Graduation, Part 4: The Final Farewell

I’m happy to report that the graduation ceremony wasn’t eight hours. It was two hours, saying goodbye to the students and taking pictures took about an hour and a half, and now the rest of the day the first year and second year students will have club activities.

It turns out the ceremony is much more important to the family than I was lead to believe. A lot of families, not just the mothers, came. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best, and a lot of women were wearing corsages pinned to their outfits. A few mothers were even drying their eyes as they watched their children walk out of off the school’s grounds for the last time.

The ceremony was pretty much what I thought it would be, and was pretty much like a western graduation ceremony. There were long speeches, there was singing, and there was a lot of bowing. Actually, because they’re a bowing society, the only thing that really surprised me was that we didn’t clap after any of the speeches, only slightly bowed. This made the ceremony a lot more solemn and boring than some others that I’ve attended. There was no hooting and hollering as people stood to accept their diplomas. There was only a room full of quiet reverence. And the sound of camera shutters clicking.

All in all, it was a decent enough graduation ceremony. But note to self: dress up as much as you can next year. Since the students can’t dress up for this important occasion, it’s up to the teachers and parents to pick up the slack.

Graduation, Part 3: Singing

One of the things I love about Japan is how musical it is. It’s probably one of the only places where I can walk down the street singing to myself and not get any weird looks. Well, I might get a weird look cause I’m singing in English, but the actually singing is pretty normal. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I come across a big musical number happening in front of the school.

So it comes to no surprise to me that the school has its own anthem or that the students must sing a few songs at the graduation. Of course they will sing the school anthem, which I plan on memorizing before the ceremony, the traditional graduation song, and a special song the first year and second year students have been learning for the third years.

When I first heard the graduation song, you can imagine my surprise when I recognized the melody for “Auld Lang Syne.” The Japanese graduation song is called “Light of Fireflies” which is in reference to in the old days when students study by a jar of fireflies. Not sure why they didn’t use a candle, but the imagery is quite nice. Here’s the lyrics:

hotaru no hikari, mado no yuki.           Light of fireflies, snow by the window,
fumi yomu tsukihi, kasane tsutsu.         Many suns and moons spent reading
itsushika toshi mo, sugi no towo.         Years have gone by without notice
aketezo kesa ha, wakare yuku.           Day has dawned; this morning, we part.

tomaru mo yuku mo, kagiri tote,         Stay or leave, either an end
katami ni omofu, chiyorozu no,           Think as mementos; so many
kokoro no hashi wo, hitokoto ni,        Corners of my heart, in one word
sakiku to bakari, utafu nari.                Sing for peace.

There are two other verses, but these two verses are what my students sing. I think it’s quite pretty. Not as good as “Everybody needs Sunscreen” but a lot better than “Graduation (Friends Forever).”

Graduation, Part 2: On the Road to Perfection

It’s the day before the graduation ceremony and I’m standing in the gymnasium watching my student rehearse for the big day.

I remember my graduation rehearsal: Is everyone here? Okay? Good. Line up in alphabetical order. Remember who you’re standing beside. Now we’ll walk in and sit down. Great. Now this is where you will walk when you get your diplomas. Got it? Great. Now get outta here.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that cut and dry, but it was probably that quick.

My students’ rehearsal isn’t as simple: Okay classes, line up in alphabetical order, boys first and then the girls. Now we’re going to march into the gym. Class two, don’t enter until class one is at their chairs! Keep standing until everyone is here. Bow! No, you’re not bowing together. Again! Okay, sit down! Stand up! You’re too slow! Again! Bow! You’re standing up too fast! Again! Bow! Too fast! Again! Bow! 1…2…3… okay, now sit. No! Again! Again! AGAIN!

I can understand why they dedicated a whole hour to this. If the students don’t stand, bow or sit with just the right timing, they have to try again. If the students don’t bow low enough, a teacher will come and push their head down until they have reached the desired 90 degree angle. And there’s a lot of bowing happening.

From what I can see, each student will not come up to the podium to receive their diploma from the principle. Instead, the class rep will be summoned and then he or she will make their way to the front of the stage, turn to the VIPs and bow, then turn to their homeroom teacher and bow, make their way up the stairs to the podium on the stage and then bow, in perfect sync with the rest of the class, to the principle, get the diplomas, make their way down the stairs, bow to everyone again, and then finally sit down. After the ceremony, the homeroom teachers will hand out the diplomas to the students in their classroom.

It’s not a lot of work, really, but the expectations are very demanding. The students seem to understand though. This is a very important day and they can’t embarrass themselves or their school. This is just what’s expected of them.

Graduation, Part 1: Who Cares

As the school year comes to a close (school in Japan ends in March and the new academic year starts in April), I’m becoming more and more interested in how Japan celebrates graduation. And yes, this is mostly because I am watching the events unfold at my school.

I’m still trying to figure out if graduation is a big deal in Japan. I know in Canada, or at least in my family, high school graduation is a pretty big deal. While the ceremonies are long and tedious, they are attended by many family members to help support the new graduate. But in Japan, the graduation ceremonies are held on a weekday, during school hours, and are maybe attended by the student’s mother. This lack of family support is why I don’t think they’re such a big deal.

But on the other hand, the ceremony does last 8 hours, there is a lot of prep work beforehand, and the younger students even put on a fun assembly for the graduating class prior to the graduation ceremony. And this is just for a junior high school graduation.

Then again, graduating from junior high might be as far as some of these students get. Not to say that any of my students are so dumb and apathetic that they won’t be able to make it through high school, but I’m referring to the fact that high school in Japan isn’t compulsory. I know a bunch of people I went to high school with (you know who you are) would have loved the option to get out of more schooling, but even though they don’t have to go to high school 94% of Japanese students do go on.

Is graduation a big deal in Japan? From the point of view of the school and the students, it is a very big deal. Last week I enjoyed a four hour assembly that featured the first year (grade 7) and second year (grade 8) students, as well as the teachers, dancing and acting in silly skits for the third year (grade 9) students. They sang, they danced, they bopped each other on the head, they fought evil and they never stopped saying “thank you,” to the third years. It was funny and a little sad at the same time.

So while the graduation may not be a big enough deal to get Dad or the grandparents to attend, it is a big deal. They just express it in different ways.

Hanko Very Much!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten the bad pun out of the way, allow me to introduce to you, the hanko. A hanko is a round Japanese signature stamp. It is used by almost everyone, and the fact that I didn’t have one until recently befuddled many a person. Some places were able to accept my initials, but I have run across a place or two that needed me to have a hanko.

The reason it took me so long to get one is that I’m not Japanese. No wait, that’s not totally right. Okay, quick language lesson. The Japanese have three writing styles: two syllabic, and one that they got from the Chinese thousands of years ago. Basically every Japanese person’s name is written out in Chinese characters. This kind of hanko is incredibly popular and can be found anywhere, even at the dollar store.

Seeing as how I’m not Japanese I couldn’t really use one of those hankos, though I may buy one before I leave (I found some Chinese characters that sound out “Koren” and translate to “Forbidden Love,” how cool is that?). I could choose to either get my last name written out in the foreign syllabic writing style, or get it written out using the alphabet. The problem was that this is not something usually done, and no one in area knew where I could get one made. That is until I complained about it to my friends and they pointed me in the right direction. It’s so annoying to find out something you’ve been looking for has been right under your nose all along.

Long story short, I have a hanko! It makes me waaaaay too happy. I want to start stamping my students’ papers with it instead of the purple hello kitty stamp I bought for that purpose.

Kobe Adventures

On March 28th, one of my junior high school’s English teachers, and the Japanese person who looks out for me the most, Suzuki-sensei took me, Kris and Giselle to Kobe. Kobe is my prefecture’s (the Japanese equivalent to a state or province) capital. It is also the 6th largest city in Japan, home of kobe beef (the most expensive and flavorful beef in the world, or so I’m told), and was one of Japan’s first cities to open their ports to foreigners. Because of this, Kobe is a much more exotic city (by Japan’s standards) and has Japan’s oldest Chinatown, a multicultural shopping centre, a district completely filled with western style houses, and Japan’s largest foreign food store. There’s a lot to see and do in Kobe, but due to time constraints on this trip we only had time to check out the multicultural shopping centre and amusement park, Chinatown, and the city’s downtown area.
Once we got to Kobe, it was almost 1pm, so we decided that our first stop should be lunch. Since the three Canadians are a little tired of Japanese food, and our tour guide is always up for new stuff, we sought out a restaurant that served something besides Japanese food. Luckily, Giselle knew of a Brazilian steak house located in The Mosaic (the multicultural shopping centre). If you ever get the chance to go to a Brazilian steak house, go! The food is amazing and the meat is served on swords. Everything tastes better on a sword. And the best part of this restaurant was that the wait staff spoke English! Okay, that’s not really the best part. The dessert of pineapple on a sword was the best part, but having a conversation in English was a nice change of pace.
Once we were fed and happy, we made our way around The Mosaic and Harbourland, the amusement park connected to The Mosaic. Actually, I’m not 100% sure what came first, Harbourland or The Mosaic, but I was told that the shopping area was called The Mosaic, and that’s where we spent most of our time. The Mosaic is an out-door shopping centre filled with shops, restaurants and other fun places to spend your money. Giselle and I had a lot of fun looking at the different shops (I finally got a charm for my cell phone) and Kris had fun drawing what he saw and spending time in the arcade.
After we conquered The Mosaic, we made our way to Chinatown. Since we were on a schedule, we didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Chinatown, but I know where it is now and knowing is half the battle. We did have fun during our few minutes in a brightly colored central area of Chinatown.
If you’re a new traveler to Kobe and are unsure if you’re in Chinatown, then you’re probably not in Chinatown. This area just screams China. From the brightly colored paper lanterns, to the food stands filling your senses with smells that would make you float cartoon-style to the sources, there is no mistaking that this is Chinatown. We took a few photos, refueled our tanks with some fresh pork buns, and we were on our way to our last stop: Sannomiya, Kobe’s downtown area and one of the largest shopping areas on this side of Japan.
I think the time has come for me to explain the difference between a shopping centre and a shopping area. A shopping centre, at least by my definition is a cluster of shops in one distinct area that share a common space, like walls or a ceiling. A shopping area, on the other hand, is an area comprised of many different shops all along the same street or in close proximity to each other. Sannomiya is like the love child. The shopping area is comprised of a few blocks, but within those blocks are a few shopping centers. And it really is a shopper’s paradise.
Since Sannomiya is huge, and we had no idea where to go, we just picked a street to walk down at random. Turns out, we picked a really good street. Kris found the anime toy sop he wanted to see, while Giselle and I found an American comic book store and a two-storey dollar store. I probably haven’t mentioned it yet, but I love Japanese dollar stores. It’s simply amazing what you can find in there. But that’s a story for another blog entry.
After some shopping we headed back to The Mosaic, as we had parked there. As pretty as it was during the day, it is simple breathtaking at evening. I happily started to snap pictures with my camera of every lit object I could find. I might have missed the kanji (Japanese writing system that uses Chinese characters) made of lights on the mountains if Suzuki-sensei hadn’t pointed it out to me. There were three different kanji, one each mountain peak. I’m pretty sure Suzuki-sensei translated it to “Kobe’s strength.” I tried to take photos of them, but it’s really hard to get good photos of lights at night. But seeing as I’m so close to Kobe, I will be back, and I will get those pictures!

Ending the Silence

Sorry I haven't been posting much these last few weeks. It's been partially because I've been really busy, and partially because I forgot.

This week, I return with at least two posts! Aren't you excited? I know I am!