A Short Trip Back Home

Tomahawk Restaurant, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I've been back in Japan a bit over a week after visiting family and friends in Vancouver over Christmas and New Years. Things are more or less back to the usual now with the exception of a bit of jet lag which lasted the better part of the week (a cup of coffee wasn't enough to get me through the spells where I wanted to stay awake).

How was it being back at the old homestead? Quite good. It goes without saying I ate a lot of foods which I can't have here in Japan: homemade turkey dinner with all the fixings, North American style pizza, Greek style roast lamb, Cantonese style Chinese food (including yum-cha/dim sum goodies), Indian cuisine, the list goes on...

In a way it was like I had never left. But there was still that lingering feeling that something was amiss. I called it "reverse culture shock". I was doing a lot of things I had done in my past life in Canada but at the end of the day there wasn't a place which I could claim as being "mine", i.e.: home. Yes, I own an apartment in Vancouver but I have tenants renting it out now. Hardly the place I can turn myself in to at the end of busy day of shopping, dining and socializing.

The Tomahawk Restaurant is one place I drove by almost each day (I borrowed my mother's car) during my stay in Canada. It has been a constant throughout all my waking memory. I suppose its exterior has been cleaned up a bit every now and then but aside from that I don't think it has changed in appearance in over half a century. In a way it was a symbol of at once of being back home and yet being a stranger in a familiar place; a place both comfortable and alien at the same time. I can't quite put my finger on it but I know the feeling is real.

All in all the trip back home was a good one. There was a slight pang of sadness when I headed off on my return journey. I'll be back again...can't say when but it will happen.


Post script: Technically my B.C. driver's licence is invalid so I carried my Japanese driver's licence when I drove. It was amusing when I produced it was I.D. at a bank. The teller wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "At least the name is in English" was all she could say... (^_-)\*

Talking About Money...

Earlier this week my co-worker James and I were at the local McDonald's (well, technically it's one of two in this city) for a quick bite to eat between classes. I mentioned in the course of the conversation that one thing I probably won't see when I go back to Canada is the lowly penny. That led to talking about the American one dollar bill (James is from the USA) and the refusal of Americans to replace the bill with a coin as has been done in Canada. James knows of the loonie and toonie and at that point in time he went on like "You guys have what...oh yeah...that loonie and toonie". He stopped right there and his face lit up. "You know, 'toonie' is perfect because it combines the English 'two' with the Japanese 'ni'(二)". That took a second to sink in for me. I've always thought of the two dollar coin name as "toonie" instead of "twonie" which is probably how James thinks it's spelled. So there you go. A little bit of word play based on the name of a coin.

The Yonezawa Textile Museum

Inside the Yonezawa Textile Museum, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I was first introduced to Yonezawa's textile legacy...I don't remember exactly when. Sorry for the jest but now that I think about it I'm not sure when I first was made aware of it. Nonetheless, the creation of the textile industry here was a part of the restoration of the city's fortunes in the late 18th century.

Based on a friend's recollections I presume the old weaving and dyeing shops and factories were active in large numbers up until about 35 years ago. She told of how, as a child, she always heard the sound of the looms clacking away all day and how the river was coloured by dyes discharged by the shops. She was a bit surprised as an adult to find that the natural colour of the water was not the hue she remembered as a child. I'm guessing those small factories and shops were superseded by modern facilities around that time frame. Either that or they modernized their equipment and methods of dealing with effluent.

One thing which surprised me was the location of the museum. It's only a couple of blocks from my home and I've passed the building many times in the past year without being aware of its occupants. The reason why I had checked to find the location of the textile museum was because a friend and his family were visiting from Canada and I was looking for sites to take them to. So it was a pleasant surprise to find the place was "In front of [my] eyes and nose", as some Japanese might say.

Preserving Obon Odori

Obon Odori Musicians Playing and Singing a video by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The video clip for this entry shows members of the Yonezawa Obon Odori Preservation Society performing in the Machi no Hiroba (trans.: open space town square). This was very interesting to me as it featured traditional Japanese musical instruments (shamisen, flute and taiko drums) and a couple of vocalists. Back home in Canada we had the more standard single drummer on a stand in the centre of the rings of dancers with recorded music played over a PA system. I suppose that arrangement can be found in numerous communities in Japan too.

This particular Obon odori was different in that the dances were mixed in with other elements such as ensemble taiko drumming and a recording of an old song played over the PA (with lyrics wondering about what the world would be like in 31 years when the 21st century begins). There was only 1 "yatai"/foodstand unlike the many which can be found at other festivals. As such this event was more about a community association showing what odon odori was like in the days prior to PA systems and recorded music. My co-worker friend who didn't seem to be aware this event was organized by an Obon odori preservation society wasn't impressed by it. I suppose he hasn't been exposed to the modern version.

All in all I found this to be an intriguing event. It was Obon odori with a different agenda: its purpose not just to serve as a means for citizens to go out and have fun but also to educate. While its aims aren't that much different from the Obon odori I've attended in Canada and the USA, the atmosphere of the event was quite different. It wasn't about the descendents of Japanese emigrants abroad laying claim to their ancestral culture, it felt more like the Japanese trying to reach back into their past and make it relevant. In my eyes the ideals and goals are similar but the context was very different.

Showing the knot I tied...

Showing the knot I tied..., a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

..No I'm not going to show the front view shot. Let's just say I'm not 100% sure about the expression on my face at the time the photo was taken.

Nonetheless, I'll be taking this ensemble out for a spin tonight. An acquaintance has asked me to hang out at the Yonezawa Joshien beer garden tonight. Supposedly there's a decent selection of food items at the beer garden so it might be safe to just munch there rather than making dinner before going.

I'll also be wearing my yukata when I head out to catch the fireworks on Monday. The reason why the fireworks display is on Monday is because it's always held on July 30th. Supposedly it's an hour long pyrotechnical display with a much earlier start time than the fireworks events back home in Vancouver (7:30pm start here as opposed to 10pm back in Vancouver).

Now if we could only do something about the over 30˚C heat...

The full set

The full set, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I got my new made to order yukata last Sunday. Right now it's still in the paper wrapping it was delivered in. One can't see the pattern of small crosses in the fabric until the photo is viewed in its highest resolution.

I got a quick lesson on how to tie the obi last night. Fundamentally it's not a difficult task but there are plenty of details which must be attended to for the final result to look right. I suppose I ought to be practicing nightly but right now I just want to toss myself back onto the sofa and relax. I guess practice can wait until tomorrow...

Obi and geta

Obi and geta, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

These are the elements of my yukata ensemble which I picked up this week. How I got to here is a bit of tedious story so I'll spare my audience the details. Anyways, I now have a yukata on order from a local kimono and yukata making shop. It was interesting going through the process of picking out a fabric, picking out a matching obi (sash) and geta (wooden clogs) to my liking. I went with the bright light blue obi because it will be in contrast with my navy blue yukata. I could've gone with something a bit more staid but I figured I'd go with a colour which stands out.

One thing I found myself doing when picking out the fabric for my future yukata was that I was consciously using a set of rules I had learned when picking out Western style clothing. So in a way I found myself thinking that perhaps I ought to not go by those rules. After all a yukata is a bathrobe which over time has evolved into a form of outdoor casual wear for the summer months. It's humble beginnings are a few steps away from the kind of price I'll be paying for its distant offspring in the second millennium.

I expecting to receive my new yukata sometime close to the end of this month. So it will be a while before I post a photo of it here.