My week just past

On wednesday I was invited to a barbeque with my elementry school teachers. It was a little more than a barby. A group of Hokkaido (northermost Japanese island) elementry school kids were visiting so it was a welcome party for them. This is the 2nd visit to my island by Hokkaido students and there was been one school trip to Hokkaido by Izena kids since I have been here. The Izena BOE (board of education) biulding also boasts a stuffed bear which was given as a gift from Hokkaido. There seems to be some sort of Hokkaido, Okinawa exchange going on; hot/cold, far north/ far south, that kind of thing.

So after the barby and some good chats with islanders I havn't seen in a while due to excessive training the show began!

First a Okinawan fan dance (I aught to find the name)

Next the boys performed Bo Kata, these are the special needs boys, they did well.

Sugi wa, a sanshin performance (an okinawan istrument similar to a banjo).

During the piece (which was just sanshin) a few members of the audience started singing the song which goes with the piece. Then more and more people joined in until almost all the audience were singing. It was pretty amazing. Maybe it was the warm fuzzies brought on by the beer but I found myself thinking how wonderful it was that a whole community from great grandparents to little elementry school kids could all participate in an impromptue sing along. It speaks volumes of the strength and depth of their culture and also of how homogenous their culture is. I began compairing this to our more multicutural culture back home. Trying to compair the pros and cons. I actually ended up writing not a few pages in my journal on the topic the following day. I of course didn't really reach a conclusion, not surprisingly as there is no easy answer to one of the most complex issues facing us as a society today. The one thing I did decid is that, even with accepting the many benefits of a homogenious culture the actions and policies needed to create and maintain such a culture are wholely unacceptable. Actions and policies used my many repugnant right wing, zenophobic and racist groups in the past and present. Japan is in many ways a special case I hasten to add but before I get bogged down on with the blog!

Next was a piece performed with hand bells (a first on Izena!). That's the elementry school head master closest to the camera btw.

The Hokkaido Shagakkusei (elementry school kids) performed a dance next.

This dance is known and danced by elementry children all over Japan. I don't mean that it is wide-spread but that virtually EVERY kid knows it in Japan. I forget what it is called, but they say something like 'Asora asora,' alot in it.

Then the ex tea lady from my junoir high performed karate! I am glad I always said her food was delish! (and it was!)

She also performed kata with nun-chucks and those three pronged knives. She is the lady who made me dinner and left it on my door a while back if you remember. Nice lady.

As I said all children in Japan know this song and dance so at the end of the night the Hokkaido and Izena kids got together and danced away. Some adults who remembered the song joined in too, pretty hilarious.


The night was finished off with some okinawan dancing which I happily joined in with.


Thursday: how do you know your school likes you (maybe a little too much)?
When the schools public computer has a picture of you as the desktop!
Yes I was a little surprised.


Friday: I found a new beach on friday, and this metal encased cable. I wonder what would happen if I cut it? I wonder what it is. I expect phone goes via satelight so electricity perhaps?


Saturday: It was the 'tour de Izena' (bike ride). I passed on the bike riding (last year I did it and it was too slow to be fun) but I turned up for the wada. This is a old fishing method whereby people herd fish through shallow water into nets. It is a chance for the Okinawans living on the main island to do a traditional okinawan activity. I am surprised how little of the traditional festivals are still celebrated on the main island. My JTE had never helped make a rice rope for tug of war, seen okinawa sumo or taken part in the Una festival before Izena. This is another example of where the strong traditionals on Izena draw the community together. During the Una festivals each village has a tug of war (north vs. south or east vs. west) so during the week before the festival the whole village (young and old) has to make ropes which are combined to make the big rope for the actual day. Perhaps there are many traditional festivals on the main island but not everyone attends (as on Izena) and the mainland festivals I have been too seem to be just performances on a stage and stands with fair food and fair games. Although this is partially just my limited observation but it is also consistent with what I have been told by my Japanese friends.

My final picture is of....well I don't know. There is a small hut I often pass on my way to Izena beach. Everytime I have passed it at night or at dusk it has bright white (you know the sort that simulate daylight) lights on inside but yet has bamboo screens over the windows and glass door at all times (including during the day). One night as I passed I had a closer look and this is what I saw. What can it be!