Blogs from Japan, Asia - page 931

Today was yet another special day in the town of Tamagawa. This time it was a celebration of Japanese culture. The Japanese are extremely committed to maintaining a strong cultural identity and this was one of its manifestations. Another one is granting the title of “National Treasure” to Japanese citizens who are master craftsmen or connoisseurs of an element of Japanese culture like kabuki or flower arrangement. Like Sports Day before it, Culture Day required weeks of preparation and planning. Classes were knocked off and the school day casually extended in order to make the event as perfect as possible. Culture Day entailed dramas, songs, traditional Japanese dance, and a recitation of English speeches originally spoken at a speech contest. I could not quite figure out what role they play in culture day, other than as ... read more

Hey everybody. It’s been a while, but I am back with more of my exciting adventures. This time, I will talk about what I actually get paid to do, i.e. teaching English. Every morning at 8:10 or 9:00 depending on the school, I arrive to a chorus of teaching screaming “Ohayou gozaimasu” or “Good morning!” I try to respond to as many as I can in an equally booming voice. At that point, there is a meeting of all the teachers in which I listen quietly and pretend I understand. Then the school day starts. I teach between one and three classes every day. I know, I know; it is quite a workload. Usually, before each class begins, one of my students comes to the teachers’ room to ask if he or she can help ... read more

We now return to the regularly scheduled series of my adventures in Japan, after a brief interlude into Japanese/American history last week. OK, so I have been here for two months now, and I have learned most of what there is to learn about this town. At orientation six weeks ago, they taught the word “inaka.” Inaka means countryside, but that is not the definition they gave us. Instead, they told us that inaka means nothing. It is not far from the truth. Tamagawa boasts neither a library, nor a movie theater, and the stores are small and poorly stocked. The main selling points for the town are a rest stop with several restaurants and a small grocery store and an onsen or hot springs. The population of the town is 3,900 and shrinking. Because there ... read more

Today was the second sports day. That is the best translation I can give, but it encompassed far more than it would in America, containing sports, dance, cheering competitions, and singing. The Japanese sports day required weeks of preparation and practice. The schools regularly canceled entire days of class to devote to practice, not giving a second thought to the lost days of instruction. Apparently, all this practice is factored into the schedule from the beginning because in total they probably spent about a week of class simply rehearsing for the big day. Sports day is a day of enormous import in Tamagawa. The mayor himself showed up for the festivities and stayed for the entire slate of events. He is a pretty cool guy, but I think he is convinced that I don’t speak any ... read more

The other day was the second and final festival of the season in Tamagawa. The spirits who had briefly returned to the land of the living were sent back on their way to their eternal resting place with good wishes and prayers that their journeys be pain-free. To celebrate the occasion, the townspeople gathered at the site of a temple and shrine to pray, to eat, and to witness fireworks. Fireworks, apparently, are a big part of Japanese celebrations. It had been 6 or 7 years since my town had last put on such a display, so I was fortunate to witness it. I suppose by the standards of the Fourth of July fireworks, it was quite small, but I thought it was impressive. The firecrackers were lit on a boat underneath a bridge over the ... read more