We are the Champions (for now!)

At the Obon festival, Emi and a few other locals mentioned that the town would soon challenge the World Record for the longestyakitori stick. The town was planning to make an 11 meter long yakitori at the Hidakagawa Summer Festival and Hanabi (Fireworks) Taikai(Competition) in Nakatsu. I was told it was less about getting the record and more about promoting some of the local products which just happen to be a special type of charcoal and horo horo, a type of game foul. Well regardless of the motivation behind it, I was like "I have to see that!" So, on Monday we left work a little bit early and got dropped off at the dome in the village of Nakatsu which is now part of Hidakagawa-cho. The drive up there took us through the mountains and past three of the schools I will be teaching at come September. It was especially misty that day up in the mountains and I was awestruck by the beauty of this area.

When we arrived at 4 pm, the grill was going and there was a lot of local and regional media around the cooking area. In fact, it was quite a large media scrum for the event but heck, it is a world record after all! There were a good mix of young and old participants for the preparation and cooking of the yakitori stick. I did not envy their position as it was already super hot and humid that day and standing by those hot coals made it even hotter. While waiting for the cooking to begin, I looked at the power ranger children's show, wandered around the festival stalls and bought a kakigori (crushed ice with syrup) to cool down. I met Emi's uncle who kindly gave me some of the special charcoal and one of her good friends . Also, the mayor, deputy mayor, and many of the BOE staff members were there to watch the record be smashed. Tamaki-san, the tourism dept. head, was there as he was part of the organizing team. I also learned about a chainsaw craving festival in Ryujin this November from one of the organizers. Sounds interesting...

Back to the yakitori stick. First they helpers had to load the horo horo onto the 11 ft. long bamboo stick. That took about 45 minutes then it was time to lift it up and put it on the coals which had to be fanned first. As it was cooking, it was turned and then finally after another 45 minutes or so, it was time to prove that the longest yakitori stick in the world had been cooked. So, all 30 or so cooks lifted it up and the judges ruled that Hidakagawa-cho was the world champion complete wtih a crystal yakitori trophy as proof. The media attention was huge and as you can see many of the cooks were hamming it up for their benefit! So for at least the next two weeks, the people of Hidakagawa-cho can say that "We are the Champions of yakitori!"
Heat from the coals;Loading up the Horo HoroMeasuring the yakitori; Checking to see if holds upHamming it up for the media; The crystal yakitori trophy.

O-Bon

JETs are lucky to arrive in August as this is the time when most people celebrate O-Bon. So, we get to experience this right off the bat. O-Bon is a Buddhist tradition where most people believe that their ancestors come home to visit. So, they too return to home to prepare the welcome for their ancestors and meet with their relatives. At my BOE, some days it appeared like we had a skeletal staff due to O-Bon. Other BOE staff stayed at home to prepare their homes by making food and cleaning (osoji) while others took time off to travel to their ancestral homes around the prefecture or in Japan.

Another o-bon tradition is the bon odori (obon dance). Emi took Sarah and I to Dojoji Temple for the bon odori. We had to walk up a darkened path and in the centre of the temple grounds, the only light was coming from the stage in the middle.

Stage with drums at the Bon Odori
Little kids were playing janken (rock, paper, scissors) and then after a while they started the dance lesson. Two dance teachers led the participants around in a circle and taught us some of the dances. Then, a lady who teaches in my town invited us to join in the BBQ which we gladly did. The yakitori was delicious. Around the BBQ, I met a couple of people with Richmond connections including one who may be related to one of my friends. I was really excited to talk to him. Small world and his name is also Tamaki-san but a different family than the 'first person' I think. BBQ at the bon odori; Tamaki-san and I at the fesival
With our new found energy from the drinks and yakitori, we attempted the dancing. It was so much fun and I felt at peace while dancing around this beautiful temple in the dark. Later on, the bunraku music started and the men started signing a song about Hidakagawa. The music sounded wonderful in this traditional sitting. The whole atmosphere was hauntingly beautiful.
Dancing at the Bon OdoriAn elementary school teacher wearing the traditional Hidakagawa-cho yukata and I
On Monday, Kumashiro-san, a lovely lady who works for my BOE, invited me to her home to meet her family and have a BBQ. She has a traditional-style home up in the mountains of my town. She explained that a lantern is hung outside the home to guide the spirits back home and a window is kept open. At her window, an offering of fruit and rice were there. The lantern lights the way home
There is a small temple, that I ride past every day to work. During Obon, the temple was decorated with lanterns and many people went there to pray and visit graves. At night, it was a beautiful sight to see the lanterns all glowing. Personally, I find this to be on of the loveliest traditions since it brings together the whole family and people come back from the cities to the more rural areas like where I am living. Read more about it here.

At the Kimono-Ya/First Person

Japanese summer festival usually involve the yukata or the summer kimono. I first noticed it at Senshu Daigaku when the exchange students and the locals were getting their yukatas togerher in time for the summer festivals and hanabi taikai or fireworks. So when my co-worker Emi suggested that we get dressed up in yukatas to attend the Obon dance festival at Dojoji Temple, I was game. I dragged fellow ALT Sarah from the neighbouring town along for the ride.

Sarah and Emi inspect the yukatas; Silk kimono on display at the kimono shop
Emi navigated the narrow streets of Gobo City passing by an elderly man hunched over but still out for his late afternoon stroll. Arriving at the kimono shop, we were greeted by the owner and she knew all about me and Sarah. She greeted us by name and city due to that day's newspaper articling introducing the new ALTs in town. After that surprising meeting, she showed us the 5 yukatas that we could be dressed in and Sarah and Emi got all dolled up for the festival. I amused myself by taking a video of how to tie the obi. I was especially impressed wtih fake obis that are being sold these days. How totally convenient since it can be hard to tie an obi if you are by yourself. Emi bought hers for when she was travelling overseas. Since we were in a very traditional space, Emi's mom taught me some new words for some tatmi room items like the fireplace (irori) and the bell (furin).
Sarah tries on the yukata; Tamaki-san, Kimono-shop owner shows off the furin(bell)
Towards the end of our visit, the lady of the shop suddenly announces that her husband's father is Canadian. I reply with a "hontoo ni" or "really?" She goes onto explain that his grandfather emigrated to Canada from this part of Wakayama and that his father was born in Canada. I ask for the family name which is Tamaki. Then, she drops the bomb, this man's grandfather is the first immigrant to Canada from Japan and he is called the "First Person" I can not believe my luck. It is my fourth day in the area and I have already found the history lesson I was looking for. I am dying to ask questions especially since the name is different from the first known immigrant on the record books, Gihei Khuo.

Aside: Growing up in Steveston, BC, you hear a lot about Wakayama and all fo the emigrants who came from this part of Japan to work and live in Canada. Some returned back after a while and others before and after the internment camps. In fact some of the people who returned back to the Hidaka-gun area, even went so far as to rebuild homes in a western style. This is now a tourist attraction and historical site called "Amerika Mura" in Mihama-cho. Personally, I know that the influence of the Japanese-Canadians in Steveston is of great importance as they helped to build up many industries and shops in this part of Richmond. I have definitely been influenced and encouraged to pursue my interests in Japanese language and culture from growing up in that area.

Before I know it, out comes this wonderful mochi dessert, and some cold tea and we are chatting about this Canada connection. The chatting continues to the point were we are running late for the dinner and festival. After asking a few moree questions, I am told that Tamaki-san's father is around and would come out to meet me. All of sudden the same old man walking down the narrow street only a hour prior emerges and starts to tell me his story. He is 93 and was born in New Westminster but moved back to Japan around the age of 3. He told me that he is forgetting his English and that there is an organization of Canadian emigrants in Gobo. I am entrigued by this history unfolding around me. I often meet people with a Richmond/Steveston connection in this prefecture and I get to expereince their area for a while. I hope that when I go back to Richmond, I can educate some the people there about this important connection across the Pacific. I still can't believe this meeting stemmed from a trip to Emi's family friends' kimono shop.
With Tamaki-san, descendent of the 'first person'