Wednesday, June 17, 1998

My first full day in Japan started with breakfast. Because this hotel caters to Westerners, the buffet was a mix of Japanese and western style food. I started with mizo and rice with vegetables and then moved on to home fries and orange juice.

While I am writing about food, I forgot to tell what I had at the restaurant on Tuesday night. I ordered an udon dish with some sort of fish or meat. In the picture, there was squid and other seafood. In the bowl in front of me, was some kind of meat. I couldn't tell what it was. I also tried all sorts of other dishes. We passed around a plate of soy beans in the pod. They were very tasty. I also enjoyed a beef dish. I forgot to mention that the drunk men, that we met at the door, worked for the Japan Railroad Construction Corporation. These men were quite friendly and kept making a point of telling me that the Bullet train is a very different kind of train from the high speed trains used in Germany. Much safer.

Enough about the restaurants. After breakfast, we boarded buses for a tour of Tokyo. Harumi, our guide, told us about the sights. Harumi might be in the wrong profession. When asked why the kids were not in school at 10 am, she started talking about exams. It seems that this week is exam week at the end of the first term. Harumi kept making joke either with us or about us; I couldn't always tell. Either way, she laughed a lot. In fact, she kept us laughing the entire morning.

As we passed part of the Detached Palace, she began to tell us a little about the history of the Shogun period. Since I teach this period, I was particularly interested in what she had to say. In describing the difference between Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Harumi made several analogies. My favorite analogy regarded the desire for cooks to sing while working. If the cook would not sing, Oda Nobunaga would kill him, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would force him to sing, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would wait for him to sing. This parallels the political style of these three rulers. I can't wait to use this in class next year.

Another statement that Harumi made made me think. We passed the Tokyo train Station, and Harumi told us a little about the Bullet train. She talked about how fast it is, when it was built (for the 1964 Olympics), that a new spur was added for the Nagano Games, and how safe it is. Hmm. I guess the Japanese are concerned about the PR damage from the German rail accident.

We passed a Buddhist Temple, and Harumi told us that many Japanese people visit a temple frequently. However, like in America, the temples are particularly busy at certain times of year. At the New Years Holidays, 85 million people visit a temple. Wow. Harumi also told us that in the mid-19th century, the Japanese government decreed that each Japanese citizen must be Buddhist only. No longer could a Japanese person be both Buddhist and Shinto. I think that this was part of the Meiji Restoration of 1858.

We finally arrived at our first site. We arrived at the main entrance to the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace is still occupied by the Emperor and family and is not open to the public. Actually, the Palace is open twice each year for the public to visit, but not today.

We did see the Double Bridge. This bridge, close to a simple stone bridge, used to be constructed with a single timber across the span. When it had to replaced (I do not know why), the Japanese were unable to find a long enough tree to span this space. So, they used two logs - hence, the double bridge. The bridge spanned the inner moat and wall. There are many trees on both banks. Hopefully, I will be able to add a picture to this page; it is quite beautiful.

After a nice visit to the palace entrance, we boarded the bus for the Asakusa Temple and Shrine and lunch. We got off the bus at the main entrance to the Temple. It is a large gate, building with the thunder god inside. It also had a gigantic lantern. This lantern was about twenty feet high. Very pretty.

Instead of going into the Temple compound, we walked about a block to a Tempura restaurant. We sat in chairs, with our shoes on. In front of me was an array of dishes. There was a bowl of rice, a bowl of tempura sauce, a bowl of fishy egg-custard, a small bowl of pickled fish salad (maybe herring), a small bowl of pickled vegetable salad, and finally, a plate of tempura. There was shrimp, fish, okra, eggplant, and tofu. I enjoyed most of the food, except for the eggplant (yuchh) and the pickled vegetables - too pickled. It was a great meal.

We left the restaurant and returned to the Temple. The Asakusa Temple is also known as Sensoji. At the main entrance, some of my group encountered a group of school girls in uniform. These girls smiled quite largely when someone asked to take their picture. Before they knew what hit them, about 15 FMFers crowded around with cameras. The girls loved the attention. They kept making jokes and laughing. I am certain that the jokes were at our expense. I noticed a wonderful phenomenon. About 10 yards from the school girls, stood a group of older girls, well, actually women. These women wore regular western-style clothing, but smiled for the camera the same way as the school girls. I was charmed.

I was also charmed by the Temple grounds. Once through the main gate, the Temple grounds are covered with a market place. this market had stall after stall of trinkets and shoes. Much of the merchandise looked like tourist junk. Despite appearance, it was clear that this market was really for the Japanese. The school kids in particular loved the stuff. Some in my group shopped until they dropped.

We walked through the market and approached the Temple itself. The building was gorgeous. It seemed to be in the classic Japanese style. The courtyard in front had a building on either side. In these buildings one could buy souvenirs of the temple and fortunes (more on this below). In the middle of the courtyard was an open fire place burning incense. The tradition is to use the incense to purify your body. I watched several Japanese approach the incense. After bowing, each symbolically waved the smoke over his/her body. A little nervous, I imitated the Japanese. I waved the smoke over my chest and arms. Then, I waved some of it into my hair.

With my body partially purified, I noticed the fountain off to the right. Again, I watched before trying for my self. I made a small bow and then picked up the ladle. I took a small sip and then spit it out into the drain. I poured one third of the remaining water on to my right hand and one third on to my left hand. Now I was fully purified and ready to enter the Temple itself.

At the door was a large box about three feet high and six feet long. The top had a metal grate. Many Japanese stopped here, threw money into the box, bowed twice, put their hands together and prayed. I watched, but did not do anything. I entered the Temple and looked around. It was, again, very pretty. The ceiling was decorated with a dragon and some Buddhist gods. There was a large open space with stalls on either side. The stalls sold more souvenirs. In front, was another donation box. This one was much longer, but built into the floor. Behind the donation box were some columns and a see-through screen. On the other side of the screen, was the formal part of the Temple with many statues and flowers. I walked around and watched the people. After several minutes, I decided to participate. I bought some postcards of the Temple (may be posted soon) and pocketed most of the change. Then, I approached the donation box. I hesitated. I wondered if I would be offending anyone if I prayed here. I decided that the Buddhists would be tolerant if I was respectful. I threw my coins into the box, bowed twice, put my hands together and prayed. After a personal prayer, I prayed for the health of Aunt Ethel, who recently had a stroke. It felt good to make this prayer in such an ancient temple.

I left the temple and returned to the courtyard. I decided that I wanted a Temple book. This foldout book, designed for pilgrims, has one page for each temple on the pilgrim's route. By itself, it is beautiful. I brought the book to the monk/scribe. For a few yen (¥300), he inscribed the blank page next to the page for Asakusa-Sensoji. He worked hard and fast. His calligraphy is beautiful (hopefully a picture soon).

I left the Temple courtyard and walked through the market. This time I stopped in many stores to look at the merchandise. There were knives, good luck charms, clothing, food, trinkets, and shoes. I was surprised at the number of shoe stores. I bought nothing except for some juice. I was thirsty and needed a drink. I had trouble finding a place. I finally found a drug store. In the front of the store was a cooler with many drinks that looked more like medicine then drinks. I chose one that looked the least like medicine. It was a combination of apple, pineapple, and other juices. Quite good.

This is a clock across the street from the entrance to the temple. On the hour, the figures appear and music begins. The figures move and dance for several minutes. As you can see, at 2 minutes past the hour, the show was still going on. Very cool.

When we returned to the hotel, we were privileged to see a short performance of kyogen style theater. This style utilizes almost operatic vocals and highly choreographed movements. The plays were quite funny. Each involved a servant and his master. The actors were both American expatriates. The play was a traditional Japanese script translated into English. Kyogen is one of the traditional theater styles still produced in Japan. When the play was over, we finally had some free time.

The evening program was very interesting. We had the official welcome reception. It started with two musicians playing, while we talked. Then began the speeches. First, was the Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport. He was followed by a representative of Ambassador Foley and a few others. The highlight of the program was a performance of traditional chant. We heard the Edo Chant, originally sung by the builders of the Edo castle. For the next hour or so, we ate a combination of Japanese food and American food.

It had been a great day, with so much to see and experience. I am happy to be in Japan, but needed rest. I was totally drained and suffering from a cold and from jet lag. By 9:15 pm, I was in bed, asleep.

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