The gods need a ride

Tis the season of summer festivals in Japan and on any weekend from mid-July to late-August you’ll find hanging lanterns, people dressed in yukata, and takoyaki stands (that’s friend octopus balls…like the fried octopus is in a ball shape…not actually the balls of the octopus) at events in shrines, castles, down the length of streets, or even placed simply in parking lots. This past weekend I got a chance to enjoy the celebration at Usa Jingu, one of the most important Shinto shrines for the god Hachimensan in all of Japan (and located close to Ajimu).

While my original plan was to causally enjoy the festival as a spectator, I suddenly found myself becoming an active participant in the day’s events. One of the major parts of the festival at Usa Jingu is the carrying of the omikoshi in and around the shrine grounds (an omikoshi is a “portable shrine” that’s big and heavy and rests on wooden beams so it can be paraded around). From what I understand of it, the deal is that the various gods who hang around Usa Jingu should get a chance to see more of the area, so the Shinto priests pray them into omikoshi and then working as a team, a group of people carry the omikoshi around the town inspiring the locals and giving the gods a fun ride. The event is lively and invokes long standing Japanese traditions, but it’s also a bit exhausting for those who carry the omikoshi (cause even with 15 people lifting together a large wooden vessel with large wooden beams is still really heavy). My Japanese friend Hiro asked me if I wanted to help carry the omikoshi in the festival and after a simple “sure, I guess”, I found myself changing into a pair of short shorts and donning a light robe and a pair of footies that made my feet look like Ninja Turtle feet.





There were multiple “teams” of omikoshi carriers made up of mostly young men from the area (however this year there was also a women’s team) and once we were all outfitted in our clothing, we gathered at Usa Jingu to be rallied and blessed by the Shinto priests. After some bowing and clapping and the handing out of small talismans to wear around our belts, everyone was given a bit of salt and some sake to lick and shoot before the carrying began. I will admit that around this time I started thinking about the Ark of the Covenant and how like the Ark, the omikoshi were box-shaped and carried by poles and I was wondering what would happen if I actually touched the omikoshi instead of just the pole (cause at least one Israelite was struck down by touching the Ark with his hand) and if what I was doing was in any way in contest with my Christian beliefs. But the atmosphere of the event was light and I looked really awesome in my clothes, so off we went to walk the 2 kilometer course.



The carrying wasn’t too strenuous due in part to the frequent stops we made along the way to have refreshments. The people cheered as we passed and sometimes a shop owner would rush out to give us a bottle of sake to put on our omikoshi as we walked around the neighborhood adjacent to the shrine. After about 2 hours or so of carrying, everyone made it back to where we had started from and with a final lifting of the SHRINE and a dangerous running wildly around in circle maneuver, we laid the omikoshi down to rest.



After a shower and a return to civilian clothes, I finished my evening with a walk around Usa Jingu in the evening crowd eating kakigori (snow cone) and awing at the blazing sparkle of the festival fireworks. The day was hot and tiring, but enjoyable because it gave me a chance to participate in something truly Japanese. And I also got to show off my nice legs.

Disoriented moment of the week

When I heard the buzz about a local festival called “Jamaica Mura” (that’s “Jamaica Village” for those of you back home) I envisioned a small event decorated in red, yellow, and green with a few food stalls selling jerk chicken and snow cones. Maybe there’d be a guy with fake dreadlocks and some reggae playing out of a boom box. Not a bad set up for inaka Japan…you got to take what you can get… and seriously, what does small town Japan know about Jamaica? (I know local folks who think England is INSIDE America and Brazil is close to Florida). So imagine my surprise when I looked down onto a large field in Innai (Ajimu’s neighboring town) to see a crowd rocking to live reggae with loads of delicious authentic Jamaican food lining the sides.



As I descended down into the crowd, I was amazed and inspired by all the people around. The young Japanese folks had their colorful, stylish clothes and mixed among them were a random sprinkling of foreigners. This is when I had my disoriented moment of the week. You see, living out in the inaka where the population is 99.99% Japanese can cause a syndrome in foreigners called “gawk-a-lot at the non-Japanese”. Usually when I see another non-Japanese person in Japan—especially anywhere around where I live—who I don’t know, I stare and think “who is that?!” (much like what the Japanese people do to me). So at the much cooler, much larger Jamaica Mura with the small pockets of gaijin enjoying the festival along with the natives, I felt momentarily disoriented and confused as to where I was.

Once I found my friends, Ben, Keiko, and Isabel (pictured below), I regained my stability and jumped into enjoying the chill atmosphere and sunny weather. At one point I even engaged in a round of badminton—the Japanese sport of choice when hanging around outside much like Frisbee throwing back home. My eikaiwa friend Eri was the owner of the equipment and our game ended due to windy weather that kept blowing our birdy into the laps of people sitting nearby (the last time I had to go over to retrieve the birdy I was met by a slightly upset young lady who passed the birdy to me as if it were actually a dead bird).




The afternoon hanging out at the festival was great and I even got to see some of my students in their hip, non-uniform clothes that I almost never get to see them in (the kids wear their uniforms ALL the time!). Ah, Japan has shown me so much over the last year, but there appears to be so much more to see. Until next time…

Justin goes Japanese

Last Thursday at Gusto I picked chopsticks over a fork. The decision was a simple, almost trivial one…but in that moment I realized something…something exceedingly important. I realized that I’ve become Japanese.

To my friends and family back in America, I write to you today to tell you that I’ve gone over to the other side. And by “other”, I mean Japanese. After 11 months, 2 weeks in Japan, I’ve finally shed myself of rough western individualism and embraced efficient Japanese serenity.


Here’s me with my sensei. Through her guidance I've gained some skill in the Japanese language as well as learned insights into the Japanese culture.


This is me at a temple wearing a traditional yukata—this is what I wear seven days a week now.


This is Pauline (Taiwanese-American) and Lisa (Japanese-American) in their traditional yukata. Nowadays I only hang out with Japanese people or foreigners who have Asian blood in them (aren't they lovely!).


Me and Ted (Chinese-Greek-Canadian) looking oh so serious about being in our yukata.

Okay, so maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. And Pauline, Lisa, and Ted, I have nothing but love for ya’ll (please don’t report my blog to the bosses!). I’m just really hot and kind of delirious and wanted to show pictures of me in my yukata. Forgive this strange post and my tacky use of it as a vessel to display my photos. I assure everyone that I still maintain a very healthy respect for both my American heritage and my Japanese home.

Tedshark, a short film by Pauline

To start off with, here is a short video we made while at the beach last weekend. Enjoy, it's very dramatic.

Miyazaki and the greatest Japanese recreational activity of all time

Once long, long ago, the most divine sun goddess, Amaterasu, looked down from her lofty throne and saw that the mortal land of Japan was in need of unification. Thus she gave birth to a line that would eventually result in Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan. His holy birth took place in what is today called, Miyazaki Prefecture, located just south of my home in Oita Prefecture. Miyazaki is known for much more than just being the birthplace of Japanese civilization—it’s also got some really great beaches. And that’s what I enjoyed the other day when the rains of the rainy season subsided and allowed Amaterasu to shine her warm brilliance down on the earth once more.


The blue sea in summer’s bliss…Ted and I swam out to a buoy and almost died.


Ted, Lisa, Zack, and Pauline feasting on a lunch of Miyazaki’s specialty food: chicken nanban (actually Ted and Zach had ebi, but it was still fried and covered in mayonnaise like the chicken).


The crew expressing our feelings about war.


So there’s Miyazaki…but what about the greatest recreational activity of all time? I some of you out there are thinking “pachinko”, “sumo”, or even “extra classes on a Friday afternoon” but I’m here to tell you that KARAOKE is the absolute most wonderful recreational activity here in Japan.



Go as a group, go as a couple, go alone…just go and sing and sing until there’s no more singing left in you. Karaoke lets you become a star in increments of 3-4 minutes and during that time the song is yours to breathe new life into. Some of my favorite tunes are Radiohead’s “Creep”, Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, and Bette Midler’s “The Rose” (don’t laugh, that song is powerful!).


Here’s Lisa singing her heart out.


And Ted, the Godfather of the music machine, giving a stellar performance as always.

Karaoke is an activity that I’ve learned to love and embrace over the last year here. The HUGE number of songs available is overwhelming and inspiring and I foresee many more hours and yen being invested in this pastime during my second year in Japan.