Taiken Festival
Once you stay too long in Japan, you tend to participate less in events for foreign students. There are a variety of reasons that change according to each person, but in my case I am now busier than before and a little tired of the routine those events usually take.
Still, even after two years in Japan, there was one that got my attention. It was a "experience festival" (literal translation) from the local Rotary Club: 「留学生のための体験フェスティバル」 on October 24th.
The main reason was because the girls could dress the jyuunihitoe (十二単), a traditional clothing that was worn by the court-ladies during the Heian Period. As the name suggests, it is composed of twelve layers of silk kimono, being extremely elegant and complex to wear (not to mention heavy. In some cases up to 20kg!). Nowadays it is mostly used by the Imperial family in special occasions and in few weddings. It is expensive, and, in part for that reason, almost unseen outside of museums.
The boys would wear an equivalent traditional clothing for court nobles from the Heian Period. I forgot the right name, and searching on the net I found names like sokutai and kariginu, but although they look like, they're not the same.
There was a buddhist monk outfit as well...
And, of course, there were other events. One of them was the game based on Hyakunin Isshu (百人一首), the Uta garuta (歌ガルタ). It is one of the traditional card games in Japan, still played often during the New Year. Each card has a part of poetry, and the objective is to pick the sequence of the waka that is being read. For people who want to know further, I reccomend looking for sites like this one. I am not very familiar with the rules myself to try to explain them here.
At the end, while being treated to dinner (a very good one), we watched on TV the local news reporting the event. They are fast...
And one thing that came to me, this could be one of my last events as a international student in Japan. Ironic that it was with the Rotary Club... because my first dance presentation (when I used to practice ballroom dance back in Brazil) was also at the local Rotary Club.
Still, even after two years in Japan, there was one that got my attention. It was a "experience festival" (literal translation) from the local Rotary Club: 「留学生のための体験フェスティバル」 on October 24th.
The main reason was because the girls could dress the jyuunihitoe (十二単), a traditional clothing that was worn by the court-ladies during the Heian Period. As the name suggests, it is composed of twelve layers of silk kimono, being extremely elegant and complex to wear (not to mention heavy. In some cases up to 20kg!). Nowadays it is mostly used by the Imperial family in special occasions and in few weddings. It is expensive, and, in part for that reason, almost unseen outside of museums.
The boys would wear an equivalent traditional clothing for court nobles from the Heian Period. I forgot the right name, and searching on the net I found names like sokutai and kariginu, but although they look like, they're not the same.
There was a buddhist monk outfit as well...
And, of course, there were other events. One of them was the game based on Hyakunin Isshu (百人一首), the Uta garuta (歌ガルタ). It is one of the traditional card games in Japan, still played often during the New Year. Each card has a part of poetry, and the objective is to pick the sequence of the waka that is being read. For people who want to know further, I reccomend looking for sites like this one. I am not very familiar with the rules myself to try to explain them here.
At the end, while being treated to dinner (a very good one), we watched on TV the local news reporting the event. They are fast...
And one thing that came to me, this could be one of my last events as a international student in Japan. Ironic that it was with the Rotary Club... because my first dance presentation (when I used to practice ballroom dance back in Brazil) was also at the local Rotary Club.
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