On Thursday night, my friend Ayako invited me to her family's celebration of Obon. I thought it was just her family and parents, but her sister and cousins and their kids came from out of town. It felt much like an American family reunion - lots of kids running around, the women in the kitchen preparing for the barbeque later. But then we went to the cemetary to pray at the ancestors' grave. And back in the house, next to the Buddhist altar, there were large framed photos of their ancestors and wrapped gifts for them.
My friend's daughter and niece, rinsing their mouths before entering the cemetary.
After the cemetary, Ayako took me to the nearby temple where she learned tea ceremony as a girl. The priest's wife made tea for us and then took us on a tour of the temple buildings.
Then we went back for the barbeque which didn't include hamburgers or chicken. There were hot dogs on sticks for the kids and corn on the cob but also squid, many kinds of shrimp, beef, cabbage, onions, tofu - all grilled. We just took the pieces we wanted and dipped them into our bowl of sauce.
After dinner, we headed to the local park for the kids to light off fireworks (which, by the way, can be bought at any store).
(But let me back up a bit, to a party we had at Shirasagi about a month ago. We invited our boss and his family. In the parking lot, we lit some sparklers and other fireworks and our boss' two kids got in on the action. But later, his wife was overheard telling him that Americans were very lively with fireworks. We laughed that off, but now I know exactly what she meant. Back to Obon...)
At the park, the kids (all between the ages of 3 and 7) all sat down nicely on the curb. One of the dads went down the line passing out sparklers and then came back down the line to light them. The kids stayed seated and held their sparklers absolutely still, just watching them!!! If you don't believe me, see the photos!!
After their sparklers went out, they put them in a big bucket of water and sat back down to wait for another! Amazing! I told Ayako about what my boss' wife had said about Americans and sparklers. Ayako's response: "Japan is safety". Indeed. But for all this safety, they don't buckle their kids up in the car! In fact they often don't use car seats. It's not uncommon to see someone sitting in the front seat holding a baby in her lap. Anyway, I digress.
THIS will be my last posting from Japan, as I leave in just a few hours. I am awaiting reverse culture shock, which I expect to be severe as I drive on the wrong side of the road, am unerringly polite to everyone, speak very slowly and clearly, and leave my wallet on a table at a restaurant to reserve a table. And gain a lot of weight eating everything I haven't had this year!!
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