Day 220 - 7th of April

10:51pm　セミナーハウス

天気：曇り

Professor Hester told us that in Japan, a recent expression has come about, which goes along the lines of, “In spring, there are never three days of sun in a row”. I scoffed at this in class, but true enough, after two beautiful, sunny days, the weather has indeed turned sour; it was windy, cloudy and cold. At least, it didn’t rain… I got up a bit before 9, and put some washing on, before getting ready for uni; of course I choose the day when it’s cloudy. After putting it out, I studied my vocab for today’s quiz, and then made my way to class. I ended up being a little late, I don’t know how that happened, but quickly sat down and got the quiz done in no time; studying the vocab right before class seems to work well for me. After class, I went down and found Rachael, so I gave her the box of the biscuits I baked, and wished her a happy birthday. After that, I decided to go home to have lunch now, since I was so hungry; also I would be doing koto practice after classes. So, I rode back, had lunch, and then basically had to turn around again; I don’t mind at all with my bike. In Reading and Writing, we finished off the dialogue (which proved to be exceptionally challenging, even for the teacher), and then had to answer a whole bunch of questions about it. After that, I went straight upstairs and stalked the Monsters class, before going to Gender and Sexuality.

In today’s class we looked at motherhood and fatherhood in Japan. Of particular interest, is the phenomenon of 熟年離婚 (jukunen rikon – “retirement divorce”), in Japan. Basically, many women in Japan don’t want to have to look after their husbands after they’ve retired. The women have already devoted much of their life playing an active role in raising their children, the man, “supporting” his family by being the breadwinner, away from home. So really, it’s not until they’ve actually retired, that men spend a lot of time at home. So, understandably, many women can’t cope with the re-entry of the husband into the household. This realisation made me feel extremely sad for the way that Japanese society works. Of course there are many happy, lasting marriages, and more men are trying to play a more active role in childrearing, but still. I can’t imagine how intense living the “model” Japanese life must be, especially when the constraints of society and work are so compelling. The professor showed us the first episode of a drama called jukunen rikon that provided models for exactly what I’ve just described; it was very moving. I’d really like to see the rest of the series actually.

After class, I met up with Maarika and we went to the room we would be performing in tomorrow (2207), to practice. Getting there, we found Mori Sempai and Midori Sempai moving desks, and promptly helped them out. Kirianna and Natalie were also there, furiously practicing hanagoromo; they were doing really, really well considering the amount of time they’ve had. We beautified the board, and munch on sweet potato snacks, and got some serious practice in too. The tea club joined us, and began to set up their stuff; they’d be serving tea and snacks to visitors while we played. Maarika and I will be playing from 11-12 tomorrow, for what is basically a festival for the incoming students to Kansai Gaidai; I can’t wait. I ended up leaving at around 5:30. Kirianna, Mori and Midori had already gone their own ways, but Natalie and Maarika decided to stay and practice a while longer. I rode home with Peter, and he further confirmed the instability of spring weather in Japan, recalling a conversation he had with one of his Japanese friends; they said it wouldn’t stay constantly warm until late May!

Getting back, I got started on my homework, and soon enough it was time for the seminar house meeting. This was my second last meeting, and I remember it from last semester. We went over checking out procedures and all that again, but this time it was different because I’d have to actually do it! Actually, technically everyone has to checkout since the seminar houses are closed during the summer holidays; they have to find alternative housing. That’s why I’m so glad I came last semester; I made the right decision. Natchan also let us know of an upcoming event that would see the seminar houses unite in friendly competition; sports festival. It’s next Saturday (the 17^th), and there will be a number of events. I really wanted to participate, so I signed up after the meeting; it’s going to be so much fun. I was then dragged upstairs to Ash and Katie’s room, to sign a card for Rachael’s birthday, and look at Ash’s “shinies” i.e. her purchases. All of us then went down to the kitchen, and presented Rachael with gifts and the card and proceeded to sing happy birthday to her; she had already got it from her Japanese class today, so was quite embarrassed by this point. After that, I got to cooking yakisoba, which turned out great; the ingredients were all so fresh. I gave out the last of my Milo biscuits, and everyone appreciated them, but not as much as I did; I must have eaten about 15. I stayed up in the kitchen till about 9, and then came back down here, and worked on my Reading and Writing homework some more. Well, better get some sleep now…

Day 208 - 26th of March

11:15pm　セミナーハウス

天気：　晴れ

Today was another exhausting day spent in Kyoto; at least the weather had improved, although it was still very cold… I woke up at 8 and had scrambled eggs for breakfast, before getting ready for the outing. I met Sarah and Rachael out in the corridor just before 9, and after talking for a bit, Sarah commented that we were supposed to be wearing formal clothes; I was just wearing jeans. So I quickly got changed into my pants and shirt, but not before giving Rachel a big hug; she had just arrived back from Tokyo. Getting back out, everyone was waiting for me in the lounge (Ash, Katie, Sarah, and Rachael), and as soon as I explained myself, Ash piped up with, “oh you didn’t have to get dressed up”; oh well. The 5 of us were soon on our way to Hirakatashi to pick up Ash’s parents from the hotel. We made a quick stop at the uni, and then continued on foot.

Getting to the hotel, Ash soon collected her parents, and then we went straight to the station, and hopped on the train to Tambabashi, changing over for Kyoto station when we got there. The weather was sunny at this point, and I enjoyed reading Reborn on the way. Getting to Kyoto station, we made our way to the buses, and took number 50 to 上七軒 (Kamishichiken – lit. “Above seven rooves”). On the way, we witnessed a freak hail storm, the ice so small it was almost like snow; though it was definitely falling too fast. So as you can imagine, when we got off the bus, the weather had considerably worsened, although it wasn’t quite raining as yet. We walked across the street, and after a while took a right, going past 天満宮 (Tenmangu – the shrine Katie and Sarah had gone to, to see the plum blossoms) before reaching our destination; the 上七軒歌舞練場 (kamishichiken kaburenba?). It was almost 12 by this point, so we purchased out tickets, and then walked back out onto the main drag to grab a snack from 7/11; the rain starting to come down.

We got back soon after, and entered the establishment, immediately presented with a view of a beautiful garden and pond, as we made our way through a raised passage, and up stairs to a waiting room, which was filled with orchids. We were soon ushered on to another room where a tea ceremony was taking place. After a bit of a wait (the room had fill up), we were allowed entering, and were soon sitting down enjoying anko-filled mochi and sipping green tea while watching two women clad in kimono conducting the ceremony; a beautiful and refined art form in its own right. The coolest thing was that we got to keep the ceramic plate they served the mochi on, each yellow, blue, or green, and bearing the name of the performance, 北野をどり (Kitano wo dori) on the underside; I got a yellow one. After watching the ceremony, we continued on through a corridor, and down stairs (I was loving it) to a room selling merchandise; I decided to pick up some postcards. They also had DVDs of the performances that I really would have liked to get, except for the fact that they wouldn’t work back home; damn region locking.

Anyway, we spent a little bit of time out in the garden, taking photos, and getting a bit wet in the rain before going into the main theatre hall, and taking our seats; I was almost dead centre. The performance that ensued would have had to have been the most beautiful and traditionally Japanese activity I have ever witnessed; it was beyond words. The sets were stunning, the costumes amazing, and the music and singing enchanting; well I guess it really wasn’t beyond words. But still, I was really, really impressed, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing; it lasted for a little over an hour. There were three “acts” (with short intermissions in between), and Ash was able to recognise the second one as the story of the 47 Ronin; so in fact the all female ensemble were taking on male roles. A lot of the acting was done through mime and allusion, each movement elegant and filled with purpose. There was a live and visible orchestra, consisting of at first, shamisen, voice, flute, and a few types of drums; this lessened to just shamisen and voice after the first act. However, there was also additional voice and music played offstage.

The women were so beautiful in all their different outfits, and there was a huge range in age, from the beginner maiko to the veteran geisha; one of the really old ones was actually having a bit of trouble getting up during the last act. We all had a bit of a laugh afterwards about the “ninja curtain closer”; a guy dressed all in black, manning the curtains as the performers entered and exited from the side. Another thing I really liked was the added touch of “snow”, or “cherry blossoms” falling onto the stage. We were all in awe by the end of it, and I was a little disappointed when it was over; maybe I’ll be able to see it again soon. It had bucketed down while we were in the theatre, but when we exited it was sunny once again. After finding out how cheap the program was, I had to buy one. So now I have a book full of beautiful pictures; at least I can show people something since we couldn’t take any photos. We walked back to the bus stop, and were soon on the bus back to Kyoto station.

Getting there, we walked across to the other side, to Miyako-michi, and I had a moment of déjà vu, having just been here with Alex and her Nan and Aunt on Tuesday. What was different was the water jet sequence, which we had to show Ash’s parents; there were love hearts this time. But before that, we went to lunch at a Chinese place, and it was really good. I decided to just get some dumplings, and spring roles, but Katie, Ash, and her parents got sets, and they looked really good; I got to finish Ash’s rice. After that Rachael and Sarah, split, and so the rest of us spent some more time in the station, taking in Kyoto city from the sky garden, and walking through a suspended corridor, which offered a really good view of Kyoto tower. Getting back down, we decided to take the subway to Shijo, since Ash wanted to show her parent’s Yasaka shrine.

Getting to Shijo, it was a bit of a walk to get to Yasaka, though very cool; so many shops and interesting buildings. It was almost nightfall by the time we got there, and very cold. It was well worth it though; after walking through the shrine we went onto the park and saw a beautiful old cherry blossom at about 50 percent bloom. It was all lit up, and my photos really don’t do it justice; most of them are terribly blurry. I’ll definitely have to go back in the near future, to see it in the daytime. Going back into the shrine, Ash’s mum picked up a “safety in birth” Omamori for Ash’s sister, and then we went to the nearby Starbucks. I was a little reluctant, but seeing the sakura steamer on the menu, I knew I had to try it; everyone else got it too. Again, I was amazed at the taste of sakura, and have accepted the fact that it is completely unique. The drink was really interesting and strangely, the sakura “powder” (presumably the crushed petals) that was sprinkled on top was salty; very odd. The drink itself though was sweet, but I don’t know how much of that is thanks to sugar and cream. Anyway, it was certainly something to try.

After Starbucks, we made our way back to Hirakatashi on the sub-express, and I read reborn for a while, and then had a bit of a sleep. I’m really happy with my progress; I’ve already gotten through 58 pages; much better than Deltora Quest. Mind you, most of the pages are taken up with pictures, but still; it is very fulfilling to get through a decent amount of text. Once we got back, we bought some takoyaki to enjoy back in the hotel room, which was actually really, really small. This was Ash’s Parents’ last full day in Japan, and I know they really enjoyed it, because I sure did. Ash will be going to see them off tomorrow, and then they’ll be making their way to the airport, and home; it was great to meet them. The three of us then walked back home, Katie and I doing a bit of grocery shopping midway; I went to Kirindo, and then met up with her in Fresco. It was freezing walking back, and I was so glad of the warmth once inside again. I unpacked my groceries, and talked with Hugo in the kitchen for a bit, before getting everything from today sorted out. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere tomorrow, but that’ll give me a chance to get my blog in order. I’m also thinking about going to get my hair done, but we’ll just have to wait and see…