I told ya 'bout the Fool on the Hill...

Monday was National Sports Day in Japan, so I took the day off and did lots of sporting activities. Not really, lol. It's one of those holidays that are observed but aren't accompanied by time off, and in fact I didn't see anyone being more sporty than usual. Perhaps there was an egg-and-spoon race somewhere that I was not aware of. In the first lesson of the day we watched quite a few videos, most notably an interview with Donald Keene (a well-known scholar) and the start of a film called "Ima Ai Ni Yuku," which was about a widower with some unspecified disease and his son waiting for the rainy season to start. Not a bad way to begin the week.

I find it quite impressive that my Tea Ceremony teachers always have different kimono on, though I suppose this is only because I come from a place where to own even one kimono-like garment is a rare luxury. This week's sweets were called 紅葉/momiji, and as the name implies they were shaped and coloured like autumn leaves. In fact, the shapes were very well-defined and reminded me of novelty-shaped moulds back home... wouldn't mind getting some when I get back and making some amusing cakes and jellies. In addition to the usual ceremony procedure, this week we learned a bit more about the host's duties as regards how to pour and mix tea for the guests.

After I was done with Classical Japanese (which was much the same as last week, but cleared up one or two things I'd always wondered about before) I found myself feeling disposed toward staying outside a little longer, but wasn't too up for walking around. The middle ground I settled on was to do some homework and whatnot on the roof, which was quite relaxing, until it got too dark for me to see what I was writing. Thus the sun sets on another day in my corner of this foreign field.

Japanese Snacks Vol. 6 - Super Mushrooms: Eating one of these will make you grow to twice your normal size until you take damage.