There is a smaller omikoshi which elementary school kids can carry. For younger children, they can pull the drums that are played in front of the omikoshi. So from a very young age, residents can take part in this traditional Shinto practice.

The kids took part in this year’s festival with their friend from school. They walked in the blazing sun for a total of about 2 hours (with about 3 breaks in between). They’re too young to carry the shrine, so they carried and together with other kids about the same ages, pulled the long rope that was attached to the trolly carrying the drums. I was impressed that they managed to make it through the entire morning.

I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity between the omikoshi and the Christian stories about the Ark of the Covenant. …but this will be another topic.

Yuki had work so I didn’t plan on doing much that day. It turned out to be a nice afternoon with the kids’ Ojii-san, their auntie and cousins. Sushi lunch and then playing in the park with relatives was a nice last minute outing. The kids may be still a bit too young to understand the meaning of the holiday, but its enough to see their beaming faces as they spot me watching them play from across the playground and wave at me with their delighted “Mommy!”

It’s springtime. I’m glad winter is over but I also can’t believe I’ve gone this long without writing one post. Last week was so warm that everyone, including me, was already thinking about the cherry blossom viewing 花見 (はなみ hanami) parties, but the weather fooled us all and dropped to a chilly 11 degrees this entire week. This is usually an eventful time in Japan for kids in school because the graduation ceremonies 卒業式 (そつぎょうしき sotsugyoushiki) are held around the end of March and the new school year begins, opening with the entrance ceremony 入学式 (にゅうがくしき nyuugakushiki) around the first week of April. My kids are still in nursery school and this is the time of year they see off the 6 year olds who are moving onto elementary schools 小学校 (しょうがっこう shougakkou) , then move up to the next group. There was even a graduation ceremony for the kids at the nursery school. When I saw them preparing, all the teachers in their black suits typically worn during formal ceremonies or celebrations here, I must admit, it already made me rather emotional and all the more real to me how Keiji is getting close to elementary school age. But these new beginnings, it’s what spring symbolizes everywhere.

So, I must resume plans for the annual cherry viewing picnic. It’d be nice to go someplace different this year. Someone had mentioned Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社 （やすくにじんじゃ）area has some nice spots. A lot of people mention Aoyama Cemetery 青山霊園（あおやまれいえん）as being a great cherry blossom viewing area as well, but I’ve also heard that that area has some negative vibes. This year, the top two places I have heard to be nice cherry blossom viewing, mentioned by various students, are Chidorigafuchi Park and the strip along NakaMeguro river. We’ll see what we can find….

Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Tokyo is generally quieter compared to the New Year’s Eve celebrations I grew up with, which often consisted of loud cheers, noisemakers, champagne or some sort of inebriating liquid. Here, we eat soba for dinner (and I think everyone really does eat soba) and as the clock strikes midnight, many households watch the Kohaku Uta Gassen, a special New Year’s Eve program featuring popular singers performing live. Some families go to a temple after midnight to pray for good wishes for the new year.

It was a bit hard getting used to New Year’s Eve here at first, but this year I found that I actually appreciated this quieter, more somewhat introspective type of New Year celebration, not feeling any pressure to have to “do something” and just enjoying the peacefulness of relaxing with the family then having our own little countdown with an excited and wide-awake four year old.

In Japan, the days preceding New Year’s Eve are full of preparations. People spend the few days before December 31st cleaning their homes from top to bottom, inside and out, and preparing some food for the next few days (osechi – which I will try to learn one year) since many small mom and pop shops and supermarkets are closed for a few days. The idea is that you prepare everything before New Year’s Eve and the first three days of the new year are spent doing nothing but relaxing. I like this practice of thoroughly cleaning the house before the new year, but I must admit I am still not able to put it much into practice. I still save most of the cleaning for Spring.

Happy New Year!  Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

There is a Japanese national holiday on the second Monday of October known as Health and Sports Day, a day to promote health and physical and mental well-being. Many schools, including ours, hold a sports day during this time, which is like a mini-Olympics with games and some little choreographed performances by each grade. Since the kids are only in nursery school it was not too competitive like older grades, but it was so cute! Even Arisa’s class had a little mini obstacle course where they walk over a little bridge, crawl through a tunnel, then reach the goal. Then there was also a short race. Both were done with a parent. Keiji’s group did a pirate-themed number (isn’t that perfect Auntie Jackie?) for their performance. They had an obstacle course as well which involved jumping down from a stack of planks and tapping a tambourine while jumping off, then running over some rings on the ground, then a parent would give them a piggy back ride to their goal, where they’d get a gold medal from inside a treasure box. The parents have a game as well. We were separated into two teams. Each person wore a string around an ankle, with a balloon at then end. Then each team had to try to pop the other teams balloons. Whichever team had the most balloons left won. It was actually pretty tiring after all the activities were over. It was really fun though. The kids did so well! I can’t believe they can already follow  choreographed routines. Another  Japanese event I often heard about and have seen on TV dramas and finally got to experience for myself.

On the weekend of October 11th-13th was the O-eshiki Buddhist Festival. The festival commemorates the anniversary of the death of Nichiren Shonin, a Buddhist monk who is credited as founder of the Nichiren Sect, which teaches the chanting of Namu Myho Renge Kyo as an essential practice. In his later years, Nichiren traveled trying to reach the hot springs to find a cure for his illness but passed away at Ikegami. He founded Honmonji Temple just before his death. So every year at Honmonji Temple is a big celebration in his honor. We attended the the second night of the festival. It’s beautiful to see the parade of beautifully lit-up mando followed by a lively procession of followers beating drums, playing flutes and chanting as they make their way to Honmonji.

I’ve noticed that dragonflies, most frequently called 蜻蛉 tonbo in Japanese, are quite prominent in Japanese art. Dragonflies are often found as prints on fabrics used for kimono, yuukata and other traditional Japanese clothing and are often mentioned in haiku poems. In fact, Keiji has a jinbei with tonbo on it. There is a popular Japanese children’s song, called Aka tonbo, and the tune somehow always gets in my head when I hear the word tonbo.

I saw a dragonfly land on a post while we were at Nezu Shrine. It made me wonder more about the history of the dragonfly in Japan.

After a bit of internet surfing I found out just a little a bit about dragonflies. Japanese farmers used to believe that the dragonfly was the spirit of the rice plant and that they represented a good rice harvest. And Japanese warriors believed that dragonflies symbolize strength and that they bring good luck in battle. About 1600 years ago, the dragonfly was the symbol of a great Japanese warrior clan. In ancient mythology, Japan was once known as Akitsushimu, meaning “Island of the Dragonfly”. In Japan, dragonflies have become symbols of victory, courage, strength since they always fly darting forward. I’m still interested in finding more about this so anyone feel free to share some info about the dragonfly.

Here are the lyrics of the song, Aka tonbo in English:

Dragonflies as red as sunset
Back when I was young
In twilight skies, there on her back I'd ride
When the day was done

Mountain fields in late November
Long ago it seems
Mulberry trees and treasures we would gather
Was it only just a dream?

Just fifteen she went away one day
Married then so young
Like a sister lost, I loved and missed her
Letters never seemed to come

Dragonflies as red as sunset
Back when I was young
Now in my eyes, when I see dragonflies
Tears are always sure to come

Milie, Aki and Wes invited us and some other families to take part in the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa. It was really fun. If it hadn’t been for Milie putting together a small party to celebrate the festival I don’t think we ever would’ve had a chance to go to see this indeed very lively and festive event.

You can really see the community spirit alive during matsuri time. The kids and I didn’t get a chance to see the huge mikoshi or go to Sensoji since it was so crowded in that area and too difficult with a stroller. But we did get to see some of the other mikoshi being carried throughout the community. It was an all day event with so many mikoshi being carried around the streets as each community in Asakusa has their own. There are even smaller mikoshi for children – one that very young children can pull, and a slightly bigger one older children can carry.
After a bit of pressure from Aki and Milie, Yuki took part in carrying both the community mikoshi and the large mikoshi.

He was hesitant at first but he said it grew a bit addicting after getting the rush of the excitement and energy while carrying it. And before you knew it he was just going back on his own to carry it again. The belief is that if you take part in carrying the mikoshi you will have good luck for the year. So after this festival and all the mikoshi carrying Yuki did, I think he has brought us all good luck for the year! Next year Keiji and I can give it a try too!

Thanks again to Milie, Aki and Wes!!