a regular source of irritation for me to see English being used just because people think it’s cool, eye-catching or whatever. you can’t avoid it……here are some common ones…..

    • Download (Downloaden or Herunterladen)
    • Event (Veranstaltung)
    • Team (Mannschaft)
    • Oh my God (Ach mein Gott)
    • Streaming (Strömen)
    • Highlight (Höhepunkt)
    • Sorry (Entschuldigen Sie bitte)
    • Online-deal (Geschäft übers Internet)
    • TV-Box (Fernseher Kasten)
    • Upgrade (nachrüsten)
    • Grumpy old man (haven’t seen this one yet 😄)

    Well, that’s it for this week.

    Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

    読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

    See you またね 🙋‍♂️

    https://www.instagram.com/nigelruddock/

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    🍰

    終わり

    p.s. Stop press……this Saturday…..get your bargain…..The Japanese Fleamarket / Japanischer Flohmarkt (蚤の市) in Frankfurt

    👺 https://japanisch-kulturzentrum.de/2025/10/02/japanischer-flohmarkt-3/

  • 🚏 Buses and Basses 🎶バスとベース

    November 11th 2025年11月11日

    秋。ドイツ

    They rumble past my house every day. But I never use them. Buses. Why? because I have a bicycle and am only 7 mins. walk from the station.

    But suddenly I have to get somewhere with my ‘cello. I can’t fly…..🪽………

    チェロを持って飛行機に乗ることができないので、バスが必要です 😄

    ………and the car is in another town…….it’s too far to walk, and the bicycle is a no-go..

    So a bus it is – a novelty for me. In Japan I would be filming out of the window. So why not here? ………in Langen?

    バスはたった5分遅れただけだった…すごい！💨

    ….and it was only 5 mins late…..I noticed how much more sociable it is to travel by bus. It seems that if you are standing at a wind-swept bus stop then it is legit to talk to a stranger in the same predicament. The passengers are mostly young people, local workers (“we always take this bus…we work over there….”) and old age pensioners. Plus the occasional stressed mother with a pram and a bawling infant 🍼

    I was smoothly delivered to my destination without fuss and bother. Well, well.

    ランゲンでの快適なバスの旅

    Sometimes it is the bus stop which remains unchanged when you demolish one building and put up another its place. Just down the road from me there used to be a detached house with a garden. Then came the developers…….This seems to happen a lot where I live. In the following two photos note the bus stop…before and after…..(use the slider in the middle)

    2022-2025

    Isn’t it funny how rubber bands sort of fossilize and get hard….

    輪ゴムが劣化してしまいます…。

    …what you need is some nice strong ones…..

    丈夫な輪ゴムだ…素晴らしい…でも待てよ…なんだか少し海の匂いがするぞ？

    But there’s something fishy going on here. They are not very strong and are very salty…….hmmm…..I fear we have a case of squid here….

    ああ、なるほど………….

    yes, “smoked mellow squid….great as a snack too!…” not recommended for use with stationary. haha😄.

    I thought I knew most of the palaces in my area, but obviously none of my walks have taken me north of Koblenz. Here I spent two nights for our choir rehearsal weekend,

    エンダー城。ミュージカルアカデミー …….🤴

    yes, I am a bass…..🎵

    ……..singing Mendelssohn, Balfour-Gardiner (yes!), Rheinberger and others.

    Our rehearsal room in Schloss Engers looked directly out onto the river Rhine, meaning that ships cruised into view behind the conductor’s back!…..a rehearsal break…

    リハーサル休憩……….☕

    Grabbing a cup of coffee I was greeted by some strange little figures in the corridor…….

    廊下に小さな人たちがいる……

    ………sort of close-up baroque you could say……

    …the terrace on the Rhein…..

    ライン川

    ….complete with a little “feature”…..

    For future reference I took note of the great cycle path……

    たぶん夏には自転車でここに来るでしょう。……………………………🚴💨

    It was my father’s birthday last week. He passed away 3 years ago and deserves a picture in this blog…..he was the best father I could ever have hoped for.

    Reginald Treacy Ruddock 1923 – 2023

    Thank you

    先週は父の誕生日でした。父は3年前に亡くなりました。彼は素晴らしい父親でした。🙏 Cornwall, UK, 1971

    Well, here I end my blog this week.

    Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

    読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

    See you またね 🎻

    https://www.instagram.com/nigelruddock/

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com