US Performance Tour Nashville pt 2

We stayed at the Skerrit-Bennet Center in Nashville. It was formerly a university, in fact the first in the country to admit African-American women as students. I am not sure whether the university moved or closed, but anyway, the campus is now a good place for travelers on a budget. The entire campus is done in a fairly economical version of neo-gothic. The guest rooms are the dormitory rooms--a bit dingy, and most of them share a bath with one other room, causing lots of problems when the opposite party forgets to unlock the bathroom door. But certainly cheap, and free wi-fi in the central (used to be the library) building. It is adjacent to Vanderbilt U., and there are some restaurants (including the sushi place) and a CVS drug store that was also very convenient. There is also an old wooden building that was the first Methodist meeting house west of the Appalachians, the Strother Meeting House. The building has been moved around and used for various non-churchly purposes; now it is retired from active duty, and preserved as part of the campus.

In addition to Celebrate Nashville, we also performed at a few colleges/universities: Columbia College, Western Kentucky and Belmont. We got great support from Mrs. Grimes, a Japanese-born long-time resident of the area. She did a drop-in dance performance at Columbia, where she has been a Japanese language teacher. We had to use big vans to carry the ten of us to Columbia and Western Kentucky. However, Belmont is in town, not far from Skerrit-Bennet, so the vice-consul (I think that is what she is, but not sure) made two trips using her own car to take us over there. The last pic shows her with her Japanese-speaking staff member, Jennifer, and Ms. Grimes, as well as the dancers and musicians.

US Performance Tour

My drum teacher asked me to join in a tour to perform in two US cities, Nashville (Tenn.) and New Orleans (La.). Our first gig was the 'Celebrate Nashville' festival on an outdoor stage at Centennial Park, near the famous Parthenon. However, getting there proved to be quite a challenge. Continental Airlines took four hours to fix a toilet problem before the plane could leave Tokyo. We arrived late in Houston, and could not get on any connecting flights to Nashville, so we had to spend the night in Houston. Fortunately, we found one agent who was able to get us on a flight early enough to make our gig. Still, it was touch-and-go. It was our roughest performance, but the atmosphere was far from formal, so it didn't matter too much. The stage had a rather exuberant hand-painted backdrop. The other acts on the program included a lot of zydeco, bluegrass and the like. After our performance, lots of photographers showed up to photograph our fantastic dancers in the park's lush greenery.

For many Japanese, American food is a bit of a problem--too rich, too greasy, too much. Fortunately, my teacher and I were introduced to a great, inexpensive sushi place in Nashville. Later, we were able to tour around a bit to see some of the music scene. We went to a fairly small and simple place called the Station Inn--it was cozy and much more my style compared to some more famous places that seemed over the top to me.

New Year Celebration I

(I have posted three entries in reverse order, hoping it will be easy to read them starting with no. I. If you see no. III first, please read them in reverse order.)

I had some very satisfying experiences during this holiday season. On New Year's eve, I went to the temple Enyuji for the 108 bell strikes. It is pretty common for temples to ring their bells 108 times on the last night of the year (it is called Joya no Kane in Japanese), but they have various ways of carrying it out. At Enyuji, they hand out 108 tickets to the first 108 individuals or groups (up to four people with one ticket). I put on my kimono (Oshima tsumugi) and hakama and headed over to the temple a bit before 10:00 PM, since the tickets would be handed out starting at 10:30. I splurged on a taxi to get there (walking would be nearly 30 minutes) and when I got there, the line was already pretty long. Of course, there was no way to tell how many groups--there were lots of families there, with kids running around and so on. But after waiting 20 minutes or so the line started moving quickly and I got my ticket.

It was fairly chilly--in the low 40s or high 30s F. So, I put lots of heat packs (those sand-filled things that heat up through slow oxidation) on my legs and back. I wore very thick underwear--top and bottom--giving a very filled-out look to my kimono. I also wore a thick woolen coat, called 'manto' a word borrowed from French. Because it doesn't have sleeves, it works well with a kimono. In place of sleeves, there is a kind of cape-thing over the shoulders. It buttons up snugly to the neck, and the material is like melton, so it is pretty warm. But it is easy to get cold just standing around. The bell ringing was supposed to start at 11:30 so I had some more time to kill. I just walked around the temple grounds and took lots of pictures. The temple buildings were still closed, and they are not heated anyway. Finally, the priest, Oka-san, came out and did the first ring. He remained standing in the bell tower the whole time, and he was just wearing his normal priest outfit with no overcoat of any kind. Maybe he was using heat packs too. There were at least three assistants for the bell ringing--probably lay volunteers. One guy took the ticket, and he was also available to take a picture for those who brought cameras. Another guy did miscellaneous work like checking the bell after each ring. Another assistant was holding the back of the log-like ringer, adding power and control for those that needed it. I took a few pix of people ringing, and then I got in line. When it was my turn, one of the assistants held my coat and another one took my picture. The standard way to ring the bell is to pull the ringer back once lightly, then back a bit more strongly on the second swing. On the third swing, pull back hard and BONNGGG! Every person then received a gift from the temple. This year and last year, the gift was a set of large, colorful chopsticks for cooking or serving. I have gotten chopsticks from other temples at New Year's, so maybe there is some tradition about this.

After my ring, I heard the 12:00 bells pealing from a nearby Catholic church. They just did one riff right at midnight. The temple bell gonged about once every minute or two, so it took probably an hour and a half or two hours. I didn't stick around long after I finished, but I decided to walk home. I went past the Catholic (Salesian, actually) church, which was having midnight mass that night. Also, that church is famous as the location of the wedding of Seiko Matsuda, a very famous pop singer.

About halfway home, I passed through Himonya Park, which has a big pond in the middle. I remembered that there is a shrine of the goddess Benzaiten (often shortened to Benten) on an island in the middle of the pond. Her shrines are often on islands (or hills). She is the goddess of performing arts--she is often portrayed playing the biwa. I crossed the arched bridge to the tiny island, then tossed a coin in the box, rattled the shaker/bell, clapped and bowed. Then, someone gave me an ofuda, a small sacred board. It had the name of the shrine, nothing that it was a branch of the famous Itsukushima shrine in Hiroshima. Someone had prepared cups of amazake, a sweet hot drink made from sake lees. A few people were standing around a small fire in a can. As I sipped my warming drink, I could still hear the bell of Enyuji.

New Year Celebration II

On January 1, I was invited to a small party starting at 3:00. Most people in Japan don't mind starting their drinking early in the day, if it is a special occasion. I went to the Asakusa area early, so see if I could also pray at the famous temple of Kannon, Sensoji. Last year, I waited in line about two hours, shuffling slowly down the wide path to the temple. I didn't have that much time, so I tried an alternative. First of all, it was very hard to get around, because it was so crowded. The main streets were blocked to cars--very nice. However, for the main path to the temple, the police blocked off the cross streets and just allowed people to cross at intervals, like a traffic signal. This was to prevent people from jumping the line. But it resulted in some delays and crowding. I couldn't believe that in the midst of all these people, most of whom were visiting the temple, some Christian group had set up big loudspeakers with audio of stuff from the Bible and like that. I saw the same group in front of Shibuya station earlier. I thought it was fine there, especially around Christmas, maybe they could attract some interest. But I felt a bit annoyed that they were adding a dissonant note to the scene at a large and famous Buddhist temple. Anyway. Whatever.

My tactic was to skirt around the far side of the temple, aiming for an area to the left of the main hall. This area was recently rebuilt, with some new temples, and some very old ones restored. The Yogodo has maybe eight Buddhas, with each one corresponding to one (or two) of the years of the Chinese zodiac. I was born in the year of the tiger, so my Buddha is Bodhisattva Koukuuzou. On my way to the Yogodo, I went through a street of down-home pubs, most with open fronts, making it fun to look inside. Many people were already celebrating with sake. Some shops had a barrel of sake right on the street, selling individual cups to passersby. I resisted. I also passed through some retro shopping streets, and two old-fashioned theaters where a kind of traditional vaudeville is performed. I could hear the amplified music playing inside the famous Mokubakan theater. There is also a small retro amusement park in the area, which added screams of roller coaster riders to the sonic environment. When I got to the Yogodo, I was able to walk right in and offer a candle to Koukuuzou. Then, I retraced my steps to get to my friend's place. He is not a sake drinker, so we had beer, wine and awamori. His wife had home-made traditional New Year food, including mochi with soy sauce and nori. We spent nearly seven hours eating and drinking, also watching some videos. I got home a bit before midnight.

New Year Celebration III

On January 3, I went to the Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin, the Tokyo branch temple of Koyasan Shingon esoteric Buddhism. They have had ceremonies at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM for the past three days. So I dropped into the 2:00 ceremony today, to see the goma ceremony, when a fire is built in a special altar to invoke the power of Fudo Myo O, the unmoveable god of light, also known as Acala. The temple has a hard floor with chairs and a tatami area closer to the altar. As I was sitting in a chair waiting, a priest came out and invited everyone to move up to the tatami area. I thought maybe I could see better from there, so I moved.

Before the start of the ceremony, a very loud bell was rung as a signal. Then, a procession of four priest moved into the temple, with the first priest ringing a hand-held bell. Three of the priests were wearing the usual Shingon-style kesa, but one was wearing a brown robe that looked similar to robes that southeast Asian monks wear. The chief priest sat at a square altar right in front of the statue of Kukai Kobo Daishi. There was another square altar just behind that. The extra altar had a kind of canopy over it, and this is where the fire was built. I don't know if the canopy was a ritual necessity or maybe a way to control the smoke. Another priest hit a large drum and the fourth priest rang the large bell. Actually, several bells of various sizes were rung during the ceremony. After some invocational prayers, one priest took a microphone to encourage everyone to join in reciting the Heart Sutra. We recited it three times--I didn't know it was ever recited more than once. As the flames grew higher, one of the priests invited us to make incense offerings, noting that we might want to think of any special wishes or prayers while making the offering. Then, we started reciting the mantra of Fudo Myo O. That went on for a while, with the pace gradually speeding up until it was pretty frenzied, accompanied by the large drum. Then there was another mantra, one I couldn't identify, and another one that sounded like the mantra of Shakyamuni, but different from the one I know. All through this, the priests were passing ritual tablets through the flames and also adding more materials to the fire. Then, we were invited to join in the Gohogo, the invocation of Kobo Daishi. The ceremony ended after a few more prayers, and then the priests recessed, again led with a hand bell. Finally, they brought out the tablets that had been passed through the flames to present them to believers who had made special offerings.

There were three or four large casks of sake off to one side, with ladles and paper cups. I was hoping...but for some reason, they didn't offer me any! I don't know who got to drink that. But it certainly was a satisfying ceremony. I will see if I get my wish!

Trying longer meditation

I was a bit worried about the prospect of a two-hour session of sitting and walking meditation. I have gotten used to doing twenty or thirty minutes easily, and I sometimes do some chanting that could bring it up to an hour or so. Actually, I am not that interested in timing my sessions, but still, a two-hour session was an unknown. Looking around the internets, I have seen stories about people who freaked out after suddenly jumping into intensive meditation sessions.

Fortunately, the situation at the once-monthly two-hour sessions at the temple Enyuji is very user-friendly--you can come in or go out freely during the session. The priest, Rev Oka, said that the time would pass 'before you know it' or in Japanese 'a to iu ma ni.' He was right. He didn't do any howa, and we chanted some very short prayers and the Heart Sutra. The 700-year-old Hall of Shakyamuni was dark except for candles on the altar. We were sitting in two concentric three-sided squares facing the center of the square space. For the walking, we would bow while sitting, then stand and bow again, then walk in a square the same as the sitting layout, holding one hand in a fist in front of the chest, and the other hand around it. The sitting meditation, as explained by Rev Oka, is basically sitting in half-lotus, on a zafu, with hands in the traditional Buddhist meditation mudra, with eyes half-closed.

Also, Rev Oka recommends a counting system--one to ten, and just start over if you get distracted. So we settled in for four cycles, each with 25 minutes of meditation and five minutes of walking. The first sitting cycle was okay, my mind not too out-of-control. Standing up afterwards was a bit tricky. I was using a blanket, so I had to hustle to get my blanket out of the way where people wouldn't step on it. After sitting, just navigating as I walked was a bit tricky in the darkened temple. Also, the tatami mats have lots of dips and waves, so it required close attention. Also, there are some wooden frames that are part of the structure of the temple. You are not supposed to step on these, in traditional Japanese etiquette. So that was another factor to track. Also, I was in the outer ring so we passed between the altar and the sutra table. The first time around, I banged my leg into the sutra table. So that was another thing to pay attention to. However, the five minutes were over very quickly. In the second sitting, my leg fell asleep seriously. I couldn't get up and I thought I would let need to let some people behind me go past, but I recovered quickly enough to jump into my original place in line without too much delay. The last two sitting sessions were not difficult--maybe even a bit blissy. I began to get used to the tricky walking as well. I cheated a bit, starting to move my legs around a bit during the little delay as everyone prepares to transition from sitting to standing. After the fourth sitting, we did some small-scale stretching exercises and left the temple without further ado.

We were invited to the rest pavilion in the garden for tea and snacks. For once, there were some questions! Plus lots of pure social gab, but very mellow and pleasant. I think people are in a special frame of mind after meditation. That mood continued for me as I walked back home--20 or 25 minutes. So I will definitely go again. I think it is better than the shorter session, which has a short howa sermon, a bit longer prayer ceremony (also with the Heart Sutra), just one sitting and no walking. These sessions are just once a month, and there will not be any sessions during December--probably because December is the busiest month for everyone due to year-end obligations. But I feel very encouraged about this experience. (The pic above is the Hall of Shakyamuni at the temple Enyuji.)

The Athens of the persimmon belt

Do you like persimmons?

Have you ever eaten one? I had not even seen one, I think, before I came to Japan in 1978. They are really popular here. Growing up in the US, my father used to refer to his birthplace, Wheatland, Indiana, as 'the Athens of the persimmon belt.' I thought this was just a sarcastic reference to a small town that didn't have much to brag about. It turns out, the real persimmon capital of Indiana is Mitchell, which is maybe not far from Wheatland. Maybe they had a lot of persimmon trees in Wheatland. But still, I never knew anyone who had eaten a persimmon (unless my father used to eat them in Indiana).

Wikipedia tells us that there are many varieties of persimmon around the world. Some of the Asian varieties have 'kaki' (the Japanese word for persimmon) in their Latin botanical name. China also has many persimmon varieties. The wild variety in Indiana seems to be pretty unique in the persimmon world.

But what is all the fuss? My Japanese friends frequently cut up a persimmon to offer to a guest, but I was never impressed by the taste. I would challenge them, saying, 'Persimmons have no fragrance. There is no persimmon soda pop or persimmon-flavored candy.' I thought this would be persuasive, since most Japanese appreciate the aromas of foods as much as the taste. But my arguments did not work.

Many people have persimmon trees in their gardens. They are valued for their decorative value as well as the fruit. It seems that even within the same variety of tree, there are some trees that produce bitter persimmons, and others that produce sweet ones. Indeed, some persimmons have such high tannin levels that they are inedible (without processing to reduce tannins and increase sugars, like soaking the fruit in alcohol). But the color is very attractive, adding a bright accent to autumnal landscapes. Lately, some of my friends have had big harvests from their trees, big enough that they are ignoring my protests and gifting me with large amounts of fruit. (I think there is a similar situation with zucchini or tomatoes among US home gardeners.) So now I have a large haul. One popular tactic is to peel them, tie them on string and allow them to air-dry hanging from the eaves. I think a large part of the overall crop is eaten this way. But I am not going to go to that much trouble. I will just eat as many of them as I can while they last. One good point about persimmons is that they are considered delicious even when they have become soft enough to eat with a spoon. So, in that sense, they will last a long time. I wonder if I will end up liking them.