Imagine, if you will, a teachers' room. This room is filled with the entire staff of the junior high school you attend, all twenty-four of them, and they are not happy. In fact, they are sporting some of the coldest, most serious expressions you have ever seen. And there you stand before them, with four of your friends, all tasked with making your apology. Would you be able remain steady in the face of this array of educational might and stern disappointment?
Well today five girls from the third year had to do just that. They were caught late last week chewing gum in the school, something that is taken very seriously here in Japan. Only one of them did not cry at some point, and one in particular was very upset. They all came in and stood in a row at one end of the room and had to make an apology to the whole room, and I don't mean that they just said "I'm sorry" and were free to go. I obviously don't know what they said really, but it was all fairly lengthy and involved.
When they had all finished, Watanabe-sensei, the head second grade teacher, had some stern words for them. After he lectured them, he went around the room to see if the Principal, Vice-Principal, or other teachers had anything else to say, but they all just nodded their assent to what he had already said. Only after this was finished were the girls allowed to go.
All of the teachers took this matter very seriously, but it seemed to me that the third grade teachers were particularly upset, especially Kawaguchi-sensei and Nakayama-sensei. After the girls had left, both teachers spoke, I would imagine as part of their responsibility as the homeroom teachers for 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Nakayama-sensei was clearly upset, but Kawaguchi-sensei was even more visibly bothered by what they did, to the extent that after she finished she actually started crying a little at her desk with her head down.
You might think it a little extreme, but it makes a lot more sense when you consider the incredibly developed sense of group identity in Japan; everyone in a group is affected by the actions of its members, which makes Kawaguchi-sensei, as the leader of that group, even more invested than the average member of said group.
It's pretty understandable then that she would get so upset that they would bring disgrace and embarrassment like that, especially right before the Culture Festival this coming Friday. I think maybe they were chewing gum during practice or something, because I kept hearing the word for Culture Festival when they were apologizing. Maybe they were in danger of not being allowed to participate? I am not sure and I didn't want to ask given how serious everyone was.
So things aren't always peaches and cream but if that's as bad as it gets then I think that is just a-okay. This is in sharp contrast to Dino's other high school on the mainland, where he forgot his jacket in class and went back at the end of the day and it was gone. Gone I tell you!! Who steals the teacher's jacket? Geeze. Oh I guess someone did break into my junior high though two or three weeks ago and steal some of Kawaguchi-sensei's clothes from her locker. Yeah, that's pretty messed up. We still don't know what that was about. Kinda blows your mind a little, huh?
Other than that though it's a wonderfully safe and friendly place and the kids are awesome. Just don't go to Nishisonogi High School if you want to keep your jacket.
tough love from the future,
-greg.
ps: does anyone besides Azad recognize my subject line? where is Fred King when i need him....
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
PSA
My friend Nathan up in Miyagi Prefecture (also from New York!) made this groovy video with some clips from our three days in Tokyo. Check it out! Also featured in the video and easily identifiable by hair color are: Jess K. (black), Christine (red) and Erica (blond). The soundtrack and the editing are solid. The food, the atmosphere... Tokyo was pretty great. That little café that we were at was really awesome. I had to sit on it a while because it would have given away a surprise for Drew, but now everything is sprung, so it's all good. Anyway, please enjoy.
"arrival to Japan"
moving picture future love!
-greg.
"arrival to Japan"
moving picture future love!
-greg.
any given sunday
For the past month, Sunday morning has found me engaged in various school-related activities, all requiring me to wake up and get out of the house perhaps earlier than one would prefer on a Sunday morning. Thankfully though every time I had to get up early it was well worth it.
The most recent such event was this past Sunday when the junior high PTA, as well as a bunch of students, got together to clean up the school grounds. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but it more or less amounted to lots and lottts of pulling weeds out by the sports field. I also had a chance to have some out-of-school interaction with a bunch of the 1st and 2nd years, which was nice. The beautiful weather was certainly a plus as well.
The level of community here is pretty ridiculous. Part of that is certainly due to the small-town / rural location, but I think it is also just a part of the makeup of the Japanese mindset as a whole. That's not even just baseless speculation either! It can be seen in the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival, one of the three biggest in Japan, where every year seven neighborhoods (out of 77 I think), train their hearts out and come together to perform in the three day celebration. The unity, the coordination, the balance, the dedication... You get what I mean.
That community aspect was even more apparent at the three sports festivals that I attended the other three Sundays. In reverse chronological order they were: Oshima Town's sports festival, the kindergarten's, and East Elementary's. I'll describe them in the order they occurred though, just to be difficult.
I have to say I had no idea really what to expect from East's undokai (sports festival). I figured since it wass a celebration of fitness I would at least dress the part though, so I showed up in track pants and runnings shoes. This turned out to be a good call, because most people were sporting similar attire. This is probably a good time to mention that I actually wear track pants and polos every day to work (because I can), thus making me look a lot more like a gym teacher than an English teacher.
My digression into poor fashion choices aside (it's practical!), I was completely surprised when they sat me in the center tent with all of the important people. By "important" I mean principals of other schools, leading (older) citizens, even the mayor of Saikai City! They served us tea!! What?!?! We also were called up to participate in one of the races though, which was pretty entertaining. We had to use a rod with a string and paper clip to "fish" a bag with presents in it. Woo presents!
At sports festivals the students are split into two teams, usually red and white but at the kindergarten it was pink and blue and at the town undokai it was split by neighborhood. The teams are based on the kids' reversable hats for their athletic uniforms, which they all wear when they go outside. This falls off in junior high though.
There is a whole series of events throughout the day, usually either some kind of standard footrace or a relay of some sort. The relays usually include lots of fun involvement from everyone there, not just the kids. For example there was a relay where the fathers had to go through a daily routine, "waking up" at the start of the gun and then walking around the track, eating breakfast (with no hands), washing their face, picking up lunch (hanging from a pole and using only their teeth) and then saying good morning to the principal! Pretty ridiculous, and lots of fun. The "taking food from a string hanging from a pole with your teeth" was actually a common thing at all three sports festivals, so I guess it's a big hit. I certainly enjoyed it at the town undokai when Nakayama-sensei and I were called out to represent Higashimachi!
The kids also practice and learn dances and songs for the undokai. At the elementary school they even had a cheer contest that I had to help judge! The Red Squaaaad (Mr Cannon?) totally won, no contest.
The three festivals were fairly different, given the main participants, but they all were a lot of fun. I am going to steal my friend Jess K's idea and say that it really is one of the only times the whole family can get together and have a day just to have fun. The parents and the kids both have such crazy busy schedules.
I only have vids / pictures from the kindergarten undokai, but you can check them out here:
videos: blogspot
foto: flickr
Jess also has a bunch of good shots of her schools' undokais. You should check them out here: blogspot
Okay, so perhaps only four Sundays in a row does not constitute "any given Sunday", but I think I can be allowed a bit of creative license.
extra speedy love from the future,
-greg.
ps: how do these things keep getting so long? i mean detail is good but i don't want everyone's eyes to fall out!
pps: i just found out that there are culture festivals both this coming weekend and the weekend after. man, the days are just packed...
The most recent such event was this past Sunday when the junior high PTA, as well as a bunch of students, got together to clean up the school grounds. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but it more or less amounted to lots and lottts of pulling weeds out by the sports field. I also had a chance to have some out-of-school interaction with a bunch of the 1st and 2nd years, which was nice. The beautiful weather was certainly a plus as well.
The level of community here is pretty ridiculous. Part of that is certainly due to the small-town / rural location, but I think it is also just a part of the makeup of the Japanese mindset as a whole. That's not even just baseless speculation either! It can be seen in the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival, one of the three biggest in Japan, where every year seven neighborhoods (out of 77 I think), train their hearts out and come together to perform in the three day celebration. The unity, the coordination, the balance, the dedication... You get what I mean.
That community aspect was even more apparent at the three sports festivals that I attended the other three Sundays. In reverse chronological order they were: Oshima Town's sports festival, the kindergarten's, and East Elementary's. I'll describe them in the order they occurred though, just to be difficult.
I have to say I had no idea really what to expect from East's undokai (sports festival). I figured since it wass a celebration of fitness I would at least dress the part though, so I showed up in track pants and runnings shoes. This turned out to be a good call, because most people were sporting similar attire. This is probably a good time to mention that I actually wear track pants and polos every day to work (because I can), thus making me look a lot more like a gym teacher than an English teacher.
My digression into poor fashion choices aside (it's practical!), I was completely surprised when they sat me in the center tent with all of the important people. By "important" I mean principals of other schools, leading (older) citizens, even the mayor of Saikai City! They served us tea!! What?!?! We also were called up to participate in one of the races though, which was pretty entertaining. We had to use a rod with a string and paper clip to "fish" a bag with presents in it. Woo presents!
At sports festivals the students are split into two teams, usually red and white but at the kindergarten it was pink and blue and at the town undokai it was split by neighborhood. The teams are based on the kids' reversable hats for their athletic uniforms, which they all wear when they go outside. This falls off in junior high though.
There is a whole series of events throughout the day, usually either some kind of standard footrace or a relay of some sort. The relays usually include lots of fun involvement from everyone there, not just the kids. For example there was a relay where the fathers had to go through a daily routine, "waking up" at the start of the gun and then walking around the track, eating breakfast (with no hands), washing their face, picking up lunch (hanging from a pole and using only their teeth) and then saying good morning to the principal! Pretty ridiculous, and lots of fun. The "taking food from a string hanging from a pole with your teeth" was actually a common thing at all three sports festivals, so I guess it's a big hit. I certainly enjoyed it at the town undokai when Nakayama-sensei and I were called out to represent Higashimachi!
The kids also practice and learn dances and songs for the undokai. At the elementary school they even had a cheer contest that I had to help judge! The Red Squaaaad (Mr Cannon?) totally won, no contest.
The three festivals were fairly different, given the main participants, but they all were a lot of fun. I am going to steal my friend Jess K's idea and say that it really is one of the only times the whole family can get together and have a day just to have fun. The parents and the kids both have such crazy busy schedules.
I only have vids / pictures from the kindergarten undokai, but you can check them out here:
videos: blogspot
foto: flickr
Jess also has a bunch of good shots of her schools' undokais. You should check them out here: blogspot
Okay, so perhaps only four Sundays in a row does not constitute "any given Sunday", but I think I can be allowed a bit of creative license.
extra speedy love from the future,
-greg.
ps: how do these things keep getting so long? i mean detail is good but i don't want everyone's eyes to fall out!
pps: i just found out that there are culture festivals both this coming weekend and the weekend after. man, the days are just packed...
kindergarten undokai videos
i have a feeling that watching a group of four to six year olds doing a dance / exercise routine to energetic music is always something happy. unless you are filled with hate. maybe not then.
the kids also did a lip-synch / dance to an audio track about Momotaro. read more about Momotaro here (flickr) or here (wiki).
in this clip they are about to go to the island of the Oni, i think.
pink = Momotaro
green = the Bird
blue = the Dog
yellow = the Monkey
climactic showdown battle! the Oni (red) try to defeat Momotaro and his crew, but they are just no match for the kibidango (millet-powered) fighting force!
the kids also did a lip-synch / dance to an audio track about Momotaro. read more about Momotaro here (flickr) or here (wiki).
in this clip they are about to go to the island of the Oni, i think.
pink = Momotaro
green = the Bird
blue = the Dog
yellow = the Monkey
climactic showdown battle! the Oni (red) try to defeat Momotaro and his crew, but they are just no match for the kibidango (millet-powered) fighting force!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
mm.. meat
Most people that know me know that I really like food. I love to eat delicious things. Thus I was fortunate that my Vietnamese friends invited me to a party with "grilled meat" (but in Japanese) that was going to happen at the shipyard on Saturday Oct. 06. From what they said in Japanese I expected it to be a general small-type festival atmosphere with some meat skewer stands.
Man was I wrong. I went over to their dorm at 830am so that we could make our way over early to the festival, which started at 10am. I figured that it would be in the space near the shipyard, but it was actually IN the shipyard itself. There was a large area cleared with tarps laid down underneath huge metal ceiling frames. There was a stage in front and the area was ringed with cauldrons and griddles suspended over barrels full of burnables. "Small-type festival atmosphere" this was certainly not.
Upon entry to the shipyard complex everyone was given a sheet with a tear-off raffle ticket and a voucher for one ice cream. Other than that limitation, everything was free and all you can eat. The ceremony opened with a bunch of shipyard officials speaking some Japanese and then opening a wicker basket with a flourish and a pop of fireworks and releasing a flock of white doves into the air. It was pretty impressive. The officials were all garbed in festival clothing covered in elephants. See, in Japanese, "shipyard" is "zousen" (make + ship, or something along those lines) and "elephant" is just "zou", but with a different kanji. Japanese people love stuff like that, it seems.
There was a full schedule of events throughout the day besides the ridiculous amounts of food. One of the first was a children's taiko group. In a word, they were adorable, but they were also pretty good too. Some of these kids couldn't have been more than 5!
In a change-up from the kids entertaining everyone there was also a pretty intricately choreographed and lip-synced character show. Think "Power Rangers" if you are not sure what to imagine. Or just go check out the pictures on the flickr. There is also a video of one of the other musical acts there. It almost sounds like it could be Native American or something. Pretty groovy anyway.
All of these things were great and all but the main attraction was really the FOOD. Oh geeze it was all so good. They had so many stations cooking up beef with vegetables, chicken with noodles ("yaki soba"), just meat... so much. In addition to all that, they had stands with rice balls, udon noodles, hot dogs on a stick ("american dogs"), oden (Japanese hotpot), and.... other stuff that I can't remember. It was really glorious. The picture on flickr of the spread we have does not even do it justice. It was a good day, let me tell you.
Overall there were probably more than 4000 people there, judging by the raffle numbers that were called at the end. Unfortunately none of us (me or my Vietnamese friends) won any of the prizes, but we still had a really good time. I am really happy that I took that alternate route home that one day and ended up meeting them. It is also a good thing that I ride my bike so much so that I can afford to do things like that every once in a while. Even a week later I still remember how stuffed I was! Mm... delightful.
full & contented future love,
-greg.
ps: if you forgot... fotos
Man was I wrong. I went over to their dorm at 830am so that we could make our way over early to the festival, which started at 10am. I figured that it would be in the space near the shipyard, but it was actually IN the shipyard itself. There was a large area cleared with tarps laid down underneath huge metal ceiling frames. There was a stage in front and the area was ringed with cauldrons and griddles suspended over barrels full of burnables. "Small-type festival atmosphere" this was certainly not.
Upon entry to the shipyard complex everyone was given a sheet with a tear-off raffle ticket and a voucher for one ice cream. Other than that limitation, everything was free and all you can eat. The ceremony opened with a bunch of shipyard officials speaking some Japanese and then opening a wicker basket with a flourish and a pop of fireworks and releasing a flock of white doves into the air. It was pretty impressive. The officials were all garbed in festival clothing covered in elephants. See, in Japanese, "shipyard" is "zousen" (make + ship, or something along those lines) and "elephant" is just "zou", but with a different kanji. Japanese people love stuff like that, it seems.
There was a full schedule of events throughout the day besides the ridiculous amounts of food. One of the first was a children's taiko group. In a word, they were adorable, but they were also pretty good too. Some of these kids couldn't have been more than 5!
In a change-up from the kids entertaining everyone there was also a pretty intricately choreographed and lip-synced character show. Think "Power Rangers" if you are not sure what to imagine. Or just go check out the pictures on the flickr. There is also a video of one of the other musical acts there. It almost sounds like it could be Native American or something. Pretty groovy anyway.
All of these things were great and all but the main attraction was really the FOOD. Oh geeze it was all so good. They had so many stations cooking up beef with vegetables, chicken with noodles ("yaki soba"), just meat... so much. In addition to all that, they had stands with rice balls, udon noodles, hot dogs on a stick ("american dogs"), oden (Japanese hotpot), and.... other stuff that I can't remember. It was really glorious. The picture on flickr of the spread we have does not even do it justice. It was a good day, let me tell you.
Overall there were probably more than 4000 people there, judging by the raffle numbers that were called at the end. Unfortunately none of us (me or my Vietnamese friends) won any of the prizes, but we still had a really good time. I am really happy that I took that alternate route home that one day and ended up meeting them. It is also a good thing that I ride my bike so much so that I can afford to do things like that every once in a while. Even a week later I still remember how stuffed I was! Mm... delightful.
full & contented future love,
-greg.
ps: if you forgot... fotos
Saturday, October 6, 2007
endless kindness
I was riding around on my bike Wednesday afternoon when I passed by a mechanic sitting outside of Honda Motors working on a scooter. I smiled at him and he smiled back so after I passed him I decided to turn around and go back. It was in the area by the shipyard and I knew that there was a bike shop around there somewhere but I was not exactly sure where and I figured he would be a good person to ask since he seemed friendly.
I rolled up and said hello and then asked him where the bike shop was, explaining that I was maybe a bit too tall for the handle bar / seat height that Felix was currently sporting. He started to say that it was over by the traffic light and then asked me to hold on a second and goes inside the shop. He comes back out with some tools and starts fiddling with my bike, raising handle bars a little and the seat a fair bit (both to the limit). Then he starts checking the tire pressure and puts some more air in!
The real kicker was when he got some spray lube for my chain and then checked out the gears. Yeah plural. Apparently my bike, since it is a "family bike", actually does have gears, they are just inside a bit of casing by the rear wheel of my bike. So I've got three gears now! It makes sense that those hills are so wicked now that I know I've been riding around in third this whole time.
Regardless of any of the negative things that could be said about people here there is no denying the incredible kindness and helpful nature of people out here in the countryside. I am sure that knowing who I was had some influence on the situation (the mechanic explained to a police officer who stopped by that I was an English teacher at the junior high), but I still think that it is pretty remarkable how kind and willing to help out everyone has been. The little adjustments he did made a woorrrld of difference on my ride too. Pretty wonderful.
ridin' easy in the future,
-greg.
ps: oh i also threw up some Hiroshima pics. check them out in the usual place. there is an album on the right which has an actual order to the fotos as opposed to the randomness of the photostream. anyway, enjoy!
I rolled up and said hello and then asked him where the bike shop was, explaining that I was maybe a bit too tall for the handle bar / seat height that Felix was currently sporting. He started to say that it was over by the traffic light and then asked me to hold on a second and goes inside the shop. He comes back out with some tools and starts fiddling with my bike, raising handle bars a little and the seat a fair bit (both to the limit). Then he starts checking the tire pressure and puts some more air in!
The real kicker was when he got some spray lube for my chain and then checked out the gears. Yeah plural. Apparently my bike, since it is a "family bike", actually does have gears, they are just inside a bit of casing by the rear wheel of my bike. So I've got three gears now! It makes sense that those hills are so wicked now that I know I've been riding around in third this whole time.
Regardless of any of the negative things that could be said about people here there is no denying the incredible kindness and helpful nature of people out here in the countryside. I am sure that knowing who I was had some influence on the situation (the mechanic explained to a police officer who stopped by that I was an English teacher at the junior high), but I still think that it is pretty remarkable how kind and willing to help out everyone has been. The little adjustments he did made a woorrrld of difference on my ride too. Pretty wonderful.
ridin' easy in the future,
-greg.
ps: oh i also threw up some Hiroshima pics. check them out in the usual place. there is an album on the right which has an actual order to the fotos as opposed to the randomness of the photostream. anyway, enjoy!
if you can dodge a car....
... you can dodge a frisbee! Yeah, that's right, a frisbee. Thursday night Oshima's Junior High PTA hosted a little dodgebee tournament at the school. Dodgebee is a combination of dodgeball and frisbee (as you might have guessed) and ends up sounding something like "do-ji-bee" with a long 'o' like in "home" (and said more quickly without splitting syllables).
The game itself is not quite just "dodgeball with frisbees", however. There were three teams, divided up into teachers / parents of grades one through three (seven through nine in the US). Each team could field 12 people per match, which was timed into two three minute halves. The playing area is split into two parts, each with an inside and an outside, so it looks kind of like this...
A A B B
A B :: A B
A A B B
Six people from B team are on the "inside" of the left half and six people from A team are in the "outside" of the left half, and then the opposite on the other court. There is only one frisbee in play, and whichever team has the most people on the inside at the end is the winner. I evidently misunderstood how that changes, but it has to do with outside people somehow. I don't know, I don't speak Japanese, haha. Oh, the frisbees are made of foam so people weren't in danger of losing eyes / teeth / arms or anything.
At the end the PTA people gave out prize certificates. The first place team, the 1st graders, got a certificate, and then an MVP from each team. We lost every game, haha. One of the teachers from the second grade got an honorable mention for "best catch" (we battled back and forth and the third one he caught falling backwards) and then I actually got one for like "most energetic" or something. We didn't get certificates, but all the winners got a can of beer. Then when we were leaving eeeveryone got a can of beer, so I ended up with two. I gave them to Umino-sensei the next day because what do I need to drink at home for? It just takes up space in my little fridge.
Afterwards a bunch of the male teachers and fathers went out to a little bar for food, beer, and shochu, a drink that is weaker than whisky, stronger than sake, similar to soju, and has its production centered here in the Kyushu region. It was interesting to see how the "junior / senior" roles actually functioned in context, with Umino-sensei and Nakayama-sensei playing the role of everyone's alchohol server, basically. I felt bad, because they are 25 and 27, respectively, making me the youngest, but they said it was okay. I made a drink for Umino-sensei anyway and then at least made sure that the people need me had their shochu topped up, not going so far as to be standing up and going around to people though. I might be in Japan but I'm still American dammit.
The shochu was okay, but the food was amazing! I think it's good that all you can eat /drink places tend to be expensive because it keeps me from pigging out all the time! Man the food was good. I didn't stay the whole time, but apparently they went home around 130am. And on a school night! I love it.
mad future love,
-greg.
The game itself is not quite just "dodgeball with frisbees", however. There were three teams, divided up into teachers / parents of grades one through three (seven through nine in the US). Each team could field 12 people per match, which was timed into two three minute halves. The playing area is split into two parts, each with an inside and an outside, so it looks kind of like this...
A A B B
A B :: A B
A A B B
Six people from B team are on the "inside" of the left half and six people from A team are in the "outside" of the left half, and then the opposite on the other court. There is only one frisbee in play, and whichever team has the most people on the inside at the end is the winner. I evidently misunderstood how that changes, but it has to do with outside people somehow. I don't know, I don't speak Japanese, haha. Oh, the frisbees are made of foam so people weren't in danger of losing eyes / teeth / arms or anything.
At the end the PTA people gave out prize certificates. The first place team, the 1st graders, got a certificate, and then an MVP from each team. We lost every game, haha. One of the teachers from the second grade got an honorable mention for "best catch" (we battled back and forth and the third one he caught falling backwards) and then I actually got one for like "most energetic" or something. We didn't get certificates, but all the winners got a can of beer. Then when we were leaving eeeveryone got a can of beer, so I ended up with two. I gave them to Umino-sensei the next day because what do I need to drink at home for? It just takes up space in my little fridge.
Afterwards a bunch of the male teachers and fathers went out to a little bar for food, beer, and shochu, a drink that is weaker than whisky, stronger than sake, similar to soju, and has its production centered here in the Kyushu region. It was interesting to see how the "junior / senior" roles actually functioned in context, with Umino-sensei and Nakayama-sensei playing the role of everyone's alchohol server, basically. I felt bad, because they are 25 and 27, respectively, making me the youngest, but they said it was okay. I made a drink for Umino-sensei anyway and then at least made sure that the people need me had their shochu topped up, not going so far as to be standing up and going around to people though. I might be in Japan but I'm still American dammit.
The shochu was okay, but the food was amazing! I think it's good that all you can eat /drink places tend to be expensive because it keeps me from pigging out all the time! Man the food was good. I didn't stay the whole time, but apparently they went home around 130am. And on a school night! I love it.
mad future love,
-greg.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
hiroshima (finallly) [2007.10.01]
I am going to forego any sort of fancy email thing with pictures for this one, considering that I am writing (starting) it two weeks to the day after I actually returned from Hiroshima. "Slacker" is my name, it appears. I think for the moment I will just start off with the time we spent with things related to the A-Bomb and add anything else later, if I end up doing that at all.
I arrived in Hiroshima on Friday at around 1130am after getting up at 6am to catch the 650 ferry over to Sasebo to start my journey on the train. My friend Alice had been there for an hour and was waiting for me at the station. I met Alice in college, in Japanese class actually, and we had always talked about the JET Program. Last year she made that dream a reality (graduating on time, who does that?) and now so have I, so it was really nice to finally get to see her after more than a year.
She took me to the hostel on the street car so that I could drop off my stuff, and then we headed off to the Peace Memorial Park.
The stop for Peace Memorial Park on the trolley car line is the only one that features English. It actually started to get pretty funny, riding back and forth on the trolley and always hearing the warning that the "next stop is for the Peace Memorial Park... please get off at the next stop if you are going to Peace Memorial Park".
We did get off there, and the first thing we saw was the Atomic Bomb dome. The dome was almost directly underneath the hypocenter of the bomb when it exploded, just under 500 feet (150 m) away. Miraculously, much of the structure survived the blast and it has been preserved in its current form since that day. I have pictures of this, and most of the other things I will talk about, but I will have to put them up later and let you know.
The building was certainly impressive to see, but set in amongst the beautiful park on a wonderful day it was hard to really get the full effect of it. We were in high spirits, enjoying the weather, the reunion, and the park, and it would be hard to bring us down.
After we passed the dome a group of elementary school students ran out to meet us. They started to tell us that they were there on their school trip, how far away they lived... it was cute. They also asked us if we knew okonomiyaki, which Hiroshima is famous for, and momiji manju. Okonomiyaki is a crazy mixture based around a sort of pancake batter but with all sorts of delightful things on / in it and momiji (maple tree) manju is a pastry shaped like a maple leaf with Japanese red bean paste (or other things) inside. Later we ran into another group and their script was almost exactly the same. Ha, it was cute. I am sure they practiced a lot to get it right.
The next stop in the park was the Children's Peace Monument, dedicated to the memory of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who died from leukemia caused by the bomb's radiation. There is a legend in Japan that if you fold one thousand cranes and fill each crane with your heart's desire then your wish will come true. Sadako believed this and kept folding paper cranes long after she had made her thousandth. After her death her friends got support to build a monument for her and all the other children that died. Thousands of cranes arrive almost every day from around the world and are placed near the statue in display cases. Millions of cranes on are display there, strung together or assembled into collages with peaceful imagery.
The sun was still shining brightly in the sky and there were school children milling about when we passed by the Memorial Cenotaph on the way to the Peace Memorial Museum. The Cenotaph is a sort of symbolic tomb for all the (Japanese) people that died in the attack. It is on a straight line with the Museum, the Bomb Dome, and the Peace Flame, which will stay lit until all of the nuclear weapons on the planet are destroyed and the world is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.
The Museum was an incredibly sobering experience. There is a defined path through the museum and it leads visitors through the events and historical context preceding the attack, the attack and its immediate aftermath, as well as the long term effects. There was too much to be able to really be able to write about it all, but one of the most arresting things in the beginning was a pair of huge circular models of the city, one before and one after. There were also lots of fotos of the destruction, taken by the Army Air Corps before and after the fact. All of the cities that were considered as targets for the atomic bomb were not bombed at all so as to be able to assess the destructive capabilities in the most accurate fashion.
What I originally mistook for the end of the tour turned out to be a pathway into the next section of the museum, detailing the human effects of the bombing. It was horrible to think of what happened to the people that were there. One of the first things in this new section was a life size scene with models of a mother and two children trying to escape to safety. Their clothes were in tatters and seared to their skin, which was dripping off in some places, everything covered in blood. Behind them everything burned.
There were pictures of people with their whole bodies covered in burns; articles of clothing and other personal affects with the story of their owner; descriptions of the effects of the radiation over the months and years for the people who survived the initial blast. They detailed cases where babies still in the women were born with mental disabilities, requiring lifelong care from their parents, with video included.
The museum ended with some thoughts and images of peace in the shop. It was an incredibly moving experience. I walked out of there feeling like if everyone in the world were somehow to go through and experience everything in that museum that the world would know peace, but I know that even that is not realistic, nothing more than a wisp of a dream. I guess that's no reason to stop people from trying though.
There were other things in Hiroshima obviously, but this is more than enough for now. More will come, either in handy email format or as words attached to pictures.
wordy but necessary future love,
-greg.
I arrived in Hiroshima on Friday at around 1130am after getting up at 6am to catch the 650 ferry over to Sasebo to start my journey on the train. My friend Alice had been there for an hour and was waiting for me at the station. I met Alice in college, in Japanese class actually, and we had always talked about the JET Program. Last year she made that dream a reality (graduating on time, who does that?) and now so have I, so it was really nice to finally get to see her after more than a year.
She took me to the hostel on the street car so that I could drop off my stuff, and then we headed off to the Peace Memorial Park.
The stop for Peace Memorial Park on the trolley car line is the only one that features English. It actually started to get pretty funny, riding back and forth on the trolley and always hearing the warning that the "next stop is for the Peace Memorial Park... please get off at the next stop if you are going to Peace Memorial Park".
We did get off there, and the first thing we saw was the Atomic Bomb dome. The dome was almost directly underneath the hypocenter of the bomb when it exploded, just under 500 feet (150 m) away. Miraculously, much of the structure survived the blast and it has been preserved in its current form since that day. I have pictures of this, and most of the other things I will talk about, but I will have to put them up later and let you know.
The building was certainly impressive to see, but set in amongst the beautiful park on a wonderful day it was hard to really get the full effect of it. We were in high spirits, enjoying the weather, the reunion, and the park, and it would be hard to bring us down.
After we passed the dome a group of elementary school students ran out to meet us. They started to tell us that they were there on their school trip, how far away they lived... it was cute. They also asked us if we knew okonomiyaki, which Hiroshima is famous for, and momiji manju. Okonomiyaki is a crazy mixture based around a sort of pancake batter but with all sorts of delightful things on / in it and momiji (maple tree) manju is a pastry shaped like a maple leaf with Japanese red bean paste (or other things) inside. Later we ran into another group and their script was almost exactly the same. Ha, it was cute. I am sure they practiced a lot to get it right.
The next stop in the park was the Children's Peace Monument, dedicated to the memory of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who died from leukemia caused by the bomb's radiation. There is a legend in Japan that if you fold one thousand cranes and fill each crane with your heart's desire then your wish will come true. Sadako believed this and kept folding paper cranes long after she had made her thousandth. After her death her friends got support to build a monument for her and all the other children that died. Thousands of cranes arrive almost every day from around the world and are placed near the statue in display cases. Millions of cranes on are display there, strung together or assembled into collages with peaceful imagery.
The sun was still shining brightly in the sky and there were school children milling about when we passed by the Memorial Cenotaph on the way to the Peace Memorial Museum. The Cenotaph is a sort of symbolic tomb for all the (Japanese) people that died in the attack. It is on a straight line with the Museum, the Bomb Dome, and the Peace Flame, which will stay lit until all of the nuclear weapons on the planet are destroyed and the world is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.
The Museum was an incredibly sobering experience. There is a defined path through the museum and it leads visitors through the events and historical context preceding the attack, the attack and its immediate aftermath, as well as the long term effects. There was too much to be able to really be able to write about it all, but one of the most arresting things in the beginning was a pair of huge circular models of the city, one before and one after. There were also lots of fotos of the destruction, taken by the Army Air Corps before and after the fact. All of the cities that were considered as targets for the atomic bomb were not bombed at all so as to be able to assess the destructive capabilities in the most accurate fashion.
What I originally mistook for the end of the tour turned out to be a pathway into the next section of the museum, detailing the human effects of the bombing. It was horrible to think of what happened to the people that were there. One of the first things in this new section was a life size scene with models of a mother and two children trying to escape to safety. Their clothes were in tatters and seared to their skin, which was dripping off in some places, everything covered in blood. Behind them everything burned.
There were pictures of people with their whole bodies covered in burns; articles of clothing and other personal affects with the story of their owner; descriptions of the effects of the radiation over the months and years for the people who survived the initial blast. They detailed cases where babies still in the women were born with mental disabilities, requiring lifelong care from their parents, with video included.
The museum ended with some thoughts and images of peace in the shop. It was an incredibly moving experience. I walked out of there feeling like if everyone in the world were somehow to go through and experience everything in that museum that the world would know peace, but I know that even that is not realistic, nothing more than a wisp of a dream. I guess that's no reason to stop people from trying though.
There were other things in Hiroshima obviously, but this is more than enough for now. More will come, either in handy email format or as words attached to pictures.
wordy but necessary future love,
-greg.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
