I am back in Tokyo- have been for a little over a week now, and it is truly a blessing to be here. Always a long journey whichever way you cross the ocean, I felt much more energized this time as I made the long three hour trek from the airport to my house than I did when I landed in America six weeks ago. I think all of us who had to return are back with a determined spirit to take advantage of the next three months, and as a result the days have been long and full of activity!
We are currently at the end of a lovely time in Japan called "Golden Week"- basically a ten day holiday with a few "working" days mixed in that most people take off. It is a great time to travel, and thus my friend from St. Olaf who is studying abroad spring semester in Nagoya, Japan, came to visit me in Tokyo! It was great to see her, and also having her in Tokyo forced me to travel to parts of the city I hadn't really frequented much before. We went to the used book district, to the boardwalk area of Tokyo called Odaiba, to Ginza- the ritzy side of the city, to Asukusa- the historical, tourist filled part. In Asukusa, we witnessed a rare phenomenon. We stumbled across a sumo wrestling match, only instead of wrestling each other, these large and scantily clothed men were holding babies! The point was for each wrestler to (gently) shake a baby and try and make them cry. Supposedly a crying baby was a sign of strength, and as children's day is coming up (a national holiday celebrating children) this ceremony of sorts was appropriate. We were very very surprised to stumble across it though, as can be imagined!
A tangent here, but one I find interesting and that will shed more light on children's day. In the Japanese religion, Shinto, exist a type of spiritual being called "kami". Kami can be translated as "god", but they are different from the Greek or other pagan ideas of "gods". These are more like phenomenons in nature- a large mountain, tree, an ancestor, etc. It is believed that when one is born their spirits are close to this spiritual world where the kami dwell, and that as one grows into adulthood, while they achieve physical maturation, they move further and further away from this spiritual state. As they begin to age, the reverse happens- they lose their physical strength but are closer again to the spiritual world where they will eventually return. This, I am told, is why Japanese people tend to celebrate children and the elderly. There are at least three holidays geared specifically towards children that I can think of off the top of my head- girl's day, boy's day (now called children's day), and 3-5-7( a day when boys ages three and five, girls ages three and seven) dress in traditional and beautiful clothes and go to the temple or shrine). This connection between youth and the spiritual world is interesting to me, and explains many of the customs and attitudes that revolve around children.
Coming up- my first day of class for the spring semester is tomorrow, a Saturday! Also, Kojirou recently turned three and we are having a birthday party at the house this Sunday. Kenichi's parents and brother are coming over, so it should be really fun. I am going to help Machico with cooking, so it will be a good way to learn a bit more about Japanese cuisine!
