1. Omikoshi. Mini (read: rather large) shrines carried on the shoulders of eighty men- two of whom ride on top of the shrine. The scene: Ujitawara, mid-day, lots of families about, I am with my slightly eccentric/fairly shy friend Kimiyo watching three of these portable shrines (omikoshi) be carried back to their homes (respective temples/shrines).
This day (Sunday) was one of the best so far here in Ujitwara. I had plenty of children come up to me and say hello, and I got to meet some of Kimiyo's friends. It was also a great chance to catch up with Kimiyo and explore a little bit of my town. We visited one terrific matcha ice cream store, one bakery, and one coffee/cake/ice cream shop... no actual lunch, but I can assure you, it was all delicious. :)
I also got to meet her father and of course, as at any town gathering, some important old men. These particular old men seemed to think that I was English. They then asked if I were Canadian (not the first time I've heard this, actually; I think it's because the first ALT here was from Canada, and Kamloops, BC is Uji(not to be confused with Ujitawara)'s sister city). They were very surprised to hear I was American... I don't know why... I was wearing a scarf? Probably.
Anyway, there were strong looking dads and dads who looked way too young to be dads, and all sorts of other guys carrying these shrines. The most amazing part was when they would lift the 30m pole off of their shoulders and toss the whole shrine from side to side and up and down yelling "yoi yoi yoi yoi!" back and forth with the men on top. There was so much gold ornamtetation on the shrine you could hear it jangling above their yelling. But these things really were incredibly heavy. Even with 80 people carrying one (forty to each of the two poles) they had to rest every 100m or so- and by rest, I mean wander around and drink sake. Awesome. Also, they began carrying these omikoshi at 12:30 and when I was going home at 6:00 I think I heard one of them arrive at the shrine nearest to my house. Oh- they not only had to carry that omikoshi 1/2-1 mile; they had to carry it up a mountain at the end. Talk about a manly festival. Drinking sake+yelling+carrying/shaking large heavy objects = manly Japanese festival. Yup.
2. Engeki. Japanese plays. On Saturday night, all of my friends from Uji came out to Ujitawara and we had a great time at the local Japanese theatrical performance. We saw a traditional Japanese stringed instrument- not shamisen... but something else. We saw a performance of the type of flute used in Noh theatre. The best, though, was a comic play done in a style that was quite plainly, incredibly Japanese. I had seen clips of performances kind of like this before and I always wondered why they used such ridiculous voices. You know the way that kids make fun of the Japanese and Chinese languages? Not going to lie, it sounded a lot like that, even to me. I realized, though, that they weren't just making funny noises. It's like a mock melodramatic style. Like when Americans pretend to be ridiculously English in an attempt to be melodramtic- the overblown pronunciation and exaggerated lilt, the gesturing. It's like that... only in Japanese. Not going to lie, I was a little bit proud of myself for figuring that one out... if I did in fact understand it correctly. You know what, though? I really enjoyed the play. I had someone- well, the mayor, actually- translating some of it for me, but I understood a lot and it was pretty funny. Kind of sexist, but overall very amusing. And, again, when I didn't understand the Japanese, the tone of voice was all I needed to keep me laughing. My friends who don't speak any Japanese thought it was great too. I wish I had a recording of their voices but, alas, I forgot my camera that night... Next time...
3. I got the most amazing care package from my parents today. It looks like I'll have proper Halloween candy after all... thank you mom and dad!!!
4. I had only one lesson today at the middle school, but it went really well. I got to talk to my students a bit and I'm making a little suggestion box where they can write questions in English for me and I will write them back. Looking for ways to become a better English teacher... It's can be hard since I'm really not a born language teacher... little kids I understand very well but outlining grammar and making it fun at the same time... challenging!!!! Oh well, gambarimasu!
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