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Happy Setsubun!
Today (February 3rd) is Setsubun in Japan, the day of the national bean-throwing festival. On this day around the country, people throw roasted soy beans out the window or around the house to expel “demons” of sickness and misfortune. While doing so they yell “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!” (demons out, good fortune in) Then you’re supposed to eat a number of beans equal to your age in order to cement this good fortune.
From a western perspective, this is kind of strange, but the roots of this custom are quite interesting. There is also a lot of symbolic meaning behind it that makes a lot of sense when you look closely at it. According to “Japan from A to Z” by James and Michiko Vardaman, this festival originated in the imperial court of China on the last day of the year in order to prepare for a new year of good luck. When it came over to Japan, this custom became an expression of hopes for good weather and a plentiful harvest in rural, agrarian Japan. These days a lot of people observe it. You can find news on TV of people (especially kids) throwing beans, eating special sushi made with beans, or sumo wrestlers performing special ceremonies.
Last Saturday, I went to Max’s kindergarten for a parent-student event. Parents and their kids spent the morning doing an arts & crafts project, namely to make oni (demon) masks out of an old paper bag and some string. You can see from the pictures above that we had a nice time. These oni masks were then used during the Setsubun celebration today at the school.
Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!
Here’s hoping you have a year filled with good fortune!
Favorite Family Photos: A Smile Between the Wheels
Another shot from the 2010 Hikiyama festival. When Luke was taking a break from pulling the float, I got this shot of him smiling between the ornately decorated wheels. I love it because of the wonderful colors and Luke’s natural, un-posed smile. He is so beautiful…
:-)
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If something bad happened and you could only save a handful of your photo collection, which ones would choose? That’s the question guiding this series of blog posts I’m dubbing “Favorite Family Photos”. It’s a chance to look back at the past 10 years and revisit special moments in our family’s history. These are our best and most precious memories.
This shot of Luke was taken on May 2nd, 2010, at the annual Hikiyama festival in Yatsuo-machi, our home town in Toyama Prefecture. Luke participated with the Shitashin-machi neighborhood group. He took turns helping pull this huge ornate float and also riding in it. Of course it wasn’t hard to pull, so Luke was just joking around here. But I love this photo because it really captures Luke’s playful sense of humor. He’s always moving and joking around. Sometimes it’s too much, but mostly he’s just fun to be with.
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If something bad happened and you could only save a handful of your photo collection, which ones would choose? That’s the question guiding this series of blog posts I’m dubbing “Favorite Family Photos”. It’s a chance to look back at the past 10 years and revisit special moments in our family’s history. These are our best and most precious memories.
TFiJ40: Hikiyama Festival 2011
On May 3rd, one of the “Golden Week” national holidays in Japan, the annual Hikiyama festival was held in our town. This festival consists of elaborately decorated floats being pulled around town all day. I read this tradition began in the mid-18th century, when Yatsuo was flush with cash from the booming local silk worm industry. Each of the core six neighborhoods have constructed a float.
They are works of master craftsmanship, overflowing with intricate wood carvings, dolls, metal work, golden leaves, and embroidery. The men of each neighborhood work in teams to pull these things around, which is no mean feat- they are huge and heavy. Musicians ride inside, playing traditional Japanese instruments such as the shamisen, flutes, and drums. It’s quite a nice day, as the community becomes transformed back in time to an earlier, more traditional era. It’s a big tourist draw, naturally, so the town really comes to life. This festival, along with its larger and more famous fall counterpart (the Owara Kaze no Bon), are pillars of the local economy and serve to maintain a connection to the local cultural heritage.
Shinobu’s home (and where her parents currently live) are in one of the six core neighborhoods. Her brother Takuya is part of his neighborhood’s float-pulling team. This year he had wheel duty, and was responsible for rotating one of the four huge wooden wheels. Tough job! Luke, because of his family connection to the neighborhood, also participated. He got to help pull the ropes a bit and also enjoyed riding in the top with other children. It was a long day for him, but he seemed to have a good time. In the evening, the floats transformed from day to night mode. Each of the decorative elements were carefully removed and replaced with lanterns. The effect is quite magical.
In this our 40th episode, I used a borrowed camera from work, one that shoots in high-definition. It shows our experiences from the day, including Max and I watching the floats, Luke riding in the top, uncle Takuya rolling the wheel, and having dinner at the grandparent’s house. I hope you like it!
Earthquake aftermath update
I has been six days since the big earthquake/tsunami crushed northeast Japan. As I stated earlier, we are all fine and have been fine, but I’ve also had requests for updates on our condition, so here is our boring, unremarkable story.
Looking out our window right now, the ground is covered with about 10 cm of new snow. Looks and feels like winter’s last gasp- nearly all the huge amounts of snow we had this year had already melted. Now it’s like a final curtain call for this season. Our daily routines have been the same- wake up around 6:45, get Luke off to school, relax with a cup of coffee until 8:00, then take Max to school. After that it’s chore time- doing laundry, sweeping/vacuuming the living room floor, washing the dishes, and taking out the garbage/recyclables. Shinobu then heads off to work, and I’m at home alone, doing what I do. These days I’ve been working on an article for a book with a professor in England about creating online communities of practice. I’m also helping manage the production of the May-June issue of The Language Teacher (I’m in charge of organizing the team of proofreaders). This stuff as well as email correspondence keeps me busy through through the day. On swimming days, I pick up Luke at school and we head off to the pool where Shinobu works for a two-hour practice. On soccer days, I greet Luke at home in the afternoon and we hang out, sharing a snack, doing homework, playing Magic the Gathering. Ji-chan (Luke’s grandpa) then comes by with Max from school. I make him a cup of coffee, we stare out at the mountains and chat about this or that. He then takes Luke off to soccer practice. On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, kids come to our home for English lessons. I’m in charge of these, of course, so I take care of this chore. In the evenings it’s just dinner and hanging out time with the family. The TV is always on, but not always watched- it’s more like a radio. I’m often at my computer, reading the news, doing email, whatever. At about 10, Shinobu and I help the kids get ready for bed. We have a routine here, too: I have to take Max to the bathroom and then help her brush her teeth. Looks like it won’t be long before she can do these herself! Luke has to go through a stretching routine, which he hates. He often does so while watching videos on the iPad. Lights go out around 10:30, and that’s the day. If this all sounds rather mundane, it is! This is our regular routine, our daily life. The funny thing is that it hasn’t really changed in this past week. The only difference is that news about the quake is on all the channels, all the time. News of intense suffering, images of devastation, and the scary unfolding drama of the nuke plant crisis has brought a sad heaviness to everything. The kids seem to be fine. They don’t really watch the TV; Max prefers playing or drawing, and Luke loves watching comedy videos on YouTube on Mama’s iPad or playing cards with me. The only thing we’ve noticed around these parts is that buying a few key items, such as batteries, toilet paper, and ramen noodles has become hard to do! No big deal… Still, it’s quite the contrast. One other change is that we cancelled a planned family trip down to Disneyland at the end of this month. Usually at this time of year we head down to our Chiba apartment for a few days of sightseeing and shopping in the Tokyo area, but obviously that won’t happen this year. Too bad, but still, no big deal. I’ll be heading down on the 25th because work for me starts on the 26th. I haven’t heard anything to prevent this plan, so for now I’m going ahead with it. Friends and colleagues in Tokyo say things are a bit hectic, especially with transportation. I’m hoping that will be a bit smoother by the time I get there! So that’s about it for now. Just regular life. Please keep this in mind when you’re watching the news and thinking of us!
Obama mania hits Japan
Wow, what a day yesterday! It seems like the entire world was watching and celebrating Obama’s inauguration, the new American Renaissance. Here in Japan is no different. From the hula-dancing “Obama Girls” in the fishing villiage called Obama ( it means “small beach” in Japanese), to the latest bestselling book, a collection of Obama speeches meant to help you study English, the new American president is top of the news. News outlets are doing lots of “person in the street” interviews, and here in Toyama City, a reporter came to my school yesterday afternoon to get the reaction of the American teachers (me and my colleague Susan, who is from Hawaii). After being asked all sorts of Obama questions, the reporter asked if the other foreign staff could join us in a group photo, which you can see below in this article from today’s Toyama Shimbun:
From left to right are: Stephen (from the UK), Kevin (above him, from Canada), me, Susan, Lee (from Canada), and David (from New Zealand). The caption reads, “Here are some local foreign teachers reading about Obama’s inauguration ceremony.” When we saw this photo this morning, we had to laugh because of the way the reporter staged the shot. Of course we don’t read this newspaper! Still, it was a goof. We were having a good time cracking jokes about how contrived the situation was. Here is a rough translation of the article. The headline says, “Chance to change history- Happiness spreads as President Obama begins his term in office”. That centered vertical title says, “Teachers from America and other countries based in Toyama ponder the impact on the economy and foreign affairs.” The first part of the story mentions comments from teachers working in Toyama. Then the good part:
An instructor at TCFL, Gerald Talandis Jr., watched the ceremony live on TV at 2 am. “Obama’s message is one of empowerment- that people can do anything they want if they work together”, he said. “His inaugural speech was very positive. People accept Obama because he comes across as a sincere, passionate person. I expect him to rebuild America like before.”
So that’s a rough translation. I actually said a lot more than that, and more eloquently (I thought), but most of it got lost in translation, I guess. I’m not totally sure if this translation is spot on or not, but it’s close enough. Anyway, just thought you’d find this interesting. Oh, and one more thing: My sister Vi, who lives in DC, attended the historic event. Here is a link to the photos she took. I had a great time showing these to my students today in class! They really enjoyed seeing a real participant’s point-of-view on the entire thing. Great job, Vi!
Insane gas prices
In Japan we’ve been dealing with super high gas prices for years, while those of you in the States (dad, mom, Vi, DT, et al), have been living a life of comparative ease- until now! Check out this article in today’s NY Times. Wow! I was shocked when I saw that photo- up to $5.69 for a gallon of gas in the USA???!!! What is that??? This is way way higher than just last year, when I visited you all. I remember feeling shocked when I saw $2.70/gallon; now it’s averaging over $4???? How are you dealing with this? Here in Japan, gas prices just shot up again. I figured it out, and we’re up to about $5.89/gallon ($1.55/liter). We’re dealing by driving a lot less. I’ve been riding my bike to work almost every day. Thankfully it hasn’t been raining much… But what about you guys? How do you manage with such insane prices? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
