Wally's Yamasa Journal

First thing, is that there are a lot of hand-outs during classes. They're very helpful but they vary in size. Many of them are double wide A4 or smaller which means that unless I want to cut them all to size, a binder won't help.

The binders themselves present a different problem. Most of them have over twenty rings in them and I didn't want to find out how much the hole puncher for them would cost.

The department and dollar stores got me a few stop-gap measures, like a portfolio-style single-file case, but I eventually found a stationary store on route 248, the main drag in the area, between the school and student village that gave me enough choice to come up with an organizing system. A thirteen pocket portfolio case on sale for 350 yen let me stuff each lesson's handouts and notes into their separate sections.

One thing I've also found is that most of the Japanese language textbooks I've worked with, including the ones here, give and index the vocabulary from Japanese to English. Since I've been learning so many new words in the lessons, which would be part of the upcoming test, I also bought a handbook-sized binder and paper to list and index the new words the other way. It's good vocabulary practice anyways but it's taking more time to get up-do-date than I thought. At least I was getting my notes organized in time for the test Wednesday. I couldn't keep spreading them across my bed forever.

I spent most of the morning studying but threw in my Sunday run in the middle for a break. This time, I went past Okazaki Station and headed for the southwest corner of the city and looped back once I past the Shinkansen tracks. I had a map and compass with me and had a general idea where I was going but it was still a bit of an adventure (asked direction once). The wind didn't help either (I hate running into the wind).

The area looked mostly like it was for light industry and farmland so it was generally quiet. I did find a larger bathhouse near the station on the way back though. I first thought it was a pachinko parlor.

After a shower, lunch and more studying, it was time to check out a taiko (Japanese folk drumming) concert. Roger, who works in the International office as a graphic designer, plays in a couple of local taiko groups so I bought a ticket for the afternoon show.

Getting to the concert hall was more work than expected. My map showed me the shortest route to the concert hall was to make a right at the intersection past the Jusco shopping center but it didn't tell me about the hill. The 'Oka' in Okazaki means hill, but until now, I really didn't encounter a steep one in the local area. I was on my bike too and although it was a mountain bike, two-thirds of its gears were disabled. At least it had gears. Many of the traditional bikes ridden in Japan only have one speed as far as I can remember (some do have three).

Once I got to the area, I also had difficulty locating the concert hall. I knew I was in the right area but couldn't see the hall itself. It took about fifteen minutes and a few questions before I located it. I found Miki from the International office in the hall already as well as Declan who told me that here they say you don't through the hills in Okazaki, you go around them (nice to now, thanx much).

I've always enjoyed taiko but have not really seen that many shows when I am in Japan. There are a lot of local amateur groups around and Okazaki looked to have its fair share. The show was broken into two halves. The first half featured the local groups, about a half-dozen of them comprising of about 70 members. The second belonged to a professional group called 'Gonna' composed of three men and a woman who proceeded to show themselves to be very healthy people.

To me, taiko is not just about rhythms or playing loudly, but about conveying an energetic spirit that drives the 'ganbare' spirit here. The skills of the amateur groups playing varied but I admired the effort they were putting into it. It was very joyous but they were also doing their best, even trying new things, like the middle aged woman, who after playing a solo, did a somersault on stage. It's probably why having a hachimaki wrapped around the forehead is standard issue for a performing taiko player. Roger looked to be a pretty good taiko player. He certainly showed great spirit in his playing.

Shishi and child	Taiko players dance across stage	Riding the Shishi

One of my classmates was talking about some of the festivals in Japan, wondering what the point of some of them were. I think some of them are a test of the spirit, whether it meant carrying omikoshi (portable shrines weighing a tonne or two) or two-metre long torches on your shoulders, holding giant firework candles while they go off, or even carrying logs up a hill then riding down them. I also think it's why so many run marathons in Japan.

I used to play in a taiko group for a few years so naturally I'm always curious to see how it is done in Japan. Of course the equipment is much better and the groups are larger so more there was more variety of songs and style. There was also, though, the Shi-shi, during which a 'Japanese lion' dancing and performing throughout the song, something that has been a standard with the group back in Vancouver. One major difference here was that the Shi-shi 'gave birth' to another one below stage. The finale was a rousing one with all 70 some-odd players on stage at the same time. I wish I knew how to work the camera better to have gotten a good shot of the scene.

Fue solo	Local group finale

The 'Gonna' group played the second half of the show by themselves. Their power, energy and stamina was tremendous. I don't know how they manage to play at such a pace for the hour and fifteen minutes they commanded the stage. Being a professional group usually means you must have at least one huge drum. Gonna's 'Odaiko' was about a metre-and-a-half wide and was sometimes played with a baseball bat (or something similar). Sometimes the bat was swung around in time to the rhythm like a medieval sword. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures of their performance, but taiko is also one art where just a photo or a CD of the music does not do it justice. At minimum, you must see it on video if you can't see it live.

It was nice to find that between the taiko concert and the reggae/skaa CD I bought the day before, that I was able to find music here that was able to revitalize me after a tough week. I just now have to carry that energy back into studying when I got back to the student village.

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