Miyako Odori

Today I went to the 138^th  Miyako Odori, a traditional spring dance festival held each April and performed by
the geisha of the Gion district in Kyoto, Japan. (The poster for the dance is above). The first performance in 1872 was promoted as a way to promote Kyoto after the city began to decline when the capital of Japan was moved to Tokyo in 1869.  It is now one of the most popular events in Kyoto.


This is the outside of the theater. Behind the building was a beautiful tea garden. 

The event started with a tea ceremony. It was presided over by two apprentice geisha.

It wasn't a traditional tea ceremony though! We were herded into a room with many low tables with small stools. We wedged ourselves in and started taking photos, (since this is the only part where we were allowed to do so). However, we were told several times to sit, as they needed to get through the ceremony. We were then served green tea and sweet bean paste "cookies".

We were swiftly herded back out of the room, so that they could seat the next group. We did get to keep the plate as a souvenir though!


Photos and videos were banned from the performance this year, this is a picture of the stage and audience before it started. 

Here are some photos that I found on the internet that give you a sense of what the performance looked like.
   

This is a video from the 2007 performance that really gives you a sense of what it was like. It make take a few seconds to load. http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael-c/2403630715/

I'm glad that I went. The performance wasn't like anything else I've ever seen. Geisha dance is very subtle, stylized, and controlled. It uses small steps and slow movements. The movements each have meaning and a few gestures can tell a whole story to those who are familiar with them. The dance was accompanied by traditional Japanese music played by geisha musicians. The primary instrument was the shamisen. It looks a bit like a three stringed banjo. The sound is very somber and melancholy as it only uses minor key notes. They also used a flute, several ko-tsuzumi, (a small, hourglass-shaped shoulder drum) and the taiko (a large floor drum). The music reminded me a little bit of middle eastern chants that I've heard. It was almost a wail.

The entire performance, while gorgeous, felt very alien. Although most of modern Japan looks very much like any western city and we feel amazingly comfortable here, this dance brought home the fact that we will never truly understand, much less be a part of the culture. I know that I completely missed all of the complexity and subtle meaning and history of the performance. Japanese culture is so controlled but so intricate. I'm not sure anyone not born here could ever truly assimilate. 

New Baby, International Food Festival and the Cherry Blossoms at Oji Zoo

We had an amazing weekend, full of new experiences! My favorite part was getting to witness the birth of baby Kloe. Kloe was supposed to be born via planned c-section on Monday. However, she couldn't wait! Her dad was out of town and her grandma wasn't due to arrive until that night. So another friend and I took her mom to the hospital. The doctor was able to slow down the contractions, but Kloe was insistent that she wanted to be born on Friday! Therefore, my friend Kelly (who is fluent in Japanese - very important since none of the nursing staff spoke English!) and I were there to witness Kloe's birth. It was an amazing experience, definitely the most memorable of my of my time in Japan! Both mom and baby are doing great and I feel so grateful to have had a tiny part in such a miracle!

My wonderful husband filled in for me and left work early. He picked up the kids from school plus an extra friend who came for a play date.  He made dinner and watched another one of the kids' friends while his parents were at a concert at the school. He didn't even complain!

The next morning we headed to the International Food Festival at the kids' school. Both Laura and Katie were a part of the opening ceremonies. They were supposed to dress in a costume from either their own or another country. Laura chose to dress in her dress from China. Her friend went as a cowgirl from the U.S.A. and Katie wore one of her favorite dresses. It has a vaguely Mexican/Spanish look. They sang two songs to start the event and were incredibly cute!

Matt and I both volunteered at the American booth for an hour. Then we were free to eat! The food was incredible! There were booths from Korea, Thailand, India, China, the United States, Japan, Germany, Canada, Philippines, and an international booth with treats from many different countries.The food was made  and served by parent volunteers. It was sooooooo good! We ate until our stomachs hurt. They also had beer/wine, strolling clowns, balloon animals, and face painting. We saw lots of people we knew, both from the school and the larger community. We all had a great time!

On Sunday we decided to head to the local zoo. I was tipped off by friends that the cherry blossoms at the zoo were gorgeous and they were right! The zoo is kind of small and the enclosures are smaller with more animals in each pen than we typically see in the States. However, we were able to get much closer to the animals too. They had some animals, especially those from Australia and China, that the kids had never seen in person before. They also had a small amusement park, which the kids loved. 

All in all, it was a really fantastic weekend!