A day in the life of a Japanese person

On Saturday, all of the UC students attended a cultural day, which included traditional Japanese activities and ceremonies at Mejiro Garden. We started off the day with demonstrations for the Ikebana and Calligraphy and then ate lunch in the BEAUTIFUL garden. These pictures don't really do it any justice.

Mejiro Garden 

This is where we ate lunch.

The ceremonial house where we had the tea ceremony, calligraphy, ikebana, and calligraphy.

There's a waterfall in the background.

秋(Fall)　

After lunch, we got to wear traditional Japanese style kimonos. The kimono that I am wearing is called Hakama. We paraded around the garden and took lots of pictures.

Kimono wearing

After the kimono wearing, we headed back into the house for the tea ceremony. We had to sit on our knees like this for about 30 minutes, but it seemed like much much longer. The tea ceremony instructor informed us that the typical tea ceremony lasts for about 5 hours. It took me about 2 minutes to stand up after sitting like that for only 30 minutes. One can only imagine how badly it would hurt after 5 hours... After the ceremony ended, we practiced making the tea for each other. The tea was very bitter, so I wasn't excited about having to drink the tea again. The bowl has to be oriented in a certain direction when you pass the tea. Apparently bowls here have "fronts" and you're supposed to pass the bowl with the front facing the person. When they receive the bowl, however, the person turns the bowl 180 degrees so that they do not drink from the front. It was a really fun experience, but another participation in a traditional tea ceremony for me is highly unlikely.

Tea ceremony

After the tea ceremony was over, I managed to walk over to the Calligraphy table. We got to pick any word we wanted, and write it on the kanji paper. I chose the word "shinpai", which means "worry". The instructor gave me a weird look as the other UC students chose words such as power, love, and peace, but I have my reasons for picking that kanji. For one, the kanji used to write "worry" mean to disperse one's heart. I think that is a very cool definition of worry. Secondly, it is a good reminder for me not to worry. God has really been putting it on my heart to trust in him more. Being in Japan has been sort of overwhelming, and this will be a good reminder that God can do anything. Honestly, who am I to doubt Him?

Calligraphy

The Ikebana was more fun than I thought it would be, partly because the instructor was really nit picky about the angle and placement of my flowers and leaves. After I finished my ikebana but before this picture was taken, she rearranged everything to her own liking. Personally, I think they both looked the same, but either way, it was a really fun experience.

Ikebana (Flower Arranging)

The paper craft was also super amazing. We constructed a paper box, equipped with its own drawer! All we had to do was tape and glue stuff together, but the final product looks legit! The paper craft instructors were very friendly. They were laughing at me when I attempted to say "Sorry, I am very slow" (gomenasai, watashi wa osoi desu) but what I actually said was "Sorry, I am very thin" (gomenasai, watashi wa hosoi desu).

Japanese Paper Craft

Overall, the day will probably be one of my favorite memories in Japan. We were very fortunate to be able to wear the kimonos because that normally costs a lot of money. The typical kimono in Japan costs around $7,000 dollars. Basically, I was wearing Steven's 2000 Acura Integra. All of the instructors were very kind, generous, and welcoming to us. I am very thankful to have this opportunity to experience traditional Japanese customs that have been practiced for many many generations.