My wife’s friend Mayumi Naka was a guest at our wedding and she took some beautiful pictures during the ceremony and reception. We asked her for copies of the pictures and not only did she give us a CD the pictures but she also put up a really nice website. I will put up more pictures later, but for now please enjoy these.
Today was my first day at my new elementary school. It was also my first time to interact with the students. It is summer vacation now but there were kids in school because today is the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. A perfect day, apparently, for the new American teacher to introduce himself.
It stated out good. I arrived early and played with the younger students who where thrilled to see a brand new face. One student showed his approval by punching me in the crotch. Then he smiled, obviously satisfied, and gave me a hug. I played with the kids for about 20 minutes before the high energy of the kids combined with the lack of air conditioning (or really any ventilation) made me retreat to the teachers room. The kids kept calling me to come back, wanting to spend more time with their new teacher. As I said it was a good start.
On February 3rd I celebrated the Japanese holiday of Setsubun with Misako’s family. Setsubun is a very old celebration that takes place at the change of lunar seasons. Long ago this was the Japanese New Year’s Eve. Like most Japanese holidays, there is a certain amount of ritual involved. And like most Japanese holidays it seems very strange to non-Japanese.
This post has been a very long time coming. Last August my town had is largest annual event, the Gion Festival. This is a 3-day event with fireworks, parades, games, food stands and thousands of people (many of whom are wearing traditional Japanese clothes). So here, as best as I can remember it, was Gion 2006.