CAPEDS presents Sudan Café in Tsukuba vol.2 – What we found in “Real” Sudan-
The Alien Times has received the following information from CAPEDS.
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CAPEDS presents Sudan Café in Tsukuba vol.2
- What we found in "Real" Sudan-
What does come up with you,. when you hear the word "Sudan"?
Civil war? Terrorism? Yes, they exactly exist. However, will they ever shape the whole "Sudan"?
The non-profit organization Committee for Assisting and Promoting Education of the Disabled in Sudan(CAPEDS) is a organization aimed to promote and to assist education for the disabled in Sudan. We are now taking actions for promotion and assistance of information education and promotion of blind soccer in Khartoum, Sudan.
(To see more details : please look at http://capeds.org）
In October 2009, 2 of our student staffs went to Khartoum to know the conditions of our running project and to deepen exchange with our counterpart in Sudan. Can you imagine what did they find in Sudan?
Please join us to feel "Real Sudan" by the story of our staffs with hibiscus tea and Sudanese snacks.
The details are below.
Date: Dec 2nd, 2009(Wed) 18:30-20:40
Place : Class room 301, 3A building, Tsukuba University
(5 min by foot from the bus stop "Daigaku-Chuo")
Fee: Free
How to join: Please e-mail to info.tsukuba[at]capeds.org with the name and number of the participants. Please fill the title with "Participation of the event".
Walk-in participants are also welcomed.
If you have any questions, please send e-mail to info.tsukuba[at]capeds.org
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Shichi-Go-San celebrations uniquely extravagant in Ibaraki
![081124_1347031-225x300[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/081124_1347031-225x3001.jpg)
One of the questions most frequently asked by Japanese people who you meet for the first time is- HOW OLD ARE YOU? This can be a little disconcerting for you once you get beyond a certain age, but dont let it make you paranoid- its not that you look SO OLD or SO YOUNG- its just that in Japanese culture being aware of others ages is extremely important. You could even say that in Japan there is a CULT OF AGE. By this I do not mean one of youth or old age ( though youth IS highly regarded in itself). What I mean is that in Japanese culture, ones age, no matter what it my be, bears with it great significance.
The foremost reason for being aware of anothers age for the Japanese is to determine who is senior and who is junior, since in this Confucian influenced society this might affect the character of the relationship formed and the form of speech which will be used .
![081124_1244021-225x300[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/081124_1244021-225x3001.jpg)
Besides this, in Japanese culture, certain ages represent certain MILES STONES or TURNING POINTS in ones life. These include the many UNLUCKY AGES ( yakudoshi, 厄年), the main ones being ages 42 for men and 33 for women. (interestingly these age related events are mirrored almost perfectly for The dead with memorial services on the 1st ,3rd, 7th, 13th 33rd etc year anniversaries)
Most of these special ages, however, beginning with a baby`s official naming on 7th day after birth, are happy occassions culminating in the special longevity celebrations at 60, 70, 77,80,88,90,99 and 100.
Since it is now November, today I will discuss one of Japan`s most popular, and probably, with its minions of adorable kimono clad kids escorted to atmospheric shrines by beaming parents and grandparents, its most photo-friendly rite of passage event- SHICHI-GO-SAN ( 七五三), literally the 3-5-7 celebration.
Today, this event is typically celebrated by families with 3 year old or seven year old girls and five year old boys. These families buy or rent FESTIVE WEAR ( HARE-GI- 晴れ着), traditionally meaning Japanese style kimono( though you will often find boys in suits), going to the photographers studio for commemorative portraits ( often in different styles of dress) and then visiting a shrine to pray for the childs growth and health. The child will also usually carry a bag of special candy called CHITOSE AME ( 千歳飴- thousand year candy), beautifully decorated with symbols of long life- cranes, turtles, pine, bamboo and plum as well as auspcious chinese characters.
Optimally this should take place on the 15th of November, though anytime in November is appropriate ( however, I HAVE heard that before the 15th is better than after)
In Ibaraki Prefecture ( yes, it seems that it is true ONLY here), the event is often celebrated with much more extravagance- especially by families from traditional hamlets. After, visiting the shrine, relatives and friends are invited for a reception at a restaurant or even a fancy hotel. Emcees and photographers are invited, speeches are made. It is not very differentt from a wedding.
I have even heard that when children celebrate a shichi-go-san, their family changes the tatamis and shoji doors ( which is also a custom for weddings).
Now just what is the origin of these customs? Well, as is the rule with Japanese culture, the sources are diverse and the evolution intriguing.
As I have often mentioned in relation to Japanese festivals, ODD NUMBERS are considered auspicious ( this concept was introduced in the 6th century from China). Thus, the Doll Festival is on March 3rd ( 3/3), Childrens Day May 5th (5/5), Tanabata July 7th ( 7/7), etc.
![p3[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/p311-300x145.jpg)
It is thus understandable why the aristocrats of the Heian Period ( and subsequent generations of Japanese)would hold rite of passage ceremonies for their children on ODD NUMBERED years.
Another important concept behind the 7-5-3 ceremony is the fact that the Japanese did not consider children to be full members of the community until they were seven years old. By this I mean that children were not registered as part of the population ( in the NINBETSU-CHO), until they were seven. Those who died before that age were not given the usual funeral or buried in theor family graves.
Thus attaining the age of 7 signified becoming a member of the community and of becoming a full-fledged PERSON.
Still, in the years from the Heian Period (794-1185) to the end Edo Period (1600-1868), there was no standardized SHICHI-GO-SAN, as we know it today. The noble and samurai families DID have special ceremonies for 3 year old children ( KAMI-OKI) after which their hair was allowed to grow out instead of being shaved. Five year old boys had a ceremony for wearing their first HAKAMA ( special trousers) called HAKAMA-GI. And then for seven year old girls there was the ceremony for tying their first OBI sash, called the Obi-toki.
These ceremonies DID NOT necessarily take place specifically in November.
As I have written many times before, the Japanese populace always admired the higher classes and aspired to their ways. Thus, during the Edo period and the growth of a prosperous and thriving merchant culture, these customs were taken on by the townspeople and farmers as shrines , kimono makers , and sweets makers all promoted this event. It was a huge hit and had a huge commercial impact, hinting at things to come with Valentines Day and Christmas in contemporary Japan.
Just why Shichi-Go-San came to be celebrated in November, and especially on November 15th, remains unclear. Some say that this was the celbration day of one of the children of the Tokugawa Family ( which ruled during the Edo Period). Anyway, being just after harvest season, it is a perfect time for rural Japanese to celebrate their childrens growth and health in style.
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In autumn MUMS THE WORD, as Japans Chrysanthemum Cultivators Display their Creations
![091104_1325~01[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/091104_1325011-225x300.jpg)
Walking through Tsukuba`s old neighborhoods in October and November, you will very likely see some impressive chrysanthemums (kiku) displayed out by the front doors of homes and shops, their big, heavy looking yellow, white or pink blossoms sitting atop their slender leaf laden stems, often supported by round metal frames. You will often find prize winning MUMS on display and even shows of chrysanthemum SCULPTURE ( kiku ningyo) throughout this season at venues such as shrines and parks.
Though they are NOT a native species, KIKU have not only come to be known as one of Japan`s two important representative flowers of autumn ( the other being HAGI- bush clover), but they have also become the symbol of Japan`s Imperial Family, and institition which in English is in fact often referred to as the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Believed by the ancient Chinese to possess special medicinal powers, specificallythe ability to cleanse one of spiritual impurities and providing ETERNAL YOUTH, there is evidence suggesting that chysanthemums were introduced to Japan as early as the 5th century. There are, however, NO references to this flower in the first ( and perhaps greatest) of Japan`s poetry anthologies, the Manyoshu ( compiled in the 8th century).
Kiku at someones entranceway- Konda Tsukuba
In the Nara (710-794) and Heian (794- 1185) Periods the aristocrats of the Japanese Court adopted the Tang Chinese custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine and rubbing ones body with cotton swabs soaked with chrysanthemum dew on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month( for the Chinese, odd numbers are YANG- bright and positive. Nine is the highest odd numeral ,which would make 9/9 the luckiest day of the year- right when the mums were in bloom). This event was officially called the choyo no sekku （重陽の節句), one of the five seasonal change days which the Japanese took on from China. These customs are described by Sei Shonagon in her Pillow Book ( Makura no Soshi- 枕草子) and by Murasaki Shikibu, in her diary( both from the Heian Period).
Kiku motif on an Edo Period Noh Costume
Because of the fact that the chrysanthemum was so prestigious, with its Chinese lineage and its supposed purifying and life extending powers ( besides the beauty of the flower itself ! ) many of Japans noble families, from the Heian Period on, adopted it in one form or another into their family crests or onto their kimonos or furniture.
However, what makes the chrysanthemum especially symbolic of the Imperial Family of Japan, is the fact that the large round , yellow blossoms are reminiscent of THE SUN- the ancestor, according to Japanese mythology, in the form of AMATERASU, of the all Japanese Emperors.
![091111_1317~01[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/091111_1317011-225x300.jpg)
The first recorded connection between the chryanthemum and the Imperial family, however, dates back only to the reign of the Emperor Ninmyo ( 仁明天皇 810-850), a grandson of the Emperor Kammu ( who had moved the capital to present day Kyoto). It is said that Emperor had a great fondness for yellow chrysanthemums and had them extensively planted on the palace grounds. He also liked to wear robes dyed yellow from these flowers.
The yellow KIKU which the Emperor Ninmyo loved
The KIKU was adopted on the Imperial Families crest by the Emperor Gotoba ( 後鳥羽 1180-1239 ), who was also known to have a strong liking for these flowers.
It was not until 1926 ( Taisho 15), however, that the Chrysanthemum Seal became officially recognized.
During the Edo Period ( 1600-1868) the military class, continued ( or should I say revived ) the custom of celebrationg the 5 sekku, the seasonal changing days brought over from China in the Nara Period. Of course, the Chrysanthemum Day, the Choyo no Sekku on the 9th day of the ninth month, was among them.
The prestige of the KIKU filtered down to the masses during this time and chrysanthemum breeding became a popular activity. Japanese horticulturalists developed countless varieties, in various shapes and colors.
Kiku display at the Meiji Shrine 2008
These growers formed associations which held displays and competitions of both just plain flowers and of scultures made utilizing them ( kiku ningyo). One of the most famous of these is held every year in Fukushima Prefecture`s Nihonmatsu City.
The Buddhist Priest Nichiren made of Kiku at Nihonmatsu
Of course, in poetry the KIKU came to be used extensively as a symbol of autumn and other things..... one of these being homosexual love ( the center of the blossom was thought to look like an anus!).
![091111_1326~01[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/091111_1326011-225x300.jpg)
There are also about 20 smaller native wild varieties of chrysanthemum which bloom at various times of year ( and 8 in Ibaraki Prefecture!). And though not as spectacular as the giant show varieites, they are still beautiful and EDIBLE!
Another custom related to these native chrysanthemums is making KIKU-MAKURA ( mum pillows). Kiku petals are thoroughly dried out and stuffed into cases to make pillows. These were said to be good for headaches, and of course, cleansing away spiritual impurities (kegare).
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This Year, HATSUSHIMO (初霜), the First Frost, Comes Early and Suddenly to Tsukuba- Lets Hope Its a Fluke
Hatsushimo in Konda, Tsukuba- 2009
During the last weeks of October and the first two days of November, those of us living in Tsukuba were basking comfortably in the glorious warmth of a KOHARU BIYORI (小春日和 ), which is the Japanese equivalent of an Indian summer. Then, on Culture Day, the National holiday on November 3rd, temperatures dropped precipitously, and on that night I had to resign myself to taking out the little kerosene heaters which I had stowed away in my closets ( yes, I live the traditional Japanese lifestyle- without central heating). Since these cannot be left on all night ( because of the danger of carbon monoxide asphyxiation), I could hardly sleep at all, not yet accustomed to the cold, which had me shivering.
![091104_0733~02[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/091104_0733021-225x300.jpg)
Since I was already up at the crack of dawn, I headed out , with my trusty dog Tickles ( a Japanese Shiba Ken), into the fields for our morning walk. Much to my surprise, the surrounding area had all turned white, covered by a coating of frost- the first of the year, which had appeared much earlier than I had ever remembered .
As I recalled, HATSUSHIMO (初霜), the first frost of winter, usually did not occur till mid-December in Tsukuba. In fact, when I checked the data later in the day, I found that the first frost has been showing up later and later over the years, as a result of global warming, urbanization and CONCRETIZATION ( in 1994-95 in Tokyo, the first frost did not hit until Feb. 11 !!).
Rabbit tracks in the frosty soil- Tsukuba 2009
Surveying the withering late autumn fields covered in a thin layer of ice, I realized that winter was near ( but hoped that the freezing weather was just a fluke). Closer examination of the frosted over vegetation revealed its own special kind of beauty, and I could understand why the Japanese poets used the term SHIMO NO HANA ( 霜の花) which expresses the way that the frost itself can look like tiny, sparkling flowers.
This morning, when my dog and I were out in the fields again, it was much warmer.
Yet as I looked over the browning vegetation I kind of missed the frost. Though, I definitely COULD wait a while for its next appearance.
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