Obon

This week started off with Summer Tour, a Gem School event where we spent Monday and Tuesday with the kids. It  was Fairy Tale themed which was pretty much right up my alley, but since I just got here I didn't have to do so much. Apparently they've been planning this since at least February. But it was a good chance for me to get to know my coworkers and a good portion of students. 

After that we were given the rest of the week off for Obon. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist-Confucian holiday dedicated to honoring ancestors.  Obon is short for Ullambana, It originates from the story of Maudgalyāyana, a disciple of Buddah who was eventually stoned to death due to the karma he accumulated in a past life when he killed his own parents. During this lifetime, however, he used his supernatural powers to look into the land of the dead and saw that his mother had somehow ended up in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Buddah told him to make offerings to the monks who had returned from their summer retreat. After he did so he saw his mother's release from suffering, and understood all of her past selflessness and kindness.  He was so overcome with joy and gratitude  he danced the Bon Odori, or Bon Dance.  Now each area has a different time in which they celebrate Obon, since none of them adjusted to the Gregorian Calendar in exactly the same way. In the story it occurs on the 15th day of the seventh month and lasts three days, the final day being celebrated with paper lanterns being floated down the river to symbolize the return of the spirits to the afterlife (where as the dance is meant to invite spirits). Each region as well has their own version of the dance and music to go along with it. 

On the first day of Obon, I was invited by another Marugame girl named Kristen to go to Tokushima, which is famous for its particular take on Bon Odori, the Awa Odori, Awa being the name the old feudal administration used for the area.  It's the largest dance festival in all of Japan, attracting over 1 million tourists each year. There are theories on where and when this particular celebration of revelers dancing through the streets began--a popular one being that it was founded in 1586 in celebration of the opening of Tokushima castle, where people drank so much they began to dance through the streets and some picked up instruments, and the lyrics were made up on the spot, but this story lacks any actual proof. Hard evidence does suggest that it was established by the 17th century. The song associated with Awa Dori is a popular, local version of a song from the Edo period, Yoshikono Bushi, called Awa Yoshikono. The lyrics go something like this:

踊る阿呆に Odoru ahou ni The dancers are fools 見る阿呆 Miru ahou The watchers are fools 同じ阿呆なら Onaji ahou nara Both are fools alike so 踊らな損、損 Odorana son, son full disclosure I pulled this from Wikipedia.

 Being at Awa Dori was pretty amazing. The streets were packed full of people, as well as vendors. When the dancing got started after they moved through their course, you could find several stationary troops on pretty much every street putting on a show.  When one ended another would begin just a few feet away, and sometimes there would be two going on right next to each other.  

The Awa Dori

Some of the dance troops would even pulled us in and had us dance in the circle along with them.  They were even dancing through the shotengai. There were also a lot of food and game stalls, and I tried yakitori--which is just meat on a stick from what I gather, and takoyaki, which is fried squid balls. Both were pretty okay. 
My coworker and I also played the game where you scoop turtles into a bowl with a paper net to see how many you can get until it breaks. Most commonly its done with goldfish. We both won a turtle. I have to admit, I do not know what kind of turtle it is, so if you do, please tell me. That'd be helpful. 

Morla the mystery turtle chilling in my bath while I clean zir tank.

The next day me and a few coworkers headed out to Takamatsu to see the fireworks. This festival was a little smaller, but the location was beautiful. They were shooting the fireworks off of a boat on the sea, and people were lined up along the dock and in the fields to watch. We got a spot with Kristen and a handful of other foreigners to watch it, and I got to meet some other American and Canadian folk who are in the area. The fireworks were really spectacular--they went on for an hour--even though it rained on and off through out, sometimes quite hard. 

Fireworks at Takamatsu

When we left the trainstation was packed full of people. We ended up squeezing in next to this old kinda drunk guy who was playing music on his phone. After I bobbed my head to it once he kept putting it up to our ears and grinning, and then pointing to a picture of the artist and saying "Kawaii." Playing music out loud on the train is apparently kinda rude, and it was probs one of my stranger interactions, but it was also kinda funny. Especially cause he didn't seem at all dangerous, just a little goofy. 

Obon technically isn't over yet, but for the rest of the festival I'll be taking it a little easier. I intend to grab sushi with a coworker today, and then maybe just veg out for the rest of the afternoon. I'm also currently working on a short story, so that's probably something I should get back to. 

Hope all is well in the States. 

Takamatsu Shotengai

Friday I taught my first classes alone. They went well. I teach a range of ages from babies to adults. The kids are pretty fun to teach. It’s the first time in my teaching career that I’m encouraged, neigh, even REQUIRED to tickle my students. At first I felt a little strange about it, but after a little bit it came pretty naturally. The kids warm up pretty easily and they find the simplest things funny. The toughest student I seem to have at the moment is a teenager who is very much a teenager.

Saturday I took a bike ride to McDonalds which is basically the same as it is in the States but more fancy and popular which made me laugh. And then I went to a local Super Center to find some clothes I need for an event my school is hosting Monday and Tuesday. Supposed to be an enrollment drive I think, plus one for the current students called Summer Tour. Its fairy tale themed which is right up my alley. We’re going to be staying with the kids for a whole night. While there I saw a whole bunch of entertaining shirts with strange English phrases on them. Like “Peace and Relax” and so on. I intend to stock up on those most def.

Today my coworker Leslie and I took the train in to Takamatsu. There’s a language club there for Japanese speakers and English speakers on Sundays, and a giant shopping arcade that is supposedly the longest in all of Japan. They’re like malls, but outdoors, called Shotengai. The walkways are covered by a glass roof typically. They’re pretty popular in Japan, and there’s one in Marugame as well, but it’s not nearly as large or busy. (Marugame, I believe I mentioned, is like Youngstown in the way that it’s kind of a shrinking city, but to me it still seems rather large and really beautiful. Plus, that kinda makes it feel more like home.) Wandering through the Shotengai at night is actually a lot of fun. A lot of the shops are closed then, although there are some bars in Marugame's.  It feels surreal, like being in a mall at night when you aren't supposed to be. Very Dawn of the Deadish. 

Marugame Shotengai at night

We stopped at the International Language Exchange where the club is, but sadly it isn’t happening on Sunday’s this month. It’ll start again next month, along with Japanese lessons in October. So we headed down to the Shotengai. We spent a lot of time there, wandering around the stores. The one in Takamatsu is three stories high. There were even a couple American/European stores like Gap and Gucci. When I have some money to burn I’ll probs head down that way cause there’s some adorable and strange stores there.

Leslie has been teaching and living in other countries for a while. She went to Korea first, then spent some time in Australia. She gave me some tips on what social media sites I should join to try and find some international pals, and we both discussed taking a weekend trip to Tokyo, since round trip flights are about 100 bucks where we’re at.

 After a couple of hours we headed back home, and I took a walk around a small local park. I’ve looked it up and there are some fancy gardens in the area I intend to check out. Plus an art gallery. After Summer Tour there’s a holiday coming up—Obon—which should be really interesting and give me even more time to explore.

Marugame Park 

Let's Go To Japan!

So it's almost been a week now since I came to Japan.

I arrived on Saturday, late at night, and meant Leigh and Sam at the airport in Takamatsu. I'm located in Kagawa which is the smallest prefecture on the smallest of the main islands, Shikoku. Marugame is the city I am based out of, which I'm still in the process of learning about, so will most likely devote time talking about it later. To me it seems pretty big, but apparently it is similar to Youngstown in a lot of ways. It's not considered a city really, from my understanding, but rural, and many of the younger people are leaving for bigger cities. They drove me from Takamatsu to Marugame and showed me Don Quixote which is a chain store, kind of like a Wallmart meets a Dollar General with slot machines in the basement.

My apartment is called LeoPalace, and its just down the road, and near Marugame station. The place is on the small side, comparable to a studio back in America but set up to make it a little more manageable. Through the front door there's a small hall with the kitchen set to the left side. Mini-fridge, cupboard, and a hot plate and sink. Then past that sunk into a tiny off shoot there's a room with the shower and tub and another room with the toilet. The living room is beyond the hall, and up the wall there is a ladder that leads to a cubby area with my bed. If I sit up too quick my head hits the ceiling. I am learning to avoid that. (By the way, I just got done reading Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchmen, where Scout has the same issue with cars. It doesn't feel exactly on par with To Kill a Mockingbird. Like its more of a draft then a finished product? There are some places where the perspective seems to switch in a jarring way, and the pacing seems just a little off. Also I miss Boo Radley. Like there is not one mention of Boo. And I don't think it exactly answers the questions of race that it poses--it kinda starts centering more on Atticus and Scout's relationship, which is okay, but it seemed to end rather quick. I liked it alright, and I think there's a lot of interesting things going on in combination with Mockingbird. Apparently some shady stuff went on anyway with the publication, which could explain some of the issues with the novel. I won't go into it here, but Thug Notes goes over it pretty well here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWiBTrlVQH4)

The station is nearby, as well as Marugame Castle. Marugame Castle was fist in use in 1587, and was home to Ikoma Chikamasa, a dude I know nothing about currently, other than the fact that he eventually built another castle in Takamatsu and gave Marugame Castle to his son. In 1615, however,there was a decree that each providence could only have one castle, and so Marugame was dismantled. Eventually it was given as a gift to Yamazaki Ieharu for his mad bravery in the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-8, caused when taxes sky rocketed for the building of a new castle elsewhere, and Roman Catholic Christians were tired of being pushed around. Didn't work out so well for 'em though. The leader of the rebellious Christians was beheaded and a prohibition against the religion was strictly enforced until the 1850s. (Btws I'm stringing most of this together through wikipedia articles.) After he was given Marugame Castle along with some other land, he began to rebuild over the ruins. Eventually it was handed over to the Kyogoku clan, and they continued renovations. However, a lot of the castle was lost again when a fire broke out in 1869, and the Imperial Goverment took apart more in 1870 for reasons that are not mentioned on the wikipedia page. I may look in to that more later. 

Now its declared precious property and won't be messed with. Its one of the few castles left with the original wooden tenshu--or central tower/keep. That's where they keep the museum which I have yet to go in. 

Marugame Castle's Tenshu

The area the castle is located in is really beautiful. It has a moat surrounding it filled with koi, and some pretty hella big turtles. A few big white geese, and I think I saw a crane. Over a bridge there's a set of heavy wooden doors leading up to a path and another set of heavy wooden doors. Through the archway there’s a paved road that leads in two directions. One up the mountain towards the castle, the other to the right to what looks like a museum, and some forested walkways. There children were catching insects with little bug nets. There were a few levels of the mountain with observation decks. From up there I could see all of Marugame proper. There are several mountains in the area, and back towards where I came from just beyond my own neighborhood I could see the ocean start. Below to the right there was a baseball field where a few men were playing. To the left there was a park, complete with swingsets and walking paths.

I figure it's going to end up one of my favorite places to meander around. I'm playing with the notion of jogging there, but I think I may have to wait for the weather to get cooler. It's super humid here. Hot enough that people have to carry handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat off of their faces. Also I lack the appropriate clothes, and they may be hard for me to get my hands on, since tattoos are a big issue here in Japan, and showing them means you risk offending some people. 

So far I haven't had a lot of interactions with many people other than the woman who pulled the sticker off my butt for me in the shopping center, and the fella who approached me when he thought I was lost. A few people have tried to talk to me but all in Japanese. Its funny because when I tell them I don't understand they just keep going friendly as ever so I mostly smile and nod. I'm looking in to lessons soon. I hear there are free ones in Saikade on Sunday. 

I've started kind of teaching. Mostly its young kids, and its basically playing with them while using English. (You have to be really "genki" which is healthy/energetic.) Then there are a few older classes that I have meant. (A group of Japanese adult students called me "sugoi" and "kawaii" and one of them suggested I get a Japanese boyfriend. They were hilarious.) I teach at a couple locations but the trains are surprisingly easy to navigate, and its a nice way to see some really beautiful landscapes. 

Covered bridge outside of Takamatsu-chikko station.

It was while waiting for a train that I had my favorite interaction yet. A young girl approached me at the Kokobunji  station yesterday when I was on my way to Marugame, which surprised me because mostly locals just give me my space. She was wearing very Western clothes (most do but these were especially Western in style--purposely stressed and torn jeans, big light brown contacts, Taylor Swift style t-shirt/sweater). She had a pokemon fan and a mole on the bridge of her nose right between her eyes that was just darling. I looked up at her and she said "hello" very enthusiastically. We began to talk--her English was developed enough to have a very basic conversation and my Japanese, of course, is worthless. We exchanged ages--she was 17, a high school student, going to see a friend and obviously thrilled to be speaking in English to a foreigner, and I of course am 26, a teacher, and obviously thrilled to be speaking in English to someone who wants to speak to a foreigner. We both remarked on how hot it was and she taught me the Japanese word for breeze--Kaze--by rolling her finger in a loopty loop in front of her. We rode the train together and she pointed out the direction of her house, her grandmother's house, and a ramen shop. She told me all the station names as we passed as well. She also said she liked Arianna Grande and Taylor Swift when I asked what music she liked. (We  got some looks on the train, but I think maybe I was speaking too loud. Thats a thing here, and its a involuntary tick  I have when trying to be understood.)  Then she told me to switch trains at Saikaide station, where she was disembarking. There are a couple of types of trains going in the same direction, I'd been told before, and I was on a slower one. I decided to do as she said and she told me what time my train would come. When the time came a strange type of train I'd yet to see--single car and packed to the brim with a destination name I did not know--pulled up. For a moment I was worried I had been kinda tricked--I mean, heck, it'd be a pretty funny and easy prank to pull on a foreigner, but I asked the conductor and it was all good, evidently. 

 The train, though, was packed, and that's the first time I'd been on one like that. Lots of bumping shoulders, and I think in the end it just saved me maybe ten minutes.  Still, she was so excited to give directions I couldn't turn them down. 

 Other than that, I've gotten some good news on the publication front this week! I had a poem published in Gravel the day after I got here, and I've gotten word that my story "Animal Heart" will be in the upcoming anthology put out by For Books Sake, centered on Fairy Tales where young girls are being not such the damsel in distress, but the damsel empowered. (Huzzah.) On top of that things are moving forward with my upcoming publication in Weird City. So far, though, I haven't written much new while being here. Jotted down a quick not so great poem and started a bit of a short story but I'm not sure where its going. 

I'm going to try to come up with a schedule for updating the blog soon. Till then, over and out folks. I gotta go teach some kids (ALL ALONE! OH MY GOSH!)