Missed It By _That_ Much!

Japan’s Golden Week – a glorious span of four national holidays in one week.

We start with April 29, Showa Day. Showa Day celebrates the birthday of former Emperor Showa; or as we in the West know him, Hirohito; the reigning emperor before, during, and after World War II, which when you think about it is quite a period in history.

Side note – According to Stewart, if the average Japanese citizen was asked the name of the current Emperor, most wouldn’t know. He is simply referred to as ‘The Emperor.’

Next is May 3rd, Constitution Memorial Day. I can’t believe I forgot this one in my last post. According to Wikipedia, this is the only day the National Diet Building – Japan’s version of Congress - is open to the public. Maybe next year, I’ll check that out.

May 4th is only a national holiday by a technicality. Japanese law states that any day that falls between two holidays becomes a holiday in it’s own right. So, May 4th has been designated Greenery Day. It’s a day to commune with nature.

And May 5th is the previously mentioned Children’s Day, a day to respect children’s personalities and celebrate their happiness. Until recently, May 5th was known as Boys’ Day while March 3rd – my birthday – was Girls’ Day. This was changed to the inclusive Children’s Day as it was deemed inappropriate that Boys’ Day was celebrated as a national holiday while Girls’ Day was not. So, March 3rd became the Japanese Doll Festival.

The lesson of this long history lesson is the fact that I had a four day weekend to enjoy. Saturday, Nobie, Stewart, and I walked to the nearby Country Park, a quaintly named large park on the grounds of the Kumamoto Prefectural Agricultural Center. There was a beautiful flower garden that shows promise for the upcoming Rose Festival in a few weeks. It also had a fantastic collection of children’s’ playground equipment, all of which to Stewart and my disappointment, had signs saying ‘Adults Not Allowed.’

Sunday was an especially lazy day, but as the evening cooled, Stewart and I walked to the grounds of the Kyushu Agricultural Center. We talked about how surprisingly comforting the sight of newly planted corn fields and smell of cow manure was. It’s odd how these fields are located smack dab in the middle of town. One moment, I’m walking past convenience stores and fast food shops, and a with a quick left, I’m surrounded by fields and barns full of livestock. I’m anxious to enjoy firefly season, or as us Kansans might call them, lightning bugs. Apparently, this is such a collectivist culture that even the lightning bugs flash in unison. Cool, huh?

Monday, the weather had cooled slightly and threatened rain, so Stewart I visited the Kumamoto Prefectural Art Museum, which had an Egyptian exhibition featuring the discoveries of a Japanese archeologist who has spent the past 40 years digging in Egypt. More than ever, I am determined to visit the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx before I die. The pieces we saw in this exhibition were simply breathtaking.

Another exhibition we viewed at the museum featured artifacts and historical documents from the Hosokawa collection. The Hosokawas are an ancient aristocratic family from the Kumamoto area. The Hosokawa clan ruled the Kyushu area for centuries and to this day are still a very powerful family in Japan – like the Sedgwicks or the Vanderbilts, I suppose. The reigning Hosokawa lord, Morihiro Hosokawa, was Japan’s 79th Prime Minister. The collection featured a variety of armor worn by Hosokawa lords in their military endeavors as well as their swords, paintings of the Hosokawa lords from the 13th century on, and perhaps more quietly impressive – written manuscripts, the earliest dating to the 11th century. That’s five hundred years before Shakespeare. Can you imagine having something like that in your family basement?

My introduction to Hosokawa history proved useful as the next day Stewart and I went to one of Kumamoto’s more famous landmarks, Suizenji Jojuen, or The Garden of Elegance. This park was built in the 1600’s and began as the vacation house for the Hosokawas. The family temple and mausoleum are there as well as a beautiful park that is landscaped to represent the 53 views along the Tokaido, the old highway between Kyoto and what is now Tokyo. It’s really remarkable. I reverted to my old self and forgot to take my camera, but I promise to go back soon to fully document the experience for you all.

That night, we grilled outside. In Japan, they call it ‘barbequing,’ but as Nobie was speaking with a Texas boy and a Kansas girl, we had to correct her. Unless it’s slow and low, it’s grilling. Whatever you call though, it was one of the most delicious meals I’ve had since coming here and there has been quite a bit of competition for that title. Over a large ceramic pot filled with glowing coals, we grilled kebobs of chicken and onion, pork sausages on bones for convenient handling, thinly sliced beef, salmon, pumpkin – my contribution to the meal, eringi mushrooms, fresh sweet corn, and bean sprouts. I know that sounds like a lot of food, and to be honest, it was. We’re still eating leftovers. It was delicious though, and we all saved room for dessert. Smores! I can’t tell you how long it has been since I’ve roasted marshmallows over a fire for smores.

It was back to work on Wednesday, however. And now, there are no more holidays or days off from work until July 18th – the beginning of summer break and my month-long vacation.

Well, I promised a post in 24 hours and I’m about 10 minutes late, so I guess I’ll end this here. Thanks again for reading.

- Jenny