Obon!

we have only just finished here in japan celebrating the week of old (deceased) family members returning.  the only holiday to which i can compare it to it la dia de los muertos which they celebrate in mexico and central america (?) where they honor the dead and invite their spirits back for the weekend and then send them back to the other side again when the weekend has finished.  on the last day of Obon it is a big no-no to be in or on the water at all, since they see this as kind of messing with the way that their loved ones will need to take, another words you are causing a traffic jam on their way back.  i, of course went swimming that day. Obon is quite a big deal in Japan and most of my co-workers actually took time off of work and went home to be with their families.  this is a huge shock considering they work as they do for most every other week of the year, save for a few days during new year.  this is one time of the year though where it is extremely important to them to be together and at the origin of the family and so the island was teaming with new people (family members who live on the mainland) and it was fun to watch them stare at me as i stared at them.  but anyhow we had a wonderful time celebrating here on the island and did so in the traditional ways of the naru people. 

in the morning on the 14th, which was a saturday, most of the people on the island gathered at one of the boat harbors for the annual Obon boat races.  there were many many teams participating and though i am not sure if there was an overall winner, most people who attended were a part of the action at some point or another.  i was asked to be a substitute and nervously accepted, but at the last minute the woman showed up and i got to step down.  big relief!  here are some pics of the races.

as you can see, this was more of a fun race than a serious one, and on the first day of Obon it is okay to get into the water and be in a boat.  i think (as i understood it) that this signifies them going out to greet their loved ones and welcome them back home. 

later on this saturday there was to be a matsuri in the town center, or what we use as a town center now, the old middle school recreation area.  if you were on the island that night, you were at the party.  it was great fun for me to be a part of it and i got to wear my yukata that i recieved as a gift from my friend Mari last year.  yukata is a light cotton kimono that is worn in the summer only and is appropriate for wear to any evening sort of activity or gathering when the weather is warm.  and though they were designed for when the weather is hot to keep you cool, i must say i was pretty warm in mine as the obi (waist line tie) is wrapped around you many many times and there are things (sorry i have no idea what they are called) inserted inside the obi to keep it flat on you.  Mari's grandmother and her grandmother's neighbor helped me put mine on as there is a very specific way to wear it and fold it on yourself and on and on.  they were quick and it took them only about 45 minutes to get us both dressed. 

off we went to matsuri after we were finally dressed but first i snapped a few shots of Mari's grandmother's house and the shrines that were set up there and various other non-western looking things in the house, like the entryway with the shoe cubbies, which EVERY japanese house has.  the shrine with the edibles is a Buddhist shrine and the one up high with a bell is a Shinto shrine.  most people here incorporate both religions into their lives in many ways no problem.  the food on the shrine is of course the favorites of those who have passed and i did ask if after Obon if it is eaten or not and Mari said yes.  oh and the peacoak pictured below is made entirely of beads and safety pins.  ingenious. 

once we were at the festival there were a bunch of foods to eat and so many new things going on that were keeping me happy and occupied.  all of my students were there and really got excited seeing me in my yukata and i got excited seeing them in theirs and also just seeing them in street clothes.  i rarely, if ever have seen most of them in anything besides their school uniforms.  it sounds weird but when that is what their life consists of that is how they are dressed.  thank goodness for one weekend of a break, huh?

some of my high school students and I.

some of my elementary students playing some kind of carnival game.  i dont understand it at all.

prizes at this game were masks among other things. 

another fun carnival prize, the huge blow up minnie mouse stick!  exciting!!!

some of my jr high 3rd year girls.  (thats high school freshmen to us)

my friend yoshinao is there on the right with his bow on.  no shame here, none at all.

and this is something that perplexes me every time i see it; marijuana leaves on EVERYTHING, even though it is classified as HIGHLY illegal here and you can be sent to jail for quite awhile for having it.  i dont get it.

some street meat, or carnival cuisine if you will.  i think it was bacon and beef and chicken, nothing weird. 

me with my light-up bow on with a few jr high 3rd graders.  no shame here either.  hey, when in rome...

and this is me with my favorite high school teacher.  he is a really great guy with a really cute family and he is always helping me out with things at work, as he sits next to me and is one of the english teachers, so i guess he kinda has to. ;)  but he also is kind enough to include me in all of the soccer games that ONLY my male coworkers play, and me i guess.  he is nakagawa sensei and was pictured a few entries back in a bad photo taken on my keitai sleeping at the karaoke bar.  remember him?  here he is with his son Ao and me with my bow again.  rockin. 

and after this awesome matsuri i trotted off with Mari to Yoshinao's house to watch a pretty great fireworks display that they were doing right out in the main bay.  all of the fireworks were launched from boats (proper portland style!) and some of them purposely really low.  (i was only told this when i said that there had been a misfire and Mari and Yoshi corrected me.)  a wonderful day on the island and loads of strange, new fun learning and enjoying with my island people. 

i did a bunch of thinking about and remembering my family who have passed on during this time as well.  a nice sentiment that the Japanese do this each year i think.  i was glad to be a part of it and will always remember this special holiday when august comes. 

thinking of all of you who i love today and holding you in my heart.  thanks for being with me in mind and spirit as i adventure in my little corner of the world.  tons of love to you in yours.