Sports Day Fever

One day at an elementary school, the kids tell me that they are going to play a game at lunch. The way one of the fifth grade students explained it was that it was red, yellow, blue. etc. I was like "OK" sure we can play that. Not realizing that the colours refer to a baton. Before I knew it, almost all of the school came out and in an organized fashion, they got into their pre-made teams and started to run what resembled a relay. Well, I finally put two and two together and it looks like the kids were practicing for their Sports Day relay. That is commitment isn`t it? Even on their lunch break, they want to practice for the upcoming Sports Day.

Getting ready for the exchangeIn motionPeace out

First Weekend at "home"

This weekend was the first one since moving to Gobo where I have not been traveling. So, I made plans to attend a local event and explore my new surroundings a bit more.

So, Saturday night, Emi and I hit the local nightlife in Hidakagawa by attending a koto concert and tea ceremony. A group from Gobo including a husband and wife played several traditional songs on the koto. Some of the kids in attendance were a little restless to say the least.

Koto players in NakatsuPeek-a-boo!
After the concert ended, we moved to the main hall to enjoy the tea ceremony as performed by the Nakatsu tea ceremony club. I enjoyed the matcha and the sweets so I had seconds. I got to meet a few of the club members and make a few new friends. The event was planned to coincide with the full moon. Instead of seeing the man in the moon, Japanese people believe that there is a rabbit in the moon making mochi (gluteneous rice balls). So at the end of the night, Emi, myself along with some of the BOE and Community Centre staff are staring at the moon. Fun times!
Preparing the teaServing the tea in a kimonoEnjoying the yummy matcha
Sunday was also a good day or so it seemed. The weather was perfect for a bike ride to the local beach, Enjukuhama. So, armed with my camera, I headed there and took some shots. I stopped at the brand new Cafe Mew which overlooks the beach for lunch. It is a nice place to relax and enjoy the view. Pasta lunch at the cafe"Kawaii"!The view from the cafe
Then, I decided to ride up the hill to find "America Mura" which is really Canada Mura but that deserves a post of its own. So, as I get up part of the hill, I realize I have a flat tire. So, I see an elderly lady (obachan) and ask if she has a bike pump. I thank her and ride away only to discover a few moments later that my tire is flat again. So, I had to walk all the way from Mihama town to Gobo. I bought a new tire at a hardware store on the way home but don`t have the tools to install it! It was a hot day but I survived the 45 minute walk home. Now, if only my bike would work. I still need to use it while I wait for my car insurance to be sorted out.My bike called a "mama chari" has a flat tire!

Yosakoi

Everyday, I seem to learn new things about Japanese culture. One such thing is the importance of the annual Sports Day called うんどうかい (undoukai). I didn't realize that it would take precedence over most things during the summer months and most of September. For example, one day, a school forgot I was coming and scheduled undoukai practice instead of the ALT class and then another requested I start teaching after it was over. That's great because Sports Day is a fun event that brings the school together and sometimes even feeder schools.

Yosakoi practice
Although, I have not started teaching at my schools, I asked to be shown where they are located and when we visited my junior high school, they were rehearsing for their Sports Day. All of the school was in the gym working on perfecting an awesome looking dance called yosakoi. It is really fast paced and and looks like a combination of martial arts and dance. Everyone holds noisemaker as they dance and the movements mimics farming life as the dance originated in more rural parts of Japan such as Shikoku. There are many yosakoi festivals popping up all over Japan and even one in Wakayama City. I hope to be able to join one of the yosakoi practices with my students when I start teaching!

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'

First Day at the BOE

My first full day of work was Thursday, August 10 and no time was wasted in getting me comfortable with the commute to the Board of Education (BOE). Co-worker, Ben, drove me to work showing me a variety of bike routes. My favourite bike route includes a ride across the rice paddies which we attempted successfully in Ben`s K car. Arriving at work, I went around with Emi and met more of the BOE staff members. I also met a number of the town`s high-ranking officials such as: the mayor(choochoo-san), deputy mayor(joyaku-san) and financial chief(Shuunyuuyaku-san) as the BOE is in the town hall. Each of them took a little time out of their day to ask me a little bit about Vancouver and wish me well. The financial chief was especially inquisitive and asked all about Canada, the geography of the country and finally how close is Vancouver to Seattle, the home of Ichiro Suzuki . Everyone is quite impressed when I mention that I have seen Ichiro play in Seattle.

At 11:30 a bell rings for apparently no reason. Although, some say it is so the farmers know to take a break. At 12:00, the lunch bell rings and Emi and I head down to Lawsons for lunch. I pick up one of my favourite convenience store dishes which is the summer noodle dish, hiyashi chuka. Part of the fun in eating it is putting it all together. See below.

Hiyashi chuka lunch from Lawson. A good DIY lunch.
After the 1:00 bell, it is time to go back to work. Since the middle part of August is when the Japanese people celebrate O-Bon, it was time to do some osoji (cleaning). Ben and I had to clean our desks, windows and the air conditioner. O-Bon is the time when the ancestors come back to visit their homes and so the houses and offices should be cleaned at this time.
Ben cleaning (osoji) for the Obon festival preparations; Being interviewed by the local paper
Before the day was out, I had a visit from a local reporter. I was not expecting this at all so it felt like a bit of an ambush but it was a lot of fun. I tried to answer the reporters questions in Japanese and then Emi jumped in if she felt there was need for clarification. Somehow I even started singing in Japanese for him. I think the reporter was quite amused by that. When the article came out on the weekend, it said that my hobby was karaoke and that I can sing a very popular Japanese song called "First Love" by Utada Hikaru . Hopefully, I can practice up before the welcome enkai(party) or office karaoke party.