Today was truly a day of art and
history. After waking up and having
breakfast, Otousan and Okaasan took me to Shurijo
Castle , one of the greatest castles in
Okinawa .
It used to be the main castle of the Ryukyu Kingdom
(500 years ago) and has apparently recently become a national heritage castle. The castle was beautiful. There were multiple gates, and well as a huge
central throne room. I noticed that as
people came to the gates the stepped over a huge wooden block, not on it and
then over. That was when I realized
those were the thresholds of the castle, and in Japanese culture it is rude to
step on the threshold of any house, castle, etc.
When we got to the actual castle
building, we had to take off our shoes.
The inside of the castle was huge, with wooden walls and tatami floors
(tatami is a special matting made of bamboo – my room is actually matted with
tatami, and I am very honored to have that room (apparently it is the most
respected room in Japanese culture.))
The castle had pictures of old kings, the kings crown and throne, which
we BEAUTIFUL, and a nice Zen Buddhist garden outside. After we saw the main castle, we went to the courtyard to watch some traditional Okinawan dances of the
Ryukan era.
After Shiroju Castle, we went to
the National Theatre to watch my host sister/niece`s performance on the Sanshin, a traditional
Japanese 3-stringed instrument played like a guitar. We then stayed through the rest of the performances,
which were a plethora of traditional Okinawan dances. My favorites were one about the coming of
spring, a fisherman dance, a dance about a lady whose sweetheart was sailing
away, and a dance/play about two princes who kill the samurai that had killed
their father. All these performances had
musicians in the back and the dancers in the front. One thing I found
interesting was that everyone clapped when the dancers left, as oppose to when
the musicians stopped playing (at the end.)
We also saw some traditional courtier dances such as the one we had seen
earlier at Shirijo castle. Otousan told
me that they were commonly used to entertain foreign diplomats in order to seal
a trade, and that in a way I was a diplomat/representative from America who was
being entertained by these dances.
Apparently diplomats from other countries found it hard to believe that
without any military prowess the Ryukan kindom could still have such a strong
trade-based economy, but according to Otousan it was because of the intricate
dances they used to entertain the diplomats. Overall, it was a really nice day.
Other cool things I learned
today include: 1) In Japan, the years are counted as the years after the
crowning of a new king, 2) The restroom signs in the national theatre (being a
place of art,) were actually pictures of a samurai for guys and a traditional
Japanese lady for women, and 3) Okaasan`s father used to own a HUGE cement
company at the site of the National Theatre, but that has now been sold. On the way home, we saw the military
base.
Ok, that’s it I think. I`m looking forward to going to school tomorrow
J
Hi Amalendu,
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are getting settled in your Okinawa environment. What you describe about castles,dance performances etc.is similar in other parts of Japan like Kyoto,Nara,Osaka, Himeji etc.
Try to go to a Sumo Fight Competition.
Can you change the dark background of your blog to a lighter color? Can't read your text clearly.
Your host's father owned a Cement Plant which makes me curious as Kobe Steel were also in a big way in Cement Plant Machinery Mfr. Is he an engineer and if, yes, what branch of Engg?
Keep us posted and take care.
Dada
Wow, sounds like you had a marvelously cultural day (what the heck would AK have done?!?!); they sound like a very talented and artistic family. Great match. And they're lucky to have you as their entre into "American"/Indian culture (two for the price of one, as they say!). Love, NM.
ReplyDeleteWhat year would it be in Japan then, based on the crowning of the king/emperor.
ReplyDeleteTEACH YOUR HOST FAMILY TO COOK INDIAN FOOD!!!
that wud be the coolest thing ever.
---Aditya Mandyam
Is it just me or is the font black and unreadable for this post?
ReplyDelete