Ritual and Shrine

As the shrine approached, children who live in our neighborhood left their places in the procession and gathered around the offering table. Everyone was excited and happy. I suspect the good weather must have added to the feeling of celebration. Kamiokoppe's festival had been a little bit marred by heavy rain.

The Shinto priest approached the table and began to say some prayers. A wooden box was set on the ground and gift envelopes were stuffed into it. Ruya's grandmother had told us earlier that we did not need to worry about giving a monetary offering. As the rest of the processional came close, a man dressed in a distinctive costume appeared, creating no small amount of unease in our little friend Ruya. Aaron explained to me later that this figure represented "Tengu", a spirit who kidnaps children. At first, Ruya sought sanctuary behind Aaron's leg, but later, after seeing the man remove his mask in the heat, he relaxed and was able to laugh at him. While praying, the shrine was lifted from the truck and then into the air three times while chanting something. After saying the prayers, we bowed twice - the priest said something else - we clapped twice - more Japanese - and bowed once (Aaron said just now, "That’s classic Shinto praying). Then what looked like village elders circulated among us and poured small amounts of saki into little dishes that had been distributed. As people dispersed, women threw bags with mochi (glutinous rice mushed into a ball and sweetened. It tastes a lot like nothing, but the Japanese love it) and other candies into the air for children and adults alike to scoop up. Next thing I knew, people were handing our boys candy and food like crazy. One bag contained some corn dogs dipped in sugar. I don't know what was inside those dogs, but it sure as heck wasn't pork! Ick! Bags of chocolate and other Japanese treats appeared out of nowhere. With my help, Holt began to load his loot into his had, with the words, "I can't wear my hat. It's too full!"

The shrine then made it's way to the next neighborhood and we got ready for the dragon dancers. Our neighbor and local internet/computer "dude" Usui-san (he's the guy in many of the pictures holding a professional quality video camera) gave us a little heads up. The dancers, a group of middle school boys, dance from house to house. I asked if they were to be given money, and he just told me not to worry about it. He warned us, though, about a Japanese tradition. The group of boys, three of whom were the actually dancers, two of whom banged on a drum, would come to our door and dance. The head of the dragon is like many depicted in movies - a wooden head with a mouth the opens and closes with a clack. After dancing, the dragon would place it's open mouth on the heads of the children of the house, pretending to eat them. This would bring good luck to the children. AH! Can those of you who know Ridge just IMAGINE what he would think of this? I laughed when Usui-san said this. "They'll cry, you know." He replied, "Oh...all children cry when this. It's okay...for good luck". We watched as Ruya screamed while being "eaten", all the while his mother and grandmother are laughing. Of course, the minute it's over, all is well. By this time, Ridge (NO big surprise) has decided he wants absolutely NO part of this and runs into the house. I chase him inside (*GASP* I wore my shoes on the tatami!) and grab my poor victim. Outside, the dancers begin their little dance and our children cry. I, too, have tears streaming down my face, but with laughter. The boys stop for a moment as the dance ends and I can see the looks on their faces, "Do we do the eating thing?" I know that is what they were thinking. By the way, this was all being video taped by Usui-san, so I'm sure that sometime next week we will show up on the local television station. So, Aaron moves forward with Holt, and the boys take his cue to "eat" Holt. I follow suit with Ridge. The only thing I can do is laugh. Thanks to the HUGE amount of candy the boys have been giving, they make a very quick recovery. Unfortunately, I was so caught up in dealing with my traumatized children that I did not take any pictures of the dragon dancers.

Oh, one more word about the photos. Standing next to the child abducting spirit dude is Kurata, the English teacher at the middle school and my cohort. In one of the pictures with the priest, you'll see three men all next to each other wearing suit pants and white shirts. One has a camera and the other looks like he is doing a secret service impersonation. The man in the middle is the mayor of the village.