Shogatsu

January 11, 2008

Happy New Year!

I still get to say Happy New Year, because in Japan the holiday goes on until the 15th, although the festivities aren’t exactly non-stop. And we certainly don’t get any free vacation days past the 3rd of January. Still, Happy New Year everyone, or as we say in Japan, Shinnen Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu. Yeah, the English version is shorter.

And now onto business.

Shogatsu is the Japanese name for New Year, but check the phrase, you’ll notice the term doesn’t come up. That’s because Shogatsu refers to specifically the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of January. Yeah, it’s kind of confusing, but look at it this way: Shogatsu refers to the days I actually got off. Because, rest assured, I had to get up bright and early on January 4th (a Friday) and go to the office, even though I had nothing to do once I got there.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll begin with New Year’s Eve.

All I know about traditional Japanese New Year’s Eve is that you’re supposed to eat long soba, or buckwheat noodles, for long life. Of course, they know how we celebrate New Year’s in America and call it a “countdown party.” But I, for my part, celebrated in neither the Western nor Japanese way. In fact, I’m loath to say I celebrated. I watched Letters from Iwo Jima. When the movie ended, it was 12:30. The moment was over and I was too depressed from the movie to even open the bottle of Martinelli’s apple cider I had bought from Kagoshima City the day before. So I said “Happy New Year” to myself and went to bed.

Nor was January 1, 2008 very interesting. I studied Japanese and wrote my story. Around mid-afternoon, I got cabin fever, so, despite it being rainy and cold, I took a long walk around the city. My thinly veiled excuse was to see which stores were open and which were closed. As it turned out, only convenient stores and drug stores seemed to be open. I think the gas stations may have been opened as well, and the buses were running. But most every store, restaurant, and café seemed to be closed. Once I passed a bank, and the automatic doors were moving open and shut without reason. (I wasn’t the reason; I was on the other side of the street.) I bought a can of some steaming red bean milk from one of the vending machines. And that was the most exciting thing that happened to me.

January 2nd was my birthday. I really didn’t have any plans for celebrating, having spent all my good ideas on Christmas Eve. In the morning, I spoke to my family, and that was nice. But around mid-afternoon, which is really a dull time, I began to feel very lonely. I wanted someone to acknowledge my birthday, someone to celebrate with. I went to a coffee shop, but that didn’t help much, though the atmosphere was warm and the people were friendly. I felt more acutely alone with people around.

Finally, on January 3rd, I got to do something.



I had been invited to go bird-watching by Shinkoda-sensei and Kubo-sensei (both older women from Kushira Shogyou) and I accepted. So, early that Thursday morning, I dressed myself warmly in layers and, at the last moment, brought my bottle of Martinelli’s so that I’d have something to contribute. (And something exotic at that.) They picked me up near my office and we drove to Lake Oosumi, near the KAPIC Center (where I made gingerbread houses).

There was a large crowd of birdwatchers and they had set up a picnic area by the lake. A few dogs were roaming around. Later we’d have nabe, but for now we strolled around the lake, bundled warm in our coats, and looked for birds. Winter might seem an odd time for bird-watching, but we were as far south as you can get in Japan without crossing major chunks of ocean and all the birds had migrated to us. So really it made perfect sense.

I walked with Shinkoda-sensei. She told me the names of birds we saw and I checked this against my Japanese-English dictionary. Sagi. Heron. Kamo. Duck. There was also a little bird with a yellow breast called a kisekirei. And the same bird with a white chest called hakusekirei.



After watching birds, we all sat down for lunch. We had nabe, which just means pot in Japan, usually referring to a clay pot filled with soup, vegetables, meat, and whatever else you wished to throw in. They had heated a big pot of this under an open fire. Kubo-sensei and Shinkoda-sensei brought out onigiri (riceballs) and apples and various goodies. I was glad I brought my novelty cider. We toasted my birthday and drank down the cider.

Later, we went to KAPIC, where they had an Asian Cultural museum. I had been there before, but I played with the musical instruments, with the costumes, with the poles for a bamboo dance (reminiscent of a game of jump rope). And after that, Shinkoda-sensei showed me to Tasaki Shrine, where she instructed me to ring a bell and throw a coin for good luck. She was also proud of the 900 year old tree the shrine boasted. Then she bought me cotton candy from a vendor at the shrine.