I am always in awe of the history that Japan has...the incredible depth of the culture. Yesterday I had the afternoon off since it was Saturday so Muto-san took me to a little culture festival in Kikuchi. But before that we walked through and saw a Mum show. I think they were mums at least, the smaller ones were recognizable as mums but the larger ones I hadn't seen before. They were huge, like the size of my head! And in yellows, white and reds. And the petals varied a little too, thin ones and puffier ones too. Since it was some kind of show there were also sets where people had grown the mums in different ways. There were two sets of life size dolls and their clothing wasn't clothing at all, but intertwined mums! It was really beautiful and colorful. The statue in the middle of the square added to the magnificence, since it is the old Lord (i think) of Kikuchi riding on a horse. The horse looks crazy with its mane and tail flying around and the Lord's weapons sticking out dramatically. I wish it was a little closer to the ground so I could see it better...
after that we walked to the culture festival a block away. I don't exactly know what it was for but it was held at a traditional theater that they use for Kabuki. It is across from the Kikuchi high school and a shrine that sits next to a very large tree. It wasn't very tall and its branches reached out across the road and towards the school, and they were so large and the tree so old it the branches were held up with supports. It was beautiful, covered in moss and a little fern and other things once again giving the tree a very mystical appearance.
It was a rainy day so the theater had been surrounded by blue tarps to keep the rain from falling on the viewers. The blue light through the tarp and the warm light from the lamps in the theater gave the performances a very drastic look, adding to the magic of it all! The first performance was about...30 6th graders playing taiko. There were two kids to a drum and they played one song, very enthusiastically. After every performance there was a little interview of a few of the participants, and these younglings were very shy and adorable. The next performance was really stunning. I think...10 high school girls dressed up in very magnificent outfits. I'm not sure exactly what it was but it looked like warrior outfits and they switched between having swords, spears and golden fans. It's hard to describe...they just moved very fluidly and used the swords, spears and fans to create various patterns. I liked it a lot.
Next were four adult men dressed up again in some form of Kimono, maybe it was ancient entertaining clothing...I'm sorry that I don't know at all, I will ask Muto-san later when I feel he can be bothered by my many questions! One man played taiko (small ones so he could sit on the ground), one man played the fue (japanese flute) and the other two danced with swords and a bunch of bells with ribbons hanging down from the handle. I got nervous because at times it seemed they were going slice each other with those swords, but it never happened and they danced and danced and danced!
Next was a parade of children, one carried a sign, a few others carried lanterns, a few carried a platform with a taiko drum on it, and the two pairs of boys carried what I assumed was a lion outfit, like the Chinese dragon dance, while all the other children had flutes. One boy stood in front of the two lions and clapped two wooden blocks together and by doing that controlled the lions and made them dance. It was pretty impressive. The jaws of the lions were clapped shut to the beat of the flute music. The lions danced and their big heads swayed back and forth according to the arms of the boy with wooden blocks. It was fun to see the children, they were really good.
Next was another taiko group. There were a couple adults, about five high school aged kids and two little boys maybe eight years old. I personally thought that they were all very talented. Spot on, full of energy, totally fearless and really strong. There was a girl my age and I couldn't take my eyes off of her, she was so wonderful on stage. You could tell that she loves taiko, her passion was impossible to miss. One of the little boys was right in front and I watched him too, I don't think he ever messed up and his face was very serious but I thought to myself he must be stronger than me! They played three pieces and for each one I was more impressed. The energy of taiko is awesome.
Next was a group of girls, elementary school aged. They were dressed in pink and white with tall, black mesh hats. They had a variety of instruments. There were three men with them as well, dressed in white, also with instruments. One of them sat behind an intricate gong. I don't know what this music was called either (my apologies, again) but the sound was very obviously Japanese. I think in Akira Kurasawa's Dreams (a movie) this music was played in the first dream, when the boy goes in the woods and sees the wedding of the fox...anyhow, it was a little hard to listen to, but still impressive. The instruments were ones I hadn't seen before. Wooden ones... then a group of girls dressed in white with yellow flowers on their head and a little curtain of metal dangles hanging in front of their eyes came out. Four of them with ribbons and four of them with fans. The danced very slowly and methodically with the music. Their outfits were so beautiful...
This is part of Japan's culture, the instruments, the robes and kimonos and dresses, the dances, the music and the manners...I'm stupidly sentimental at times but when I see these kinds of things I can't help but feel stirred up deep inside. There is so much history, so much time before us! When you start to think about it becomes really powerful...
The last event was a woman playing koto, a very beautiful, complicated instrument. Then a woman told stories (in Kumamoto Dialect so I had no clue what she was saying) and then the two collaborated so she told a story while the other woman played koto to go along with the story. We left before it finished since it was getting late. Watching koto made me want to play...I have no idea and I'm sure that in reality I wouldn't have the patience to learn but to be in control of such beautiful sounds, I'd like to be able to make music like that. (It makes me miss the violin...there is a guitar here but I can hardly play, therefore I can hardly express myself. The violin, I'm a little better with...).
I was very glad that Muto-san had taken me to see that.
Afterwards we went to a little restaurant/cafe his friend owns. The restaurant is actually in a house, but they transformed it, so it is very cozy and quiet. It is a healthy restaurant, so I believe they use organic ingredients and try not to use much salt or sugar. Our meal was very beautiful, of course served on a variety of dishes (like 6). It was very delicious, despite the fact there was no sugar used! Impressive! Muto-san's friend came in and they chatted for a while. He showed me a poster of some kind of potato they grow. In the photo it looked like burdock root, but apparently this potato is bigger. When you mash it up it turns into a sticky paste, it looked to me like pizza dough...but I don't know these things! It was nice he tried to explain it to me but...I'm hopeless.
Muto-san and I talked about birthdays a little. Muto-san, his wife, his parents and three kids are all born in and between January and April. I thought that was pretty interesting. No May babies for them! Which is too bad because... well...it's the best month, of course. (For anyone who doesn't know, I'm born in May!:p)
After dinner we went by a cell phone store since Muto-san is actually serious about getting one of those crazy phones! I went to the super market and bought mouthwash and had someone help me find the face wash because I couldn't find it anywhere! I usually use Noxema but they didn't have it so I'm trying this Dove thing. The only thing I know about it is that it is "fresh". That's the only thing I can read.
This morning I got up and fed the chickens even though it is Sunday. I like doing it, I guess, and it makes me feel a little more useful! But after I only washed three eggs I went in to eat breakfast since Muto-san had woken up, and afterwards I went back and Hiro had already washed the rest! I'll beat him to it this evening...
Today I think we are going somewhere but I don't know where yet. I will see soon!
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