Tokyo-twentyfive: November 2013

It has been a long time since I have posted an update. Part of this delay is because we moved into our apartment in late September and I have been trying to find a place to put all of our things as well as manage without some basics like a dining table, dresser drawers and an adequate clothing dryer. We have a combination washer/dryer. It "works" if you consider 90 minutes of drying and still your clothes are rather damp as "working". So, any day that is sunny (which has been surprisingly rare lately), I (and the other Japanese housewives) rush to put our laundry in so that we can hang it on our balconies to dry. This is all very ecological, but quite a pain.

The life of a Japanese housewife is very time-consuming. Because I do not drive, I have to literally cart all of my groceries home in my granny cart. This means daily shopping, which I am a supporter of in theory, but which takes up a lot of time and also means regularly running out of milk and Peter's beer (for shame!) on a daily basis. The size of packaging is very small (three bananas, one tiny head of broccoli, 3 slices of bread, 5 slices of ham, 1 liter of milk), so you really do find yourself shopping dinner by dinner. I just hope my rotator cuffs hold out. Anyway, I had a bit of sticker-shock when I arrived here and took the below photos to document the tiny size/big price of fresh food. Fruit, asparagus, honey and cheese are really expensive here. Surprisingly, wine and spirits, chicken breast and fresh fish are all much cheaper than in the U.S. The Japanese don't like chicken breast because they consider it too lean and tasteless.

Yes, that's about 6 spears of asparagus.

An expensive little loaf, but worth it.

One head of garlic

Real Japanese housewives ride their bicycles everywhere. In theory, it is illegal to ride your bicycle on most sidewalks, but this law is universally disregarded, even by the extremely rule-focused Japanese. This is understandable, as Japanese mothers regularly ride with 2-3 children on their bikes, not to mention their groceries. But it makes for treacherous sidewalks for the untrained pedestrian (i.e. me). When we first arrived, I was terrified that my suburban children with their oblivious walking styles would veer right into a bikers' path and be seriously injured. As I could have guessed, I have been the only one to get hit by a bike thus far. It was a slight collision only and all parties emerged unscathed, but I'm sure it's not my last... One day, I, too, will try to ride a bike in Tokyo (no less try to drive), but I think I'll wait til spring.

Yes, that's a surfboard on that bike.

Yesterday, I attended the Meiji Jingu Temple Enshrinement Anniversary Ceremony with my Japanese homestay father. Meiji Jingu is one of Japan's most well-known Shinto shrines. It is relatively new, having been founded on November 1st, 1920 to "enshrine the soul and remember the virtues with gratitude and respect" of Emperor Meiji who died in 1912. He was the great-grandfather of the current Emperor Akihito and oversaw the incredibly rapid modernization of Japan after its opening to the West.

The ceremony consisted of the following:
- Entering procession of Shinto priests (with huge taiko drum being beaten)
- One bow to the Kami of Meiji Jingu
- Opening of the doors to the inner sanctuary (only this day every year)
- Food offerings by Shinto priests (going up a special staircase carrying fruits, fish, rice cakes, salt, vegetables, etc.)
- Recital of Shinto liturgy
- Shinto dance Yoyogi-no-Mai performed by shrine maidens
- Recital of the national anthem
- Offering of sacred branches by dignitaries from across Japan (about 50 very old people)
- One bow to the Kami
- Leaving procession of Shinto priests (with huge taiko drum being beaten)
- Receiving of obento upon departure

I describe all of this to explain that this ceremony was all about ritual. It required a good lower back as we were all sitting in the chilly temple air on cot-like benches and a good ability to not fall asleep. The shrine maiden dancing was ritualized, very slow, synchronized movements by four expressionless shrine maidens. It reinforced for me how much Japanese culture and arts are all about perfection. Rather than innovation or incredible feats, it is about mastering something to perfection. These maidens' movements were not difficult or athletic, they were slow and perfectly synchronized. Their faces were expressionless.

The audience consisted of mainly elderly Japanese men and women. From what I understood, the tickets to attend were given to those people who are regular financial supporters of Meiji Jingu. I was very lucky to attend and was likely the youngest person and the only non-Japanese. It gave me a sense of the intense nationalism of this older generation as we stood and they sang the national anthem called "Kimigayo".

The words of "Kimigayo":
Kimigayo wa
Chiyo ni yachiyo ni
Sazareishi no
Iwao to narite
Koke no musu made

May the reign of the Emperor
continue for a thousand, nay, eight thousand generations
and for the eternity that it takes
for small pebbles to grow into a great rock
and become covered with moss.