Yama-age Festival in Tochigi-ken

Yesterday I went with a small group of people to the Yama-age Festival in Nasukarasuyama. The festival has been going on in that town for 450yrs. There were a couple of Girl Scout leaders who hosted us for the day, gave us lunch at their non-profit cafe, and showed us various activities.

The festival is centered around a play performance about a princess seeking revenge on a warrior for killing her father. She tries to deceive him and kill him with magic but he discovers her secret. The story ends with her being chased away by the warrior and we never know how the tale ends. (The Japanese love a good mystery.)

6 villages take turns putting on the performance and the most important part of the whole production is the stage design and how the stage can move to create new scenes. 'Yama' means 'prop' and 'age' (ah-geh) means movement. No one actually cares about the story line so long as the stage design is constantly shifting and exciting. 

Oh, and one of the performers was introduced to me by the Girl Scout leaders because she is also a Girl Scout.

Edo Wonderland

On July 16 I went with Steven's family again to Edo Wonderland. Edo Wonderland is to Japan like Old West Amusement towns are to the American midwest. It's a little cheesy but a lot of fun to pretend like your in a different era. The Edo period of Japan was about 400yrs ago and many current traditions in villages remain the same. Edo Wonderland is just a place that brings them all together...all the time.

Sarah and Ellie posing with the Samurai at the entrance gate.

The Agisai were blooming all over the park.

This is a folkloric character of Edo period Japan. Supposedly he is a sort of demon (like a mystical creature of mischief)  that people make figurines of for their gardens to scare animals and bad spirits away.

The fight scenes in the park were happening every half hour or so and some times kids were allowed to join in and arrest the 'robber' character.

There were tons of activities and lots of good food and it's beautifully nestled on the edge of Nikko Mountain.

Updates...Finally [Wind Family Farm]

I apologize for having not posted in 2 weeks. So now I will post a few updates with some photos of all the activities we have been doing.

July 14th, Rick, Megumi, Sakura, and I all went to the Wind Family Farm. Mr. Wind is actually the man sitting in the back of this first picture. He is the most respected and well known farmer in all of western Japan. Even though we were only working there for a day he taught me more about farming and the organic method than I had ever known before. The woman in the blue dress with the baby is Gussan's (ARI staff) family. Hazeki is only a year old and eats cucumbers and boiled potatoes without assistance. She reminds me of Mia because she never stopped eating for the 2 hrs. we were at Wind-san's house for dinner. The other girl is Megumi, an ARI volunteer like me.

This is Rick and Megumi enjoying the Rainbow trout. Wind-san and his wife served us a four course dinner with Rainbow trout, Stir fry vegetables, boiled potatoes, and Yaksoba fried noodles with pork. It was truly magnificent.

As you can see in this picture of Sakura and I, I got a second degree sunburn that day and the blisters and scars have just now healed two weeks later.

The Purpose of Life

The following is a direct transposition of a devotion I read in "Grace for the Moment" by Lucado. I checked the book out from the church library before I left and it has really helped me to reflect on my experience on a daily basis. It puts my point-of-view in the correct perspective.


Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)

  Mine deep enough in every heart and you'll find it: a longing for meaning, a quest for purpose. As surely as a child breathes, he will someday wonder, "What is the purpose of my life?"
  Some search for meaning in a career. "My purpose is to be a dentist." Fine vocation but hardly a justification for existence. They opt to be a human "doing" rather than a human "being". Who they are is what they do; consequently they do a lot. They work many hours because if they don't work, they don't have an identity.
  For others, who they are is what they have. They find meaning in a new car or a new house or new clothes. These people are great for the economy and rough on the budget because they are always seeking meaning in something they own....Some try sports, entertainment, cults, sex, you name it.
  All mirages in the desert of purpose....
  Shouldn't we face the truth? If we don't acknowledge God, we are flotsam in the universe.

Shrines....and Piglets

Last weekend Rick, Jonathan, and I went to Nikko to see some of the Shinto Shrines. It poured buckets of rain the entire day and I was soaked from the knees down but it was still pretty fun.

Many of the archways are painted red or decorated with gold. Even some pillars are wrapped in glass because they are made of real gold.

Like I said, it rained buckets.

The unique piece about these shrines is that they remain in the old Chinese style from the previous occupancy of the Chinese in Japan. Some have remained the same for more than 400 years. 

There were a few unique fixtures in the park. One was a candelabra and the other was a lamp. 

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "Hear no, Speak no, See no Evil"? Well it originated right here at this Nikko Shrine.  There are many frames of the three monkeys around this Shrine and each one describes different phase of life. This set is meant to describe how parents should protect their children from the evils of the world. Who knew there were so many people reciting Shinto Theology?

These are 6 of the piglets that were born within the last few hours. Many more will come throughout the evening. The momma sow must remain on the other side of this gate so she doesn't accidently kill one of her piglets by laying on it. The last sow had 21 piglets but the usual number is between 12 and 18. I'll try to get some more pictures of them as they grow. 

The Weekend

Last weekend was pretty great. One of the other volunteers went with an ARI missionary's family to see a couple of Shrines and attend the Ajisai Festival. (Hydrangea Festival) It was absolutely beautiful and his two little girls are very artistic so we stayed in the park for over an hour and walked around while they sketched and took pictures. (They are 5 and 8 yrs old.) Their drawings turned out pretty great too.

(That's their Uncle Andy in the background.) 

The moment I arrived home from the Ajisai Festival, I jumped on my bike to join some of the other volunteers for a pizza party at a nearby park. Then we rode our bikes to a Karaoke place for Nicole's birthday party. Then, on Sunday, we rode down to the river and spent fours hours hanging out and swimming. (I of course got a sunburn.)

After I got back to ARI and fed the pigs and piglets I went to Jonathan and Satomi's house (United Methodist missionary couple) for a group dinner to say goodbye to Ban-san and Jean hae-san before they left for a two month speaking tour in the US.

I spent last week helping Ban-san build the new duck pen and Jean hae-san pulled me away from dinner on Friday night to give me a dazzling necklace with a cross and a pearl on it. She gave it to me and said she wanted me to have it because she and Ban-san have been looking out for me and they were impressed with the fact that I attended church with them a few times. These two really reminded me of Grandpa and Grandma Hollern. They were some of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met. God Bless them, I will miss them dearly.

My mail arrived!

There is nothing better than receiving a box in the mail. Especially from the other side of the world.

So Thank you Thank you Thank you mom and dad. (Let's be honest, mostly mom.)

My favorite candy and some basic home goods that are just not the same as what I use at home. (Hairdryer, socks, rain suit, shampoo, conditioner, peanut butter.)

I am not afraid of the grocery store here but my Japanese skills are so poor I am not sure I could get what I actually needed if I went.

I will post some pictures of the people here very soon.

Thanks again,
Sarah