okuyama sensei(s)

These are some of my neighbors...the Okuyama's. Both are 6 grade teachers @ Kadanohama and Jonai Shogakkos. They have the most adorable children, Akari and the little guy is Tayo. They invited me over for a Hina Matsuri celebration (Girl's Festival in Japan). Quick lesson on this festival, parents honor their daughters and pray for blessings in good health, fortune and beauty. They set up a stand with a multi-tiered platform to put the fancy dolls on. They leave gifts and treats on this "altar" for the dolls and pray that the evil spirits stay away from their precious children. Traditional meals for the festival include saki made from rice, mochi, sashimi and clam soup. The picture below is a special mochi dessert, mochi being mushed rice, wrapped in a fig leaf. Tasty, kinda earthy...

fortunately the Okuyama's are thougthful, as they had already prepared a foreigner-friendly meal. THANK YOU! It was delicious!

Learning about the Hina Matsuri. Here is a model of a typical Matsuri stand, usually found in the "best" room of one's home. The dolls are figurines of the Royal Imperial Family (this tradition began some 400 yeas ago...) A 15-member set is usually set up on a 7-tier platform for a few weeks. The male and female dolls are placed close together so as to ensure love in the future.

After that lesson, being the typical teachers that they are...they decided to work on my Japanese. Out came the hiragana books of their children--several Eric Carle books to. I've got the easy hiragana/katakana down, but the kanji is ridiculous. The books I used tonite are aimed at 3 year olds though (no joke) which is a humbling reminder that my Japanese sucks. so in closing, and in a positive lite--

I had a great time with you! Next time, please come to my home! Thanks for the lessons! Ganbarimasu! Oyasumi nasai!