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Broadcasting to an audience of three (and a goldfish)...
Comment, ramblings and musings... life through the eyes of a Japanologist...
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Tuesday, December 31, 2002 |
About twenty to midnight, Wendy and I set out for Kyoho-ji, the Buddhist temple near my office, to ring joya-no-kane, the peal of bells that mark the beginning of the New Year. This temple allows lay people to ring one of the 108 peals; indeed, they actually did three lots of 108 peals, so that everyone had a chance.
But why 108 peals?- you might ask. Well, Buddhism teaches that people have 108 earthly desires or passions that cause human suffering, so the joya-no-kane, are rung 108 times; with each toll of the bell, one desire is dispelled. The peals (actually, 'tolls' is probably a better word), which begin on New Year's Eve and continue into New Year's Day, announce the passing of the old year and the coming of the new.
Anyway, as we walked into the centre of town, the roads were empty, it was almost silent, and the air was very still and clear. In some way, it felt like something should happen at this time, even if this 'something' was just the change of a digit on the calendar. In fact, we almost missed midnight completely; I glanced at my watch outside the Naval Base, and it was just before twelve; the next time I looked, it was 2003.
At the temple, there were perhaps about fifty people lining up to ring the bell; I was half-way or so through the second group of 108 rings. 'Ringing' a temple bell isn't like ringing a church bell; there is a large piece of wood (reminiscent of a battering ram) hanging from the roof, which is swing with a rope to hit the side of the bell, also suspended from the roof. Each person had to climb up to the bell 'tower' (more like a bus shelter, but let's ignore that), swing the 'battering ram', and climb down, before the next person's turn, so the whole process was fairly slow. In any case, though, the joya-no-kane are supposed to be slow and solemn, so this wasn't a problem. There were some elementary school children in the line, but I was disappointed to see that they were all children who'd come to relatives in the town with their parents for New Year; there were none of 'my' children. I did know most of the people around, though, so was able to wish quite a few people a Happy New Year.
After we'd rung the bell, we walked back to Hachiman-Jinja, the Shinto shrine. In contrast to the solemnity of the temple, the shrine was bright and lively, although neither of us were in any fit state to appreciate this after the climb up the long, steep steps to the shrine! At New Year, people buy hamaya (arrows for good luck), and then at the end of the year return them to the shrine for disposal, so there was a steady stream of people buying, and getting rid of, arrows. There were also plenty of acquaintances at the shrine, too, so I chatted to a few people, wandered into the shrine (in which there was almost a festival atmosphere), and then Wendy and I negotiated the stone steps back down to the road, and headed home.
The Japanese omisoka (New Year's Eve) is very different to the celebrations in the west; if anything, it's more a time of quiet reflection than of boisterous partying. However, I think I prefer this way; I enjoy walking through the stillness of the night to the shrine and the temple, meeting local people I know, and seeing in the New Year in a more reflective way than is possible normally in the west.
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Wendy and I held our 'party' in my house, and ate while watching 'Kohaku-uta-gassen' ('Red-White Song Fight), an NHK institution on New Year's Eve. This is a television programme that features a red team and a white team, whose members (all famous entertainers) sing (but don't fight), while judges award points to come up with a final winning team. This programme has been a feature of New Year's Eve for more than 50 years now, which makes me wonder whether it wasn't originally a radio programme. Anyway, it has a certain enjoyable quality, and the evening passed quickly enough. The declaration of the winner came just as we were planning to leave for the temple; whether red or white won, though, I'm afraid didn't register...
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Another entry from the sake book. Alcohol and Health: E
Enjoy: Enjoy good beer, and feel like a king.
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Another New Year decoration is the shimekazari. Shimekazari are generally hung on doors during New Year and serve as a charm against evil spirits. The sacred Shinto rope indicates a purified place for receiving deities. Shimekazari are made by attaching good luck charms like bitter oranges, ferns and lobster to the sacred Shinto rope. The good luck charms each have their own significance. For example, the bitter oranges indicate the prosperity of one's descendants.
Anyway, I bought myself a shimekazari when I went to Izumi. My door, though, has no convenient place to hang things, and in any case it wouldn't be seen by anyone, so I decided to hang it inside my house instead; this way at least I get to see it.
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A traditional decoration at New Year in Japan is kagami mochi. It's two rounds of mochi, a smaller one stacked on top of a larger one, on a stand. This is placed in a household Shinto altar or tokonoma, as an offering to the deities that visit over New Year. The kagami mochi is removed on January 11 and broken into smaller pieces before being eaten.
Anyway, I decided to make a contemporary version of this. It's kagami camembert, complete with ornamental tomato (no stand, though, unfortunately):
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I got a nengajo last time from a friend who'd taken a picture of the last sunset of 2001, and the first sunrise of 2002, and printed them on his card. Well, I thought I'd do the same this year, but on the Breakfast Show. So, here is the final sunset of 2002, taken from the bus on the way to Izumi. Twenty seconds after I took this, the sun disappeared behind the mountains; it was a good job I didn't wait to take the photograph until getting off the bus.
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In the afternoon, Wendy and I went to Izumi to buy food for our (two-person) 'party' this evening. We'd originally talked about doing nabe, but baulked at the preparation and the clearing up afterwards. There are normally pre-prepared nabe 'kits' at Izumi, but today they either weren't selling them, or they'd all been bought, so we looked for something different.
We found this 'something different' in a huge platter of meats, vegetables and little 'hors-d'oeuvre' delicacies, perfect for a no-preparation party. It cost 5000 yen, but we bought it, along with crisps, soba for midnight, chawan-mushi, and a platter of sandwiches. Getting it back on the bus was a little awkward, but hey- at least we didn't have to cut cabbage for a nabe...
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There is a tradition of cleaning before the New Year. That's fair enough- but I have never seen anyone cleaning out the inside of a clothes shop with a hosepipe. Not before today, anyway...
Nothing surprises me anymore.
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Having bought a new ink cartridge for my printer yesterday, I finally finished the nengajo- what a feeling of relief! I think it's probably akin to what runners feel when they finish a marathon, or something like that. It really has felt like a long, hard, slog.
I went to the Post Office to post the final cards, and on my way back I saw the deputy head of the Planning Section of the Town Office outside his house, obviously waiting for me. He told me to wait, and came out with a huge bag of mikan for me! How kind of him!
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The final day of the year. It's a cliche, I suppose, but it really does feel like 2002 has passed in a flash. There have been some good times, some disappointments, some fun, and some unpleasant times. I've missed people who've left, and I've made new friends. In other words, it's been a year much like any other. And in the end, I finish the year as I started it: here in Etajima, enjoying life in Japan, enjoying my Japanese. As such, I can, and I do, look forward to 2003 with optimism.
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© Copyright 2003 Nathan Duckworth.
Updated: 20/1/03; 4:38:12 pm.
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