Gion

To finish off the first day we with a performance of traditional Japanese customs. The show was only about an hour long but we got many different shows. Sometimes shows would be performed at the same time as others e.g. music and tea ceremony

First up was the tea ceremony.

From Gion

This is the act of making and serving Japanese green tea and sweets. It's still a common hobby for women to practice today. It's taken very seriously and is a very formal activity. I took part when Yuuri performed one at her old High school. I recommend anyone who is interested in Japan to take part in this and try the tea.

From Gion

During the tea ceremony we could hear the ancient 13 stringed instrument called a koto. The music was brought from China when they first settled in Japan and now has long been abandoned by other Asian countries but Japan kept this tradition. It sounds like a folk guitar with disjointed rhythms and twangy sounds. It's a gentle sound that can be enjoyed as you look on Japan's past.

From Gion

From Gion

Flower arrangement is also a performance which is still popular with women in Japan. It can be a serious art of mixing colours and species and also a hobby to keep alive.

From Gion

This is another thing the Japanese have preserved, its gagku, a sort of imperial court music. It dates back to the  9th Century. A band plays music to the left of the stage on various instruments while a man in a red costume dances holding one chopstick. I found the performance strange but thoroughly enjoyed it.

From Gion

We saw a short Japanese play which again was based on a traditional concept of theatre. The story of this performance goes: A farmer wants to go into town but he doesn't trust his servants so he ties them up.

From Gion

However the servants find a way to steal the farmers sake (rice wine).

From Gion

When the farmer comes back the two servants are drunk and the farmer is angry. This story is a comedy and the performance was very entertaining.

From Gion

Finally we saw a maiko show where two maiko dance on stage. Maiko is a female dancer who were the apprentice to a geisha. They wore kimono and full white make-up in a very traditional way. This is what so many come to Kyoto for, maiko and geisha have become widely famous here.

I have put together a video of the whole event here:



As always you can see pictures here.

Gion

Heian Shrine

From haian temple

A shrine is easily identified by its red gateway, there are a vast amount of these all over Japan. They are usually very beautiful, this one is special because as you can see from the gate it's the biggest in Japan!

Shrines always have this red sort of design and usually host weddings and ceremonies as oppose to temples which usually host funerals.

From haian temple

In Kyoto I tried making HDR photos of some of the scenery, it's a little different but I hope it helps you enjoy the pictures. The one above is one of these HDR pictures, basically my camera takes 3 pictures, 1 letting light in and the next two less and less light. The result is over exposed and under exposed pictures which I put together to have grater control of contrast and brightness without losing colour.



Here is a video of a 360 degree view of the shrine. I took this video on my phone so the quality isn't great.

For more pictures ->

haian temple

Kiyomizu Temple

From Kiyomizu

Recently I have been using Yuuri's credit card to send money home and as a result of it being a JAL (Japan Airlines) card we had racked up some air miles. Enough in fact for a cheap trip to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan.

For those who don't know Kyoto it is a major tourist attraction as an example of 'old' Japan. It was spared in WWII and has been preserved well. I don't think anyone could escape the modern architecture of Japan and even Kyoto is a bask of skyscrapers and modern buildings but that is Japan.Yuuri's sister, Arisa, joined Yuuri and myself on the trip and we set out to find some of Kyoto's beauty.

Geographically Kyoto is in southern Japan and I thought it would be warmer than it was, unfortunately I was very wrong. This was early February weather and it was cold and wet, much similar to December in northern England. However, being British I can't let a bit of rain stop me!

The first place we visited was Kiyomizu temple. A fantastic piece of craftsmanship, a huge temple made of wood. It has been preserved well and they say it has been made without the use of nails.

From Kiyomizu

A definite one to visit!

For more pictures ->

Kiyomizu

Xmas with the Sutou's

I worked over Christmas as they don't really celebrate it in Japan but I am off for a week during New Years. This is Yuuri's busy season so she's not off until the 5th January when I go back to work.

Yuuri got me some cuff-links for my shirt and a Japanese story book for children to help me practice my Japanese and I got her some dresses.





Yuuri's family have been really nice to me and have helped me with food and clothing. They often cook and buy me food and try to keep me healthy. I think my life has become the same as it was in England except everyone's Japanese!!



Naturally we can't have Christmas without cake and I was asked to cut the cake, although under Yuuri's watchful supervision.



Yuuri's father wanted to test me on my Japanese so we played a game where he would say the character and I had to find the correct card. e.g. Ka = か

Aomori has become really snowy now as I hear England is too. I've changed my heater from electric to paraffin. I use about 5litres of paraffin a in just under a week and I can buy 18L for about £5 or Y1,200 so it works out cheaper. The room heats quicker than electric and I can heat more area too. It does vent some bad gas though.



That's it so far now. In January I have to be evaluated by head office to get promoted for my highest position as a foreign teacher. If I don't get it I will finish in July, if I do then I get a pay increase.

Finally Married

If you haven't heard, Yuuri and I are married now!

We went to the city hall on the 6th December 2009 but they didn't really understand the procedure for a foreign marriage. When we did get it sorted they got Yuuri's name wrong, despite having her ID card details. They also had difficulty understanding where I was from UK/Great Britain or England. Finally though we got it sorted and here is my Japanese marriage certificate.



I need to submit that to the British embassy now to register my marriage in England.

Yuuri has changed her name to Mitchell now too.



Although Mitchell is pronounced Me-che-ru in Japan which I hate but I guess it's better than nothing. Now we just wait for the ceremony in May.

Kenji and Megumi's wedding

Alright I don't know if I can marry yet I get my results tomorrow, but I went to a wedding yesterday.
Actually this wedding is at the same place as I will marry Yuuri so in essence this was a kind of reconnaissance wedding.

Naturally I took my camera.

From Megumis wedding

We have what is almost a western wedding style with the classic white style. Beautiful.

From Megumis wedding

Check out the authenticity, alright so it's a bit 'Disney Land' but it's all about the show. I don't really care if the church was built in the 1600s by the pope or erected in the 1980s by Imagine(c). And I'll tell you what, the heating system works well in this modern building and you wont find that in your damp Gothic churches.

From Megumis wedding

This is the old 'chucking the petals' routine, I like that picture cause the petals are caught mid-flight and check out the guy with the pink phone, no it's not his girlfriends its his and that's Japan.
A nice shot of the couple though, Kenji and Megumi Kato.

They met at my welcome party when I came to Aeon, I remember sitting next to them and talking with Kenji. He was to become one of my students and Megumi is the Kids head teacher. They are two very lovely people and two of my favourite people at Aeon.

From Megumis wedding

After some photos we all bustle up to the party room where we enjoy lots of food and booze. This is where we also pay the lean 17,000Y/ $191 / £115 but this is the way of all weddings in Japan, indeed I hear in Tokyo the prices are much much higher.

From Megumis wedding

Here is a nice group of the current Aeon workforce with the lady on the left in the white jacket working at the Morioka branch and the rest of us stuck in the Arctic tundra Aomori.

From Megumis wedding

Japanese weddings always seem to include at least one costume change which gives the whole thing a little personality. I like it and I really like this outfit!

From Megumis wedding

Ah and who could forget, the flaming sword, a key part to any wedding where ever you are in the world. On this day of love Kenji unites the Japanese old love of samurai warriors with the modern Japanese love of smoking in public. Very beautifully done though.

No pictures of Yuuri I hear you cry? Well no she was working but she came to the second party in her brand new dress I bought for her. I chose a very western style which I think she needed time to get used to but here she is in her fluffy bear slippers...

From Megumis wedding

Finally a short video so sit back and enjoy.

Making Mochi