Minyo and Shamisen

We attended a wonderful cultural event with some of our English speaking friends yesterday in Yuni Hokkaido.  There are only a couple of trains a day to and from this tiny town so we had to be careful about the time.

 

The event was held in a community center and except for the seven of us the audience was mostly older Japanese people.

 

I don’t know if the event as a whole had a name, but I do know that the singing is called Minyo and the stringed instrument, Shamisen. Minyo is the traditional Japanese folk songs, with each area of Japan having its own distinct style. The shamisen is a three stringed Japanese instrument. The Japanese bamboo flute instrument is called a shakuhachi and there were also drums, but I don’t know what name they have.

 

The performers were all ages. It was announced that one of the men singing is 91 years old.  The singers seem to have been the stars because after each performance, flowers and gifts were brought up to the stage for the singers. There was one dancer with a parasol who was a special guest performer from Tokyo.

 

It was a very interesting day and I’m very happy we were able to attend this event.

The Japanese Language Teachers

I’ve written before about the Japanese language class I take once a week. I really enjoy the class, my classmates, and all of the teachers.  The volunteer teachers are part of the Hokkaido International Women’s Association and are all such patient and generous women. (The teachers probably wish I would stitch less and study more, but they never say so.)

Frequently, I am the recipient of omiage and other Japanese food treats.

 

This week, one of the teachers gave me this Japanese persimmon (kaki). I had never seen these in the US, but they are very popular in the fall here.

One of the Japanese language teachers brought me these beautiful fall flowers last week and they are still looking fresh. We don't have an appropriate vase, so a tin will have to do.  We have them in the middle of our home and are enjoying them immensely.

Another of the teachers invited me to her square dance group.  I attended once in September and again yesterday.  Most people in the US are exposed to square dancing in school physical education classes or at summer camp or scouts, as I was. I always enjoyed square dancing but it was a long time ago that I last danced.  After the first time I attended the Sapporo Hearts dance group, I was sure they wouldn't want me back because I was so bad, but they did invite me back again. The teacher who invited me even wrote down the train schedule for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the dancing and the dancers.

I am thankful every day for the opportunity to be here and for the kindness of the people I meet here.

Japanese Family Names

I read an interesting article about Japanese last names (which come first in Japanese).  There are an estimated 100,000 family names in Japan, more than in many Western countries, but the common names are very common, which means many people have exactly the same name. In the US, most people have middle names, in addition to a first name and a family name, but not so in Japan. 

The ten most common Japanese family names and the number of people in Japan with those names are:

1.    Sato, 1,928,000

2.    Suzuki, 1,707,000

3.    Takahashi, 1,416,000

4.    Tanaka, 1,336,000

5.    Watanabe, 1,134,000

6.    Ito, 1,080,000

7.    Yamamoto, 1,077,000

8.    Nakamura, 1,059,000

9.    Kobayashi, 1,019,000

10.Saito, 980,000

 

Ted and I both have last names that are very common among names in the United States, so we understand about have a name which is the same as others.

I love my birthday! No, my birthday isn't here yet, but it is coming.  Margaret sent me a package of gifts to be opened one a week. I'm going to try to be good and open them on schedule.  This giant chocolate bar wasn't wrapped up, so Ted and I decided it could be eaten ahead of time. (In case you are wondering, yes, I share with him.)

 

Someone's Knocking at the Door

Nearly every day, someone is at my door when Ted is at work.  I’d say the majority of the people at the door are either trying to sell me the newspaper or they are religious people wanting to give me information in Japanese.  I have no idea why they think I can read Japanese.  Sometimes they bow and leave after hearing me try to speak to them. Other times, they will not let me close the door.  I know, I know, I shouldn’t open the door in the first place, but I do.  One young woman with bad teeth and false eyelashes was determined to tell me all of the presents available to me for subscribing to the local shinbun (newspaper) for different lengths of time. She was tiny, but the bag of presents that she was ready to give me was wedged in the door so that it would not close.  I kept telling her I could not read, but that obviously wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Maybe she gets paid by the number of times she can complete her speech.

I've heard that snow is predicted for early next week. Maybe that prediction will be wrong.  Just in case, I'm trying to enjoy the fall color before everything turns white.

TAST 87 and 88 - Two Versions of the Buttonhole Picot Stitch

Version one uses a bullion to form the picot.

 

Version two uses a chain to form the picot.

 

Here they are together, both using #5 perle.  Neither one of mine is very pleasing to look at.  I need to practice more.

 

You can join in to learn and practice new stitches – check out Take a Stitch Tuesday at Sharon B’s Pintangle blog.

Of Course It Needs Beads

I made some horizontal strings of yellow beads on the tree between the red buttons. It looked too bland and orderly.

 

Next, I added some diagonal strings of a mixture of different blue beads. I didn’t want it to look too orderly so I didn’t connect all of the diagonals.

I have some fabric picked out for the binding and the sleeve on the back. Maybe I’ll have more to show in a few days.

Monday Morning Star Count - 181

This week I have nine new flowers to show, for a total of 181.  Each of the 181 flowers is made up of seven hexagons, so I’ve made 1267 hexagons so far!

 

My friend Alicia is giving the epp hexagons a try now. She stitched seven hexagons to make one flower and appliqued it to a bag.

 

Twelve Little Presents

I stitched each of the twelve little presents along one of four sides underneath the flat tree.

 

A tiny snap holds each one closed. When opened you see the Twelve Days of Christmas! This is a well-known and often sung Christmas song in the United States. (On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….). When I put on the bows and attached the present to the background, I made sure that the picture would be face up when the present was open.

 

I’ve also attached the star to the top of the tree. This is such a fun project.

Festival from America

Ted and his outdoor life students held the university’s first ever Halloween Festival. Some art students and a few English speaking friends from the community were also invited.  Being from the US, we just take Halloween for granted – we grew up begging for candy door to door (also known as trick or treating) and understand costumes and scary stuff like ghosts and witches, but this was new for most of the students.

The students were so excited! Everyone brought food to share and almost everyone wore costumes. Most of the students came up with great costumes – I didn’t even know who some of them were under make up and masks until they told me.  Ted wore a bear head with a ski race bib over black clothes and was a tsuki no waguma, which is a Japanese bear (kind of a play on words – tsuki for ski). I wore an Indian sari (with several big safety pins because I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t come undone and fall off.) My so called costume wasn’t so good, but it was easy.

Ted worked really hard and it was a grand success.  The students are already making plans for next year and want it to be a party for the whole university.

 

 

November Calendar

 

 

I’ve done a little more with the flat Christmas tree.  I stitched the yo-yo’s down with red buttons.

I’ve also made 12 presents and have them pinned in place. I can hardly wait to show you what is inside them.  Can you guess?