I Got Misty Eyes as They Said Farewell

Well, this last Saturday was definitely another highlight to my time here in Japan. The Japanology teacher, Yoshiba-sensei, took some students to Kamakura to visit temples and shrines and then finally, to see the firefly releasing ritual held at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040717&id=1230390045&l=58fa579bca

The first temple we went to was called Engaku-ji. One of my favorite things about Japan is the architecture of religious buildings. I think they are fascinating - there's always so much detail and it blows my mind that people are so talented to create something as beautiful as the shrines and temples in Japan. What made the trip even more enjoyable was the fact that the weather was simply gorgeous! Sure, it was pretty hot, but there was always a nice breeze. Oh, and the green! So much green! I went a little crazy taking pictures of trees, flowers, etc. :D

We wandered around there for a bit before we moved on. Due to everyone's pangs of hunger and heavily implied suggestions to have lunch (haha), we only spent a short time visiting two other temples. Soon, we found a restaurant with delicious soba and tempura. Incredibly satisfying.

After we filled ourselves, we made our way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. However, we had some time to kill before the ritual would actually start so we did some more exploring/hunting for sweets. A group of us went to an ice cream shop that specialized in just a few flavors: vanilla, green tea and sweet potato. I know some people may think the last two flavors are strange, but let me tell you...they're amazing. I like the sweet potato flavor the best. I had vanilla mixed with sweet potato and I couldn't have been happier.

We made our way back to the shrine around 6:45 and were sent to our seats. As it was a ritual, it had a strict order of things. (The following explanation came the pamphlet I received).

First, the priests and attendants' hands and mouths are rinsed (we did that beforehand). Secondly, everyone goes to the ritual site. The priests and the attendants are purified (which, if I'm correct, consisted of a man waving some sort of branch in our direction). The chief priest then bows once in reverence the deity, dedicates the food and drinks offerings to the deity and dedicates the fireflies. The chief priest also reads an invocation to the deity. (Now, I'm not sure who or what this deity is, and I remember these processes with the chief priest taking a VERY long time. Not to mention, in ancient/unintelligible Japanese...no, I didn't understand a thing). The miko (shrine maidens) perform a sacred dance along to music. The chief priest and the representative of attendants dedicate a branch of a sakaki tree. A priest takes the offerings down from the alter. The chief priest again bows once in reverence to the deity. Finally, the priests and miko go in a procession to the Yanaihara Sacred Pond, a very short distance from the actual shrine. The guests, such as us, follow afterward and wait on the other side of the pond. At this point, it was very dark and soon, the priests and miko released the fireflies.

I'm just going to go ahead and sound cheesy, but honestly, it was enchanting. There was traditional music playing and slowly, you could see the fireflies darting around in the air. The point of this ritual is to "recognize the preciousness of life and season' passing, and to thank our deities for giving our life and daily bread."

And while I stood and watched, marveling at all of this, I grew a little sad. It somehow reminded me that my time here is coming to an end. It reminded me that I won't be able to see or experience things quite like this in America. It reminded me of how grateful I am to be here and for all the people who supported me. It's unfortunate that I could not take pictures because flash was not allowed, but I'll always have the image in my memory. :)

(Below is a very brief article about what I just explained)

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20100614a4.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes_news+%28The+Japan+Times+Headline+News+-+News+&+Business%29

After such an eventful day, the girls in our group (except for one) made the long trip back to Eda. Some of us got a bit bored and we started getting a little silly. Our silliness cost one of my friends a bit of her dignity though. While lying down on one of the seats across from me, two older men (who I unfortunately forgot about...) starting yelling, "Nee, oneechan! Motto yatte!" ("Hey, older sister! Do more!") and cheering.

For the record, they don't mean "older sister" in a literal sense. In this context, it's more along the lines of baby, sweetheart, honey, etc. - what you'd think a guy hollering at you would say in this situation.....

Yeah. Whoops. She quickly sat up properly and sat back down next to me. After some time, the two men decided to come over and chat with us. In levels of awkward, it over 9,000. But also funny. Don't worry, they didn't try anything. They told her, very enthusiastically, that she was sexy though. We left hastily once our stop came.

All in all, it was a good day.
Unfortunately, the next day, I came down with a cold. I'm thinking it has to do with the fact that the temperature dropped in the evening and my body never likes it when the weather does that. So, I'm sick...again. I was a tired, pain-ridden, snot-dripping, nasally voiced monster at school today. I think I will take off tomorrow to nip this in the butt.

Also, rainy season has officially started. Except for Thursday, every day (for the next 10 days, according to The Weather Channel's website) is either just old rain or scattered thunderstorms. Awesome sauce.