MooshiMooshi Part10

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I've been thinking a lot about Bill Murray lately. Most of the time, its in regards to his role in Lost in Translation. But more recently, it has to do with Groundhog Day, and his colorful yet repetitious mornings. As I rise with the sun and ride to work, I pass the same cute silver haired woman right at the top of the bridge, riding with her garden tools in the front basket. I then cut past the same students riding nonchalantly in groups of twos or threes, and as I turn onto a farm road, to my left, the same truck pulls into the drive of a house having an addition built on, and an old man opens his door as I pass. I then cycle through the Yokohama factory complex which is playing the morning exercise music over the intercom system, the workers stretching to touch their toes. I time my mornings by these series of events. By knowing which phase everything around me is in when I pass, I know whether I will be early or late for work.
It may sound a bit mundane, but there is a peacefulness in it for me. In fact, now that I have been in this country for six months, gone through my honeymoon phase and my culture shock, the last month has brought me much peace. And now that spring has arrived, I can only imagine that this summer will be the culmination of everything for me.
The height of the season is about to begin, and in just one more week, the cherry blossoms will begin to reveal themselves. Already, the ume or plum trees, are bursting with delicate blossoms all over Japan.
As this is my last month in Izumo, I've spent my free time trying to breathe in the life of the region, in hopes that I carry some bit of it away with me.
Yesterday, I visited the Museum of Ancient Izumo, a new glass complex nestled beside the mountains which houses the history of my region. I normally have an aversion to artifacts; old clay pottery, rotted stubs of tools and wax dummies of prehistoric man just don't impress me. But what I liked about this museum, although it had all those exhibits too, was it seemed more interested in preserving the myth and folklore of this ancient region than the names of rulers and dates of pots. People often tell me that Izumo is the home of the Gods. They say it is on the shores of Izumo that every October the kami are welcomed home from the sea. It most certainly is a place of magical beauty and one can easily see how these myths came to be. The name Izumo means exit of the clouds because nestled between two small mountain ranges, low, misty clouds often form here and are carried off to sea. One myth says the strange formation of the land here is from a god who pulled in islands with a laso. Another myth is of a female kami, who shot through the land with a golden arrow to create bizarre coastal cave formations. This area has been inhabited for over 3000 years, and when I hear these old folklores and traditions, I can feel the presence of them deep in the earth here. The locals have a lot of pride about this area, and I am beginning to share this feeling.
Also on display were over a thousand bronze samurai swords that were unearthed at the Kojindani ruins, located in the the village of Hikawa, where I teach. (Hikawa is also home to the only robot in the world that can ride a bicycle!) Unlike the Japanese swords we know today, these 1st century bronze swords were short and wide, more reminiscent of something the Knights of the Roundtable would carry. If you killed someone, it would more than likely be from clubbing them to death than administering any cuts. The long, sleek swords we usually see carried by samurai were not developed until the 7th century.
This was the first history museum I've visited in Japan, and I was amazed by the amount of short films they had along the exhibit. Some explained the folklore, some were documentary style, reinactments, simulations, and finally, near the wax cavemen I mentioned earlier, was an amusing anime cartoon set in ancient times. I missed some of the dialogue, but it appeared to be a drama about a young couple and some bad guy in the village plotting against their love. The museum had that ultra-cute touch to it which you only find in Japan.
*to view a more complete collection of my photos,
click HERE

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