Linking Maine and Japan

Today we had a both a Japanese style breakfast and American style breakfast buffet. The Japanese breakfast included a yummy green salad! I could get used to that.

We went out to lunch today to a traditional restaurant in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. We had to remove our shoes before entering the dining room. We knelt at low tables on pillows set on straw mats, called tatami. We fit 200 people in a relatively small space, not needing chairs! A way for us to eat at M. L. Day School on early release days?

Dinner tonight was a buffet with speeches and officials from the government of Japan and the American Embassy. There was so much food I didn’t even get to look at it all, much less eat it. The sushi was lovely. I think I tried some squid, among other delicacies. I found a fresh fig, a favorite of mine, among the fruits set out for dessert.

We heard from one of the Diet members of the House of Councilors, Wakako Hironaka. She would be equivalent to one of our U.S. Senators. The minister-counselor for Public Affairs of the American Embassy, Ronald Post, was also very interesting. He thinks it is very important for all of us, but especially our young people, to recognize what we have in common with people from around the world, while at the same time we examine, explore, and even celebrate our differences. He said the Japanese government is interested in having more school children from other countries attend school in Japan.

We visited the Japanese Diet, which is a beautiful building that is similar in function to our Capitol building in Washington, D.C. We met lots of school children visiting on field trips. I took a few pictures, but we didn’t get to talk with them very much. A few children met Wally, the Red Sox Green Monster, who my school sent along with me to Japan. The children either wore uniforms or matching yellow hats. It reminds me of the matching T-shirts summer rec has our chidren wear on field trips.

At Asakusa we visited the Asakusa Kannon Temple, the oldest Buddist temple in Tokyo. It is also called Senso-ji. According to tradition, the temple was founded in the mid-seventh century to enshrine a tiny golden image of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, which had turned up in the nets of two local fishermen. Most of the present buildings are post-war reconstructions, but sweeping, curved, tiled roofs give it an atmosphere it must have had hundreds of years ago.

Visitors waft incense smoke, thought to have curative powers, and considered to be the breath of the gods. There are countless small shops with souvenirs, kimonos, sweets and lots more along the way to the temple. There were many tourists there, and the spiritual use of the space seemed in no conflict with the bustling marketplace.

We had a lecture and performance of traditional Japanese kyogen theatre. This type of short play is a comedy that has no scenery or props except a pine tree background and a fan that serves as any needed props. I hope to bring home a tape of the performance to share. Wally met one of the actors and liked the traditional masks.

We heard some traditional Japanese music that was very calm and soothing. There was a stringed instrument called a koto and a bamboo flute called a shakuhachi. The music was very beautiful, and when I took a photo I noticed that the notation on the sheet music did not look anything like our own.

Tomorrow we have lots of lectures. Our big adventure will be deciding on a restaurant for dinner “on our own.” Hopefully, there are some photos attached to illustrate my message.

Talk to you soon.

Sayonara,

Mrs. Grumbling