Japanese Schooling - Adelaide-Style

Now it will come as no surprise to anyone that has read my blog (or even the blurb about the blog) that my wife is Japanese, and we've spent much time going over to Japan... and that we've now got two children. Well, our son (L-kun) turned 5 recently, a momentous occasion, filled with many exciting things... not least changes to schooling. Indeed, one of the things that happened this year was that he started his formal Japanese schooling here in Adelaide.

Now in Japan, school terms begin in April, and that's exactly when the Adelaide Japanese School begins too (so L-kun's been there a whole term already). I'll write a little more about the Japanese schooling system here in a later post, as there's a lot to discuss... right now, I'll recap on L-kun's first day at Japanese School... 

The first thing to say is that Japanese definitely have a thing for ceremony - and for enjoying the occasion. For example, the child's first day at school is always a hugely momentous time, with much expectation and many tears of joy (and perhaps of sadness at their children growing up). The first day is also when they hold the Entrance Ceremony, or nyūgakushiki (入学式). It generally is attended by the parents - and grandparents even - with children dressing up (it's not uncommon for suits/dresses to be worn, or even kimono). In a way it's like a mini coming-of-age ceremony for kindy and first-graders... their having entered a new phase of life. A new beginning.

So nyūgakushiki is a time of some seriousness, as well as a time to celebrate a good time with children. Of course, Japanese also like speeches, and the children (and the parents) couldn't escape it now either. Though as you might guess, things were not quite as formal as they would be in a school in Japan.

Part of the ceremony in Japan is typically associated with the introduction of the children into the school, normally a big moment when the children are welcomed into the hall with the parents. Things weren't quite as dramatic here... but as L-kun was joining the kindergarten grade (which is for 4 and 5 year olds), all the new-starters were going to be called to the front for a special introduction. We had rehearsed this a bit beforehand... when they say your name, give a good strong hai!

We arrived at the school and found that the parents were seated separately from the children, who must have all been wondering what was going on. After the formal introduction, the children were called one-by-one to the front stage. We waited, as L-kun's name was read out and he replied with a nice loud hai, and stood up to walk to the front of the auditorium, a slightly nervous smile upon his face... Daddy was too busy trying to take photos AND video to notice what mummy was doing, but I'm sure she was getting emotional. It was a long ceremony, and I have to admit that L-kun's attention waxed and waned throughout, but he was in a good mood... after all, it's not always that easy to tell how your child will react to a new experience (especially school). And the good thing is that he's got friends there already... 

Now the first day saw the families invited into the join in with the student's first lesson. Nothing too stressful, although to be honest, my wife and I were more focussed on our then 2 month old baby, C-chan. L-kun found his seat with his friends and listened (or at least sat quietly). Remember, this is really the first "formal" school environment outside kindergarten that L-kun had experienced... so he did really well for the first day.

It was a strange feeling standing there... though the one thing you realise very quickly is that this IS a Japanese school. The school is based very strongly on the normal Japanese curriculum... though obviously there's concessions made for the fact that it's only one half day a week. Now whilst my wife speaks to our son in Japanese at home, he's still more comfortable in English, so we were kinda curious how things would go... but the first day is very much about learning the ropes. 

And the favourite part of the day? Well, of course there's always playing with friends in the playground. That's a universal highlight of any school experience at that age.

All up, L-kun's first day went amazingly well... and whilst the day lacked some of the pomp and ceremony that would have accompanied the occasion in Japan, my wife was very happy that L-kun could experience something of the special time in a Japanese school-life. A shared experience.

We have yet to decide how much Japanese schooling L-kun will have here in Adelaide... and much of that will be up to L-kun, and how he enjoys the experience.

So far, so good.

Temakizushi... Easy Japanese Deliciousness

Now... I have to admit that I'm struggling to get time to blog, so this is a little disjoint. However, as I'm the only one really reading the blog, I guess it doesn't matter too much. So let's get back to our post-Children's Day celebration. Our daughter, C-chan's first... but of course, she wasn't enjoying the food (except several hours later through the breast milk, if that counts).

In some parts there's also a tradition of eating mochi, or rice cake however, we don't have that tradition in our family. Whilst we didn't really have time this year (with our daughter C-chan still taking up most of our spare time), T-chan did put together a simple though delicious temakizushi (or hand-rolled sushi)... ably assisted by L-kun. Nothing exotic... but it's always a fun family meal.

Ingredients are simple... freshly cooked rice (I'll talk about recipes later...) cut nori or seaweed...

A selection of cold fillings... we went with Atlantic Salmon, cucumber and crab-sticks.

With a simple tuna filling... 

A beef filling...

And an ebi (prawn) filling...

Not to mention some natto... fermented soy beans. Sounds nice doesn't it (can anything fermented be bad)?....really? 

My wife tends however to also describe them as rotten beans.... and they are a Japanese institution (especially in Hokkaido). Me - well, I prefer my food NOT to be rotten. Even if it's described in warm glowing terms. IT'S STILL ROTTEN! And I have to say, not only are they oozy and gooey... but they also have a very strong flavour as well! A lot of people compare them to a Japanese version of the Australian savoury spread Vegemite (which people either love or hate). I'm not sure which side of that analogy should be more offended however...

Now this photo's not meant to show how extravagantly elegant the temakizushi is... it's not that sort of dish. Rather, it's just the sort of thing you whack together, dip in some soy sauce, and throw down the hatch.... and have a lot of fun doing it... 

And don't forget, whilst appearance is always an element in Japanese food, when you're family's home alone you can always be as messy as you want.

What it lacks in terms of sophistication, it more than makes up for in terms of deliciousness and ease. What's more, you eat the serving plate. What more could you ask for?... An empty rice dish.... 

And a satisfied grin....

And the great thing is that you can generally come up with ingredients for temakizushi from just about anything... including rotten beans!

Wherever you are, whatever family traditions you hold - it's always a joy having a nice family dinner together. And it's always nice to have a day to reflect on how lucky we all are with our children, which we often take so readily for granted.

And this was C-chan's first Children's Day... next year, she might be enjoying some good temakizushi with us!

Kodomo no Hi... Children's Day on 5th of May

The 5th of May is known in Japan as Kodomo no Hi, or simply put, Children's Day. It's actually one of the set of public holidays that makes up the Golden Week. Actually, you would think a day called Children's Day would be a pretty simple affair. Nothing is simple in Japan. The holiday is associated with a festival tango no sekku, which is a seasonal festival that celebrates the changing of seasons (from Spring to Summer)... it is also associated with the Boy's Festival (now that makes at least some sense).

One of the characteristics of the Boy's Festival is the flying of koinobori, or carp (koi) streamers (bori). Actually... you could also call them, wind-socks, but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. These used to be arranged by the number of boys in the family. Instead, in Japan you will often see these hung out on long poles or wires from the house (especially from balconies)... The carp are meant to represent the vitality of young boys, swimming up stream, ever threatening to turn in to a dragon....

The top "streamer" is the dragon, which signifies the ideal of the man the boy would turn into. It's then followed by a black, red, then blue carp streamer, which are meant to represent the father, the mother and the son respectively. More children = more colours of carp.

Atop the pole is typically found a very odd contraption, yaguruma, which consists of a number of spinning wheels made of arrows, and a strange "propellor" which both spin wildly around in the wind. I have no idea what symbolic meaning this has, other than to be quite flashy.

Now, I thought I'd just put together a few of the photos I've taken today... a bit of self-indulgence.

And this is quite a cheeky shot... from inside the koi! Now that's just not right!....

Another tradition is that of the kabuto... which is a particular type of samurai helmet that is in an ornamental form. This is normally part of a set that is set up each year for Children's (aka Boy's) Day.

The helmet design actually pre-dates the samurai, but is now very much a part of the samurai image. Boys were an important part of samurai households, continuing on the family name and customs. It was for this reason that the tradition evolved of displaying these martial images as a way of warding of bad luck.

The kabuto helmet consisted of the main "bowl" or hachi (in this case emblazoned with a rather vicious looking dragon and horns)...

And an intricately woven neck guard, or shikoro.

To the right stands the sword, or katana, a samurai's symbol of power.

To the left, the bow and arrows, or yumiya.

The dragon is a sign of strength in Japan... and when you're main aim is to intimidate your opponents, you may as well go all out with the bling.

 

 Now I have to admit these are gifts from doting grandparents in Japan... and I don't want to think about how much they cost... or even how expensive they were to send out to Australia (they are NOT light... no thanks to the rather solid - though beautifully hand painted - display case). 

 But they certainly do allow us to continue L-kun's connection with Japan... to keep hold of a very important part of his life. Something which is not always easy to do.

Melbourne Series - Sculpting City Life With Art

 Now the trip was actually a work trip, so that meant that I didn't have much time to do my own thing. My evenings however were mostly my own. Mostly. So I'd walk around the city to check things out. And there's a lot to check out indeed. These fellows are famous in Melbourne (on the corner of Swantson and Bourke Street Mall)... what are they doing? I don't know. But they're truly captivating little fellas.The sculpture is called "Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch", by Alison Weaver.

Street sculpture adds so much texture to a city - even if I'm sure they start to become invisible if you live there.  But even then I suspect it adds a lot at the subliminal level. And not that far - the other end of the Bourke Street Mall... a little bit of commercial street sculpture - though some might have thought this bad luck for the local traders. The purse being well and truly shut that is. Behind the Post Office... yet another grand old building from Melbourne's past. This sculpture is from Simon Perry and dates from 1994.

And it's not just sculpture - the city has had a wonderful development since it's founding in 1835 - yes, that's only one year before Adelaide was founded - but there's a huge difference in characters. The architecture has a good mix of European stylings, and the city has gone to lengths to make sure that the heritage is maintained, even as it has become a vibrant modern international city.

And here's yet another bit of Melbourne culture... Good ol Larry La Trobe... a wonderful bronze sculpture created by Pamela Irving in 1992.  A little known fact is that in 1995, the poor little fella went missing (thanks to some very enthusiastic supporters, with some major hardware). Actually - now keep this just between the two of us - the original statue was never found. And could indeed be sidling up to a lamp-post or hub cap near you. Larry's replacement is now a little more securely fastened.

Just down from Larry you'll find that rather grandly titled, Beyond the Ocean of Existence, by Loretta Quinn, sitting along side St Paul's Cathedral. The sculpture that has a fairy atop a rather dramatic bronze plinth is meant to be an all-things-to-all-peoples sculpture. Of course - if you're all things includes fairies. Which mine does (and no, not those sorts of fairies). It goes to show just how integrated Art is into the Melbourne landscape.

And this of course isn't a new thing - but back in the olden days (he says dropping his false teeth into a glass of water), statues were there to remind us of our glorious past, to inspire us to future greatness... or just to show that some of our most important founding fathers (to borrow an Americanism) were complete jerks. Take for example our viewpoint of Matthew Flinders - he nobly stood at the bow of his launch, whilst the poor schmucks had to to the hard work below. That was the times I suppose. We do however owe our modern coastline to Flinders - and if it wasn't for him, who knows what Australia would have looked like.

St Paul's Cathedral - by night and by day. This church was consecrated in 1891 - and sits on the site of the first Christian services in Melbourne. The gothic transitional style certainly makes for an impressive (though still subdued) feature on the famous Federation Square front, right next to Flinders Street Station. These old buildings cannot perhaps be described as 'public art' but they approach very close to it.

Flinders Street Station - it's one of the iconic locations around Melbourne's CBD. Both as an historic location, and also as the main commuter hub into the city. It's perfectly located on the edge of the city, alongside the Yarra River for an evening stroll. I understand that there's some future development due to take place here... fingers crossed they don't mess with it too much.

The one slightly disappointing thing was this evening was also the night of the Rugby World Cup - which New Zealand won on their home territory against the French (Australia came third). Even though the event was being held in New Zealand, there was a lot of interest here in Australia (of course). Following the match, there were large crowds of intoxicated youths walking the streets - and to be honest, it was a throwback to some of the less than civilised parts of Australia's drinking culture that was on display... That and it reminded me that the not-so-latent gang culture still very much exists here in Australia. As a result - Melbourne's over-worked Police force was very much on duty.

And from across the road, we see St Paul's with a new (construction) light... from Federation Square. One time site for the Occupy Melbourne movement (I suspect the world is taking a break from the whole occupy thing... and I wonder how we will view it in another 1-5 years... not that you will be reading this then).

Federation Square is very much a life-centre for Melbourne, and is the focus of many outdoor public activities. Not only do they have a lot of events here, you can also find the SBS studios (Australia's best multicultural tv station), and the National Gallery of Victoria to name a couple of things. It's also a really good place to just hang out - unless of course, you're looking for somewhere to occupy...

Interestingly, the Federation Square buildings themselves were given a rough time - being labelled as some of the ugliest buildings of all time. I for one, don't mind it's post-modernist cubist-come-camouflage look. It adds to the sense of energy to the city, and sets itself apart. 

Not far away is the Melbourne Arts Centre, with it's stylistic tower, adorned in night-sculptural lights...

It's a combination of rock and metal - lit up with light. Beautiful.

If you go for a walk off the road you'll find this wonderful sculpture - artist unknown, sorry - of a post modern tribe. Aboriginal or artistic? Still, it was nice to see the night-scape populated with art. I would very much like to know what this sculpture was for/about/crafted by.

Right next to the Art Centre is the National Gallery of Victoria... Not sure about the whole see-through shirt thing, but that was a crazy German art exhibit. I think that says it all.

However the gallery also has a wonderful water wall sculpture - and it's totally entrancing (and on all the time). It just beckons to run your fingers through the water.

Water + Light = Magic.

And when you slow it down - it just looks plain funky. Outside the gallery there's a number of fountains that just call out - fast shutter speed, fast shutter speed... but alas my hand-held technique could only go so far with the light I had.

The last sculpture I'll throw into the post is actually on the Sandridge Bridge over the Yarra river... and is called the Travellers (I've only shown a little bit here). It's an amazing steel sculpture. Part celebration of indigenous art, part celebration of migration, it's a stark but impressive sculpture by Nadim Karam.

I have to admit that I had a great pleasure in walking through the streets of Melbourne in the evenings... the weather, as is typical of Melbourne of old, was a little variable. Still, it was a fun time - and whilst I don't often get the chance to take out my camera on work trips, this was an opportunity I couldn't waste. By the way - if you're looking find what sort of public art there is in Melbourne, check out here. I wish I had something like this before. The streets of Melbourne are alive - and they also capture that life through it's sculpture. Hats off Melbourne. You are the cultural centre of Australia.