Stuff I Said

Ainu #6

Ye gods, it’s been a while since I posted. Thankfully I managed to sneak one in just before my delay-in-posts time reached one month.

A lot has happened in the past almost-a-month. First, I was visited by not one but two parents. Thanks to a couple of very generous Japanese friends and my parents’ two-week commitment to being “intrepid,” Mom and Dad were treated to a close-up look at a grab bag of things Japanese. There was the mandatory trip to Tokyo, but also the austere tranquility of the tea ceremony, among other things. I took some pictures. Thanks for coming out, Mom & Dad. I had a great time.

Something I’ve been hearing whispers about from my students since I arrived last September is the annual Hakodate Yagaigeki, or “open-air pageant” held in Goryokaku park. As I’ve mentioned previously, Hakodate is very proud of its history. As if an annual celebratory parade isn’t enough, every July the city commemorates its historical events yet again with a spectacle of fireworks, lasers, dancing and storytelling. The stage is innovatively designed—it’s built right into the fortress side of park with movable platforms extending out over the moat. The audience watches from grandstands across the moat, so the action takes place on the park’s fortress walls and hillsides, and in the moat itself. The coolest part, though, is that your average Hiroshi can show up backstage an hour before the show and get a part. I did this twice.

Since Hakodate’s history includes some significant contact with voyaging foreigners, and since I was the only foreigner to show up, you’d think I’d be given a part as a foreigner—maybe Perry, or at least a random American conscript. You’d be wrong though. First I appeared as an Ainu (native inhabitant of Japan), after which I changed into the garb of an Edo-era townsperson. I got the feeling that the roles of the foreigners were coveted and required some actual rehearsal—possibly even some flag-waving. The guy playing Perry (the same guy who played him in the parade!), for example, probably had his name on a waiting list for some time. I think he loves America. First, he showed up at call time wearing a hat with the stars and stripes on it. Then, upon catching a glimpse of me, he scurried over to shake my hand with a hearty “good morning!” (It was about 6:30 pm at the time.) After seeing this enthusiastic display, I really didn’t mind being a random J-dude. Go for it, big guy. Be Perry. You deserve it.

That’s the cool stuff lately. I’ll post again before I leave for Taiwan in August, after which my remaining time in Hakodate will have dwindled to a mere three weeks. Time does fly.

posted by Scott @ 7/18/2006