Experience some culture!

Traditional Japanese Arts -   茶道　and   日本舞踊

For those of you who don’t know, I have been taking up a few hobbies since I came to Japan. It started with running this time but four and a half years ago, when I first came to Japan, I studied traditional Japanese dance. I have been trying since I got here to get back involved with it and in the middle of January, I finally succeeded. But, before I get too involved in talking about this relatively recent progression, let me first talk about tea ceremony (sado) which I have been a member of since around November.

One day, while sitting at one of my elementary schools a fellow teacher asked if I would like to accompany her to tea ceremony on Friday night. Prior to this invitation, I had never really thought about joining any traditional arts besides nihon buyo (Japanese dance) but I accepted. It turned out the ladies were a ton of fun and although I wasn’t prepared for it to last well into my Friday night (it started at around 6:30 and didn’t end until after 10), I had fun. So much fun that I decided to go back. Now I am a regular member (though they still don’t charge me dues, :-X) and we meet about 3 times a month on either Friday evening or Saturday morning. I am still not very graceful about mixing the tea but it is certainly teaching me patience. Lots of patience. I even get a little bit of other arts too, like ikebana (flower arrangement) because my teacher and the other members are certified in these skills as well.

Let me explain a little about tea ceremony because when you hear I spend 4 hours, three times a month, drinking tea you may not quite understand if you have never seen it. It isn’t for everyone, and I still find it a little ironic that it suits me since when I got here I was stressing over everything and had the patience of a hummingbird. Regardless, tea ceremony consists more of enjoying the company of others and enjoying watching the process than actually drinking tea. I think it also has a bit to do with munching on yummy snacks. :-). We spend a good bit of time preparing the tea and snacks and utensils for the actual ceremony before we enter the tearoom, then we all sit around a hole in the tatami (woven leaf) floor where there is a small brazier in the ground. Part of the ceremony begins when one member places charcoal ceremoniously in the brazier and situates the iron kettle on the stand inside. Incense is also used to keep the room smelling nice. During this part of the ceremony, everyone leans over the brazier in interest and watches the arranging of the charcoal. We take turns admiring the decorations on the incense holder and the flower and calligraphy exhibitions in the corner of the room.

One the water has begun to heat, we all head back in to prepare the individual settings for the tea ceremony we will do first. There is the ‘high class’ ceremony involving thick tea where everyone drinks from the same cup and ‘low class’ where we all get our own cup and the server has to mix the tea for each person. We rotate who is the server and depending on the server, we decide which version of the ceremony we will do. It takes about 30-40 minutes for each ceremony and we don’t all enjoy tea and snacks every time. Most of the time we use a lottery system to decide who does serving, clean-up, who drinks and who eats candy. They say it is to keep it interesting. I would have to agree.

Despite the congeniality and humor we indulge in for most of the ceremony, it is important to note that we are very serious and follow all the procedures to a T. Even drawing the lottery piece is completed delicately and in a certain manner. You pick up the box with your right hand, after bowing to your neighbor on the left, pass it to your left hand using the right hand to open it, pull out the piece with your right hand and place it exactly three weave lines down from the seam of the tatami directly in front of you. It isn’t a hassle though because everyone is talking and laughing while we pull the tiles and if you make a mistake someone gently corrects you until you no longer make mistakes. You are welcome to watch everyone around you and can take as long as you like. I believe this is the essence of tea ceremony for me. Enjoying the company of others in a very Japanese setting (rigid rules enforced but completed elegantly) while eating and drinking merrily.

I could continue to describe for you every aspect and movement of tea ceremony, but wouldn`t you rather experience it yourself? K says it isn`t for everyone but I am a firm believer in trying everything once so get out there and enjoy yourself some tea!

Besides tea, I have been enjoying weekly lessons in nihon buyo from a local kimono shop owner who also happens to be the grandmother of one of my students. H sensei is very kind and not exactly what I would have expected in teacher but let me describe how we met before I go into too much detail. As I mentioned, getting involved in nihon buyo took a lot of time and pushing on my part and the part of those around me. I mentioned wanting to be involved in dance from my first week of employment here and it started a cascade of events leading up to rejection by three different teachers in Yamaga. The first would not even meet with me and rejected just the idea of teaching me. The second met me, sized me up, and then rejected me under the guise of saying I am too tall. I am 5 foot 5 inches (164cm) on a good day. The third claimed I would not be able to understand the complexities of the dance because I did not know enough Japanese.

Just when I was beginning to give up hope, thinking I had exhausted all the possibilities available in the 50km radius of my house, I had a tea ceremony event in the city with A sensei and the gang.



It was a really fancy meeting and everyone was required to come in kimono (including me!) so we went to the local kimono shop to rent the necessary materials and have them put on us (very few people, especially young people, are capable of putting on a kimono by themselves it turns out). We went to the shop and while H sensei was `installing` me in the kimono (it is like a cloth corset around your torso from the chest down to the middle of your thighs), my friend A mentioned I was interested in dance. Japanese people are always helping me out...:-/

H sensei gave me her phone number and said if I was really interested, I could call and we would see about lessons. She already had two students so she definitely tried her best to put me off. The tea ceremony event was a lot of fun and consisted of sitting and watching professional tea ceremony people perform the ceremony in a series of presentations. It was nice to be able to enjoy the ceremony in the professional atmosphere but it was difficult to focus because the room was kind of crowded and I was not accustomed to sitting western style (ie on a chair) in a kimono or while enjoying tea. We usually sit on the tatami floor (bamboo weave flooring).

About a week after the ceremony, I had some free time and decided to contact H sensei. Instead of calling though, I thought it would be a better idea to just pay her a visit. When I showed up at her shop, she was pleasantly surprised saying she didn`t actually expect me to call and that she was afraid I didn`t have the drive to actually learn dance. Well, she handed me a yukata (cotton kimono) on the spot and told me to show her what I`ve got. Once she saw I at least knew my way around putting on the traditional dress independently, she became much more relaxed and even friendly. We learned part of a dance that day and the rest, as they say, is history! I now go weekly on Monday after work and practice for about an hour and a half. She charges me 1000yen a lesson, a fee I would happily pay, and in exchange I get brilliant, private lessons and tea when we finish.

Now I spend about 5 hours a week on my traditional Japanese arts and I love every minute of it. Some people choose to get involved in Japanese sports (like judo), but whatever you chose, if you come to Japan, indulge yourself in something Japanese! I guarantee even if you try a few things and don`t find them enjoyable, there is something for you out there, be it flower arrangement (ikebana) calligraphy (shodo) or archery (kyudo) to name a few.

As always, it has been a pleasure, Love!

Noh Theatre

Before I talk about Sunday night I should update a little about the rest of my weekend. I saw a movie with B and some Japanese friends on Friday night (Black Swan with Natalie Portman). It scared the crap out of me and I even had a nightmare. But a tremendously good movie nonetheless. Probably made more so by the level of fear I left the theater with. Saturday was tea ceremony practice most of the afternoon (a morning of cleaning and studying) and then dinner with a local friend who`s boyfriend was in town.

Sunday morning started early because I went with a friend to a rose farm and spent a few hours picking roses. Besides the brilliance of the experience itself (I don`t think I can ever forget the smell!!), I received a huge bouquet as a gift for helping out, in lue of pay. I will post pictures to my picasa album soon so you can enjoy them!

Ok, now for Noh!

**I pretty much copied this entire post from a friend T who went to the play with me. I will bold the statements I edited or changed but otherwise consider everything her words and therefore copyright.**

Noh Theatre

One of my goals while in Japan is to see Noh (dance-drama and masks) and Kabuki (dance-drama and make-up) both performed solely by men in the traditional style.  I went to see a production of Noh Sunday night.

I got picked up by A (my tea ceremony friend - also the only young person besides myself) and together her and I and our teacher (we will just call her sensei) drove into Oita around 3:30PM. We arrived shortly before 5 after grabbing some snacks on the way and walked into the castle grounds where luckily sensei`s friends had saved us some seats. A had to sit father away though because my friend T was coming too and sensei`s friends did not save enough seats :(

The show was to be performed outside in the natural setting of the ruins of the castle.  Good idea; it was cool.  The backdrop for the event was a hundreds-of-years-old rock wall from a collapsed parapet and the sculpted trees so indicative of a Japanese garden.

The show began with several dances done by school kids in traditional dress.  I didn't know what to expect from the experience, but once the music and dancing began, I thought the show had begun. Sensei was sure to tell us this was only the warm-up act but she waited until after all the kids had performed. I think there might have been an announcement even but I was too busy catching up with T. I was prepared to relinquish myself to the power of the play, but I kept getting disturbed by announcements and the people talking around us. The warm up was a group of local kids who train at the Oita theater school, I guess, and then the real show began when a barrel-sized fire on each side of the performance area was lit.  I've had a lot on my mind, so my focus has been constantly redirected by wandering thoughts, and I kept getting distracted by the sky and the sounds of nature around me.  Despite my lack of focus, the crows cawing actually really enhanced the inherent creepiness of Noh's sights and sounds. (I am in agreement with T`s statements here completely).

Finally, the show began in earnest.  How can I describe it?  Noh has an ensemble of drummers and chanters, and a narrator.  Simply put, the narrator tells a story and characters from that story step forward for you to contemplate.  The audience listens to the story and music while taking in the emotions emanating from the masks, and what the actors portray through the masks. It's quite interactive in a silent, still way.  The actors move a little, and very slowly.  The costumes are luxuriant and pleasing to the eye.  Everything about it is rich:  The textures, fabrics, masks, drumming, chanting, and singing...

Japanese art-focused thought is heavy.  Even children's books include death and loss.  There's a series of cute illustrated books in the school libraries that depict all kinds of happy, smiling faces while they describe terrible sadness like the loss of a parent and the destruction of homes and lives. I actually could not believe it when I read the story of Little Red Riding Hood to one of my classes and they all proclaimed at the end `that isn`t how it ends!` Seems they were expected the wolf to eat the girl for being enough of an idiot to stay in the house with an apparent wolf. Turns out this is just how the story ends in Japan. The sounds of Sunday night's performance were dripping with despair, and let me tell you, there is no comic relief for what seems like ages.  I was waiting for it; in my head I was wondering when it was coming.  It came in the form of a short, separate play at the end of the night.  Some dance comes at the end of the play, but it's more like movement with intention.  The dance includes the flipping of kimono sleeves and fluid manipulation of fans.

I'm very glad I went, but I didn't get the powerful escape that I was looking for.  Maybe it was the outdoor setting, or the crows, or the rain:  Twice during the performance it started raining and 200 umbrellas emerged suddenly.  In my distracted mindset, I had to stifle many giggles in response to the "Waaahhhhhs" that sounded straight out of an SNL parody.  I wanted to get lost in the verisimilitude and suspension of disbelief, and that just didn't happen.  But that's ok.  I experienced Noh, and that was my main goal.

After the main performance there was comedic relief in the form of kyogen (traditional comedic skits) performed by a very famous actor who has performed as far as and the US in things as diverse as Shakespeare. Has very talented and it was a nice relief to be able to understand the Japanese coming from their mouths since all of the Noh performance had been in traditional Japanese and even reading along in the program which had translations into modern Japanese I still found it very difficult. The subject of the main performance was a grandmother who initially loses her son and daughter and one one grandchild to WWII. She later loses her other grandchild when his school is chosen to bring weapons to the front line. Pretty sad, like T mentioned. The kyogen was about two drunk guys and their master. The master punishes them for their insolence by tying them up and leaving them locked in a room but the men find a way to access alcohol (in a very hilarious manner) and when the master returns they are more drunk than when he left. The skit ends with the master giving up on the men and releasing them to their drunken stupor. 

Well, driving exam is on Friday so you definitely should hear from me after that and while I know I mentioned tea ceremony a lot here - I realize it might be the first time so I am coming out with a nice entry about some traditional arts I have been involved in, including tea ceremony.

Love!

In addition

This is an update from the last post. 

I received some information I found necessary to share in regards to the special leave I mentioned earlier. Turns out this leave is reserved for more trivial things like study leave and having a bad period and thus other (in my opinion more important reasons, like the illness of a loved one) reasons are likely to get rejected. Keep this is mind for those seeking leave! If you need more than your allotted amount of nenkyuu then you will likely have to take unpaid leave. 

Love!

Conquests

A lot of things have been happening recently. I am finally on the path to obtaining my Japanese driver`s license (although I still have to pass the exam), I ran my last race of the season and I secured my flight back to America for June. I also made many more observations about Japan I feel the need to record before I forget them.

Concerning the license - the test is on May 27th and I hope I pass the first time so I do not have to deal with the drama anymore. I will be going with B on the 24th and 25th to a one hour driving practice with a teacher who will show us exactly what we need to pass the exam. At 50 bucks a class it will hopefully be money well spent to save me the time and future money of taking the test again.　I will keep you posted.

Ran a 10k race in Bungotakada with K and E (my marathon buddies) and another JET last weekend and really ran an excellent race. E placed first, K, 5th and 13th for myself. Our other friend came in 7th and all of us with well better than personal bests. Congrats! 48:30 for myself!

About America. It has become necessary for me to return home in the middle of June for a bit of a family emergency. I will not be adding details about this. But for you future and current JETs out there, I feel like this is a bit of information important for you all. We are allowed time off for these kinds of issues. If the reason is important enough and there is no other way, you can take up to 30 days of leave, outside of your paid holiday, so long as it gets approved through the prefectural and national offices. I chose not to follow through on this route and am simply using my remaining paid holiday for the year. Should you need more than 30 days, or for some reason if you are rejected for special leave, you can negotiate to take unpaid leave for any length of time through your employer directly (be it a city BOE or prefectural BOE). Using paid leave (nenkyuu) is the least annoying of these routes but if your employee is anything like mine (a human being) then they will support you and find a way to make things happen. Actually in the end it was me who made the decision which kind of leave to use, after weighing all the options provided by my employers (who dug through the JET contract and explained all the possibilities). School principals and supervisors have ABSOLUTELY no say in whether and when you can use leave in this circumstance. It goes directly from your supervisor to the BOE head.

This brings up another thing I have been meaning to talk about and something which has become a very big deal lately. I am nearing my last visit of the trimester at my elementary schools (each one gets about 3-4 visits a trimester) and a lot of teachers are cornering me, concerned about if it will be the last time they have seen me or not.
**What I am about to address is purely my own opinion and is not meant to offend anyone in the least. If you are of a different opinion from me and would like to express it, I welcome your comments and feedback in the box at the bottom of the page. **
The past two JETs in my position left after one year. This is a decision JET gives us to make. But,  I honestly feel like some JETs (I do not personally know anyone like this) get here knowing they only have a year on the docket and use that year to party it up and make fools of themselves because they know anything they do will be forgotten when the leave again coming August. It is my opinion the program should be made into a two year minimum to reduce the instance of these kinds of JETs. But not just for this reason! I have been here almost ten  months and I am finally beginning to adjust to my lessons and school structure. I thought toward the end of December I had it down because I had finally adjusted to life in Japan and was no longer looking at maps to get places.  But it was only recently that I realized I finally understand the students in each of my class - and how best to teach them to match their personalities and keep their interest. When the teachers changed in April it was me they asked when they were unsure of the personality of their classes - particularly the incoming 1st graders in middle school. I felt so excited when I could tell them, and even more excited when I
was able to predict how best to teach the most recent lesson to each of the different groups. Same lesson but I had to use completely different techniques every time.

This is a type of experience I feel like only comes with time. My predecessor did a great job explaining what type of students were in each class and their attitude towards English. But I was not able to accurately use that information until recently because I did not fully understand the students. K mentioned it the other day too. Some of her teachers are still in teacher training and haven`t passed their exams to be real teachers yet and they were having trouble recently understanding why the students weren`t responding the way they wanted during class. K said `well, it is because you are asking them to say something embarrassing ` and understood immediately why the students were hesitant. She understands the kids in a way I am beginning to understand (she is in her 5th year now so I do not think I will ever be to this point but I can try).

What all of this ranting comes down to is that June is fast approaching and people are preparing for the passing of the torch and my teachers were not sure whether to expect a new JET or not in my position. I feel their pain because getting a brand new English aid every year - in the middle of the school year - is a serious drawback to the kid`s education and the teacher`s time. I did not understand the Japanese system, the students or my work environment to the point where I feel comfortable in the classroom until recently and luckily for me - and those around me - I am not changing. I can build on this experience to help make next year even better.

My predecessors made their decisions to leave (well in some cases the decision was made for them because of family situations) and I understand that. I may be in the same boat leaving if my situation worsens. But, I do not think that us as individuals should affect the program as a whole. JET started out as a great concept and it is a very popular and sought after program because of the benefits for all parties. It is a great program but like everything else, and as the monbushou (Japanese education council) would agree,  it needs improvement.

** It is still your choice to decide if you agree to stay for more than your minimum contracted leave and this is not meant IN ANY WAY to affect that decision. I know everyone has different situations and individual needs but I wanted to express my opinion on this subject because it has been rubbing at me. If you are staying one year and it pleases you - props to you!:-)

Love!

Life choices

Another Japan-iversary just passed me by. It has been 9 months since I moved to Japan. But, as soon as I got used to living alone, a friend came to visit. He stayed for 3 months and turned my world into a hectic, but very comforting, mess. He left in early April and now I am back to my solitary and slightly less carefree life.

Many events took place in the time he was here. I finished up the last trimester of the year with my students, a giant earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and my whole work environment rotated with the coming of Spring. I saw snow and cherry blossoms for the first time and even ice-skated outdoors. I have been trying to update the blog along the way but have been much less successful than I planned.

I began this blog before I even touched ground in Japan hoping to document my experiences here and while a lot of things have happened that I haven`t talked about, I think it has been keeping up relatively well (besides the sumo entry which I still have not finished…) Regardless, I made a few major decisions in my life over the past two months and a few major events have happened that have further delayed my posting here. I have decided for sure to apply for entrance into an MD/PhD program come the end of my time in Japan and have begun preparations for taking my MCAT come August. I have also decided to renew for a year in Japan which of course will make interviews (should I be lucky enough to get one) a little more difficult, though not impossible. 

The studying and application process is very time consuming so devoting a few hours a day to them is necessary and thus I am afraid my entries will become fewer still. To combat this, I opened up an account with google for sharing pictures over the web. It is located at https://picasaweb.google.com/greenlikemyparty

I am backing up all my photos from Japan now and will be adding new photos as soon as I take them. It is a much more user-friendly atmosphere than facebook or this blog account so expect to see me there a lot. 

I will be adding entries as fast as I can because although I have been neglecting the blog, my experiences have not gotten any fewer (thankfully!). 

Since A has left I have been making a lot of changes to my life and a lot of changes have been made that I wasn`t prepared for. Hopefully I can share them with you! Love!!