Today I saw a performance of The Scarlet Pimpernel. This, however, was a performance done by a very famous, all women's theater group in Japan. I'm lucky enough to live less than an hour away from Takarazuka, the town in which the theater is located.

The cast is composed only of women. I think there are men in the pit orchestra, and the conductor is a man, but other than that... Women play all the men's roles, so they sing like men, dress like men, and put on makeup to make them look manly. The women playing men's roles sang with very deep voices, and they carried themselves in a rather manly fashion to help create a convincing performance. But almost all of the men's roles included, in the costume, two-inch tall high heeled boots, so the women must be able to dance and move comfortably in high heels.

The entire performance was in Japanese, but if one read the story ahead of time, I'm sure the action would be fairly easy to follow. Also, it was a musical, so with a lot of singing and dancing, it was visually entertaining, even if I didn't catch every word that was sung or spoken. Maybe this was due to the setting of the specific story being performed today and the overall character of Takarazuka theater, but the costumes were elaborate and delightful to view.

The actresses in the Takarazuka theater group are extremely popular. Some of them have their own fan clubs, and the members of these clubs are always buying the front row seat tickets, which are thus impossible to obtain if you are not in a fan club, and the fans are always mobbing the actresses after the shows. But these women work hard, training from the time they are in high school, and instead of going to a regular high school, they go to a school especially for Takarazuka theater training. All of their training really pays off, as one can easily see when one watches a performance.

The United States may have Pi Day, but Japan has Ear Day, Eye Day, Teeth Day, and even Good Couple's Day. These are all recent phenomena, of course, and while Good Couple's Day actually is used as a marketing ploy, the other days' nicknames are used as educational tools.

First of all, how are the actual dates for these days decided? Well, Japan uses kanji, which originated in China. Since, however, Japan took kanji from China, Japanese language has applied several different readings to a single kanji. The kanji for numbers are no exceptions. The kanji for "3" can be read as "san," "mi," and maybe other ways that I may not even know of. But if "mi" is one of the readings, then March 3rd can be read as "mimi," which is the Japanese word for ear. Thus March 3rd is Ear Day. Teeth Day is June 4th, because one of the readings for the number "6" is "mu" and one of the readings for the number "4" is "shi," and mushiba means cavity. Okay, so maybe instead of Teeth Day it's Cavity Prevention Day, but I'm sure the general idea is clear enough. Also, I think October 10 is Eye Day because the "1s" and "0s" look like a pair of eyebrows and eyes. On these days, schools do things such as encourage the students to bring toothbrushes to school and everyone brushes their teeth together after lunch (which usually does not happen). Also, doctors will issue notices such as "get your eyes checked."

Good couples day is April 22nd because another reading for the number "4" is "yo," and a reading for the number "2" is "fu." The Japanese word yoi means good, and fufu is man and woman together as a couple. On this day movie theaters make ticket prices very cheap, but only for couples fifty and older, which I think gets a lot of people to the movies. But having April 22nd as Earth Day isn't a bad idea, either.

Today there was a speech contest held amongst all of the foreign exchange students in my program. Based on the speech test that we all had last week, representatives from each of the five Japanese classes were selected to compete in today's speech contest. There were ten contestants, but one passed at the last minute. I was one of three students from my class to be asked to participate.

I gave a speech about learning keigo, or honorific speech, and my emotional triumphs and struggles associated with the learning process (the learning process is ever-continuing, by the way). I mentioned that keigo is difficult to learn because there are many types of keigo and few chances for me to use it on a daily basis. I talked about a time with one of my Japanese language teachers when I slipped and forgot to use keigo but wasn't scolded, and then a time with my host father during which I didn't use keigo and was reprimanded. I concluded by talking about how happy I am to have learned keigo and how one may use honorific speech to really shape and nuance relationships with others. I didn't win a prize for excellence, but I received a sort of honorable mention. Most importantly, however, I was proud of myself for what I accomplished. I am completely satisfied with how I performed in the contest, and I think that's just as good as winning.

Geisha (whom I will hereafter refer to as geiko) and maiko (apprentice geiko) are a symbol of Japan that appeal to and trigger curiosity from most foreigners. Myself being one of these foreigners, I had to make it to Kyoto this month to see the famed Miyako Odori, Dances of the Old Capital, an annual phenomenon that takes place each year during the month of April in Gion Corner, an area of Kyoto known for its population of geiko. Kyoto is an ancient town full of tradition, and in fact it was one of the ancient capitals of Japan, hence the name of this dance that the geiko perform. The dance is composed of eight scenes that illustrate the passing of the seasons in Japan. Kyoto in particular has distinct spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons, with cherry blossoms in spring, summer greenery, fiery autumn maple leaves, and winter snow, wind, and chill.

It was a little difficult to tell who were geiko and who were maiko as I watched the hour-long dance performance. All the girls had white paint on their faces, necks, hands, and forearms (probably up to their elbows). But I learned later that the maiko all wore the same blue kimono with red and pink flowers on it, but the geiko wore various kimono of different colors and patterns. All the women's hair was up in artful hairdos, with flowers and showy combs inserted for extra attraction. The nape of the neck is said to be a very beautiful place, so all the maiko and geiko had the top of their kimono lowered a few inches below the nape of the neck so as to expose it. That area of each person's skin was also colored white, but I believe the maiko had three upside-down triangle shaped patches of skin that were not painted so as to differentiate them from geiko. The maiko have very long sleeves on their kimono called furisoude, and their obi, or kimono belts, are very long and hang down the backside of the kimono. Geiko, on the other hand, have short kimono sleeves, and their obi are tied so that the belts do not hang down the backside of the kimono but appear short and only cover the mid and lower back.

The dances themselves were very elegant. Movements are subtle, including a lot of tilting and turning of the head and delicate hand movements. About fifteen maiko danced, and another fifteen or so played traditional musical instruments such as the shamisen, a special Japanese flute, and various drums. All the geiko danced, and a few sang some narrations during one of the dance scenes.

Japanese college students are persistent in their recruitment for clubs and "circles" (extra curricular activities groups). The school year in Japan starts at the beginning of April. Compared with the University of Illinois, which has Quad Day once a year (an event at which students can walk around the quad and talk to members of registered student organizations who have set up booths to advocate for their group), Konan University students recruit much more often. For the first two weeks in April, student groups set up tables every day along the walkway and in the commons area on campus, with group members at the ready to explain information to interested first year students. Students will call out to people walking by to come over to their table and check out their club information. Other students stand in the pathway and force flyers into the hands of students walking past. One day all the students in clubs even lined up on the two sides of the entry walkway and formed a sort of tunnel. New students entering the school grounds would have to walk through the two rows of people and probably have dozens of flyers forced upon them before entering into the building where their morning class is held. Wiser students who wanted to avoid that sort of attention would have to walk outside the tunnel of people on the edge of the walkway and almost be in danger of falling into the rain gutter. There are over 2,000 new students entering Konan University every year, but despite this number, I wonder how successful club recruitment is with such aggressive recruiting tactics.

I realized I have never devoted a blog entry to the famous Japanese toilets. I don't want to bore anyone by discussing the phenomena you may have already heard about (seat warming button, spray to clean you off, etc.), so I'll focus on two new discoveries of mine from the past eight months.

At one friend's host family's house, the toilet lid automatically rises when you open the bathroom door. I don't know if there's a motion sensor or if the door and the toilet are wired to each other, but it's interesting. I think the control panel next to the toilet also plays electronic versions of famous music, such as "Spring" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" as background music for one's enjoyment while using the toilet.

Also on control panels next to many public toilets is the 音姫, or "sound princess." You put your hand in front of the sensor or press a button on the control panel, and a flushing noise comes out of the speaker. This is to hide any sounds you make while using the toilet. However, it's only in women's restrooms. I've asked many men and they all say they've seen no such thing in any restroom they've been in.

Today I had my final oral examination for Japanese language class. This test happened prior to the kanji, reading, listening, and grammar finals, but this is due to the oral examination being in a different format than the previous three times it was held. Before, we always had interview examinations, with just one teacher in a room and we'd be asked questions. This time, however, we all had to write a five minute speech discussing the theme of an emotional experience we've had during our lives. I wanted mine to relate to something I've done here in Japan, so I wrote about the struggles of learning polite speech, which I believe is a challenge for many students of Japanese language. I had my speech edited quite a few times, and then I practiced reading it over and over again to become comfortable with presenting the content. Some students had their speeches memorized, though, and everyone had very thoughtful, interesting experiences to talk about. Some topics that I remember that specifically related to this past year in Japan were visiting Japanese relatives even though it was only the student's second time meeting them, joining a club and being welcomed into the club and learning about Japanese culture through the club, and figuring out how to not be treated as a foreigner in a setting with only Japanese acquaintances.

Today I saw an interesting movie called "My Darling is a Foreigner" about the relationship between a Japanese woman and an American man who is living in Japan. The couple speaks in Japanese, and it is about their getting through the cultural differences that pop up during the course of their relationship. However, in my opinion, there weren't too many cultural differences that created hardships in their relationship. As one of the characters in the movie expressed, a person's nationality won't make or break a relationship, it's all about the two people's personalities and whether or not the personalities mesh.

Yesterday I went to a barbecue and was able to speak to Dunia, the mother of Julia (the girl to whom I'm teaching violin). I was worried that my descriptions of how to hold the violin and bow and how to move the bow across the violin strings were insufficient, but Dunia informed me that based on my serious attitude and persistence during the lesson, Julia has been practicing very diligently. She has even started to work on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" all by herself, although we didn't go over it in the first lesson! She seems to be progressing rapidly and self-motivated, so I'm pleased to hear that. Tomorrow I'm going to teach her how to read treble clef.

Star Wars is officially finished. I have viewed half of the completed version but haven't had time to see the whole production. But there are supposedly some very funny bloopers at the end that I can't wait to see. I think that this production tells a lot about my Japanese class's closeness and our ability to work through such a tough project. I am pleased that I was a part of such a fun, close-knit group this past year, it made my experience in Japan all the more worthwhile.

I am still enjoying viewing the cherry blossoms as they are in bloom for two weeks. This past weekend I went to Himeji Castle to see the blossoms there. It's a popular place when it comes to cherry blossom viewing, so it felt like half the country had turned up that day to see the blossoms and celebrate spring. But the crowds made it more fun and lively. Today I walked up and down this street called "Cherry Blossom Tunnel" which is about five minutes from my host family's house. There are seventy cherry trees that line the sides of this long street, and when the blossoms are in full bloom the trees create a sort of tunnel of cherry blossoms all along the street.

This past Monday I conducted my first in a series of four violin lessons that I will be giving to another host family's daughter. I have never taught violin before, and I am teaching Julia in Japanese, which makes it even more challenging. Particularly difficult aspects of teaching are how to convey proper holding and usage of the bow, holding of the violin, and placing the fingers at the correct places on the strings. I don't want to be too picky in my assessment of my student's playing, but I want to make sure I teach her correctly from the outset so that she may properly develop her skills. At any rate, I am happy that they thought of me when considering violin lessons for their daughter, and it is another new experience that I will have at the end of this year.

Star Wars Pictures

I have received requests for updates on the Star Wars production, so I'll write an entry now with a few pictures included. There is one picture of our Master Yoda receiving his green makeup, another of me as Leia (I know I'm not wearing white, but this was the most Leia-like dress I own, and I know the buns are not covering my ears, but this is not an A-budget film!), and there's a picture of my class filming the Mos Eisley scene in the bar from Episode IV.

We filmed this past Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and today. People would rush to memorize their lines minutes before filming began, and it was sometimes hard to portray emotions when we didn't know what our scene partner's lines meant (because they're all in Japanese and none of us are fluent YET), but we put as much emotion as possible into our own lines. We used my classmate Sophie's video camera, and she films most of the scenes, except for the ones she's in. We have a lot of capes for people like Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Master Yoda, and we also have two lightsabers and some really neat fight scenes.

The filming is being finished up today, and presentation date is set for Monday. Our production will be complete with a "trailor" (a spoof of the "This is Sparta!" scene from 300 and bloopers, of course. There are a lot of neat sound effects and musical accompaniment, too, thanks to Sophie's editing efforts. I'll let everyone know how the production turns out!

My Passover Seder

The Jewish congregation in Kobe is quite religious, so I was not allowed to take pictures to accompany this entry. However, I attended the first half of the seder at the synagogue near my host family's home to commemorate Passover, which began this Monday evening at sundown. I say the first half of the seder because although it started at 7:30 P.M., due to the number of people present and the rather religious manner of observation of the service, I had to leave around 11:00 P.M. even though the service was only half-finished.

I learned it is a mitzvah (good deed) to drink four cups of wine (although I was served grape juice) during the seder, but I only finished two cups before I left at 11:00 P.M. I also learned something new, that when we eat the matza, or unleavened bread, we must recline back in our chairs and lean to the left. I was told that kings in ancient Israel ate in a reclining position and leaned to the left while eating, which is why we do so during the Passover seder.

The bitter herbs were not spicy at all like the horseradish I usually eat in the U.S.; in fact, I did not eat horseradish but I ate chopped up vegetables. The flavor was definitely different, but maybe they were slightly pickled as opposed to bitter. Also, instead of dipping parsley into salt water, I dipped raw onion into the salt water and ate it. That's what was provided on the seder plate, so I made sure to not lean in too close to anyone when conversing with them after I ate the onion!

There were probably fifty to seventy-five people at the seder, and two orthodox Jews from New York were leading the seder. One of them spoke fairly good Hebrew, but he still had a strong American accent. The other did not speak very much Hebrew, so the Israelis that were there seemed to be carrying on their own conversations a lot of the time during the service. There were only two things that made the event seem even remotely Japan-related. One, there were some Japanese people there. Two, I used Japanese sometimes when conversing with people. Otherwise, the seder may as well have taken place anywhere. This year I'm following the Sephardi Passover tradition so as not to cause my family problems by severely limiting the foods I can eat. Therefore I am eating white rice for breakfast every day this week instead of bread. Also, there are not normally foods with leavening agents in my host family's diet which makes it rather easy to observe Passover.