Folklore and Tradition

Part 1: Ryukyu Mura

So Ryukyu Mura is a historical tourist site with restored houses moved from other parts of the island, characters running around in traditional costumes, people producing local crafts using historic methods, etc. . . . comparable to Williamsburg in the US.  Since Okinawa was, for centuries, its own kingdom, it has a cultural heritage distinct from Japan, a lot of which was on display here.

This little guy is a “kijimuna”—a sprite or an elf who lives in the hollows of banyan trees on Okinawa.  They are very mischievious, love to fish, prefer to eat the left eye of any fish that they catch, and hate octopus.  The top line of his sign reads “Mensore” which is Okinawan (not Japanese) for “Welcome”!

This woman was playing her sanshin and motioned for Logan to come take a picture with her.  She kept repeating “kawaii, kawaii” which means “cute”!

The sanshin is a traditional instrument of the Ryukyu kingdom; the Japanese later adopted and modified it to become their shamisen.  The strings are plucked to produce a distinctive “plink-plink” sound and it usually accompanies a vocal song in a style that we would call “warbling”.  It’s not a style of music that is familiar to Western ears, but it is really very pleasant once you’re accustomed to it!

Logan enjoyed feeding the fish in the koi pond.

And the fish apparently enjoyed being fed!

Logan and Mommy reveal their true, impish, inner selves.

This joker-like character has a role in the eisa dances, but when we saw him at Ryukyu Mura he was just enjoying the afternoon with his sanshin.  As we walked up to look at the house he was sitting in, he stopped playing whatever melody he had been playing and started playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and later, “Camptown Races” for Logan.  I thought it was pretty cool!

Parting shot . . . (no idea what kind of flowers these are)

Part 2: A Study in Shisas

I’ve mentioned the shisas before—they really are everywhere!  Ryukyu Mura not only had them in all the normal places (rooftops and gates/entranceways) but they also had a pottery factory that makes them.  The shisas are lion-dogs that are supposed to protect the home/business/shrine.  Typically they are displayed in pairs, one with an open mouth to ward off evil spirits, the other with a closed mouth to keep the good spirits in.  They really do come in a lot of varieties and they are an ever-present feature of our daily life, so I thought I’d share!

Small . . . (These guys are on my keychain; all the rest of the shisas below were found at Ryukyu Mura)


Medium . . .

Large . . . 

Long and thin . . .

Short and squat . . .

 Old . . .

New . . .  (check it out—he’s even wearing sunglasses) 

Elegant . . . (For sale at the gift shop, same with the next one)

Whimsical . . .

Fierce . . .


And fun . . .

(They had a place where you could paint your own; we didn’t, although we will when Logan gets old enough to do it.  These ones had been left on the table to dry.)

I missed everybody this weekend, especially with my family getting together to make applesauce, but we also had a lot of fun here.  If I could have been two places at once, I would have.  Hope you enjoyed the pics of our most recent adventure; hope also that I didn’t bore you to death with all those pictures of the shisas—I think it’s interesting!  Logan update coming soon . . .

French Chocolate Cake

The recipe has been requested.  It is extremely moist; I like it! 

3/4 cup sugar, plus some for sprinkling
10 oz (1 2/3 cups) dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs, separated
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
confectioners sugar, for dusting
sweetened whipped cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Generously butter a 9 in springform tin, then sprinkle the tin with a little sugar and tap out the excess.

Set aside 3 Tbsp of the sugar.  Place the chocolate chips, butter and remaining sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat until the chocolate and butter have melted and the sugar has dissolved.  Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and leave the mixture to cool slightly.

Beat the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture, beating each in well, then stir in the flour.

In a clean greasefree bowl, using a electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they are frothy.  Increase the speed, add the salt and continue beating until soft peaks form.  Sprinkle the reserved sugar over the egg whites and beat until they are stiff and glossy.  Beat one third of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites.

Carefully pour the mixture into the tin and tap the tin gently to release any air bubbles.

Bake the cake for about 35-45 minutes until well risen and the top springs back when touched lightly with a fingertip.  (If the cake appears to rise unevenly, rotate after 20-25 minutes.)  Transfer the cake to a wire rack, remove the sides of the tin and leave to cool completely.  Remove the tin base.  Dust the cake with confectioners sugar and transfer to a serving plate.  Serve with whipped cream.

Backtracking

We enjoyed a relaxing, stay-at-home weekend—everyone needs those sometimes—but in the interest of bringing you something new and different to look at, here’s an adventure from several weeks back when we went to a combination Buddhist temple/Shinto shrine just around the corner from our house. 

The story of the goddess of this shrine is related in a series of panels in a small room off the Shinto shrine.  A local weaver was so beautiful that people came from far and wide to admire her, but she was very upset by all the attention and hid in her house until her jealous sister snuck a man into the garden to see her.  After this she ran and hid in a cave, refusing to come out. 

I didn’t quite follow the next couple of panels, to be honest; something happened at Shuri Castle but I’m not sure what or how it is connected to the rest of the story.  So skipping ahead . . . the man that snuck into the garden is drowning in the ocean and this weaver goes out to rescue the man that had offended her.  Because of her magnanimous actions and virtuous nature, she is deified and her temple is located at the site of the cave in which she hid.

The Shinto shrine—note the shisas standing guard on either side of the stairs.  This larger front building is where the people come to pray and make offerings; there is another smaller building in the back which no one is allowed to enter except the priests because that is where the goddess is supposed to live.

When you enter a Shinto shrine, you cleanse your hands and mouth with water.  (Swish and spit to the side, not back in the fountain!)

Just a small detail that I liked!

The Shinto altar—the mirror is a significant symbol from their creation mythology.  Check Wikipedia if you’re curious; that’s where I read the story.

This is the collection box that sits right in the middle of the doorway.  The worshippers don’t typically enter the building; they stand just outside the door, go through a series of bows and claps, say a brief prayer, deposit a few coins, bow a few more times and leave.  Even the ones who bring food offerings only go a few feet inside the door and then a priest meets them.

The Buddhist temple (a separate but nearby building) was darker, so it was hard to get a good picture, but I thought the comparison between the two altars was interesting.  Also there was a fairly steady stream of people at the Shinto side, but the Buddhist side was completely empty.  I find it all very interesting, mostly in an academic sense—yep, I’m a nerd! 

Hope you’re having a great day!

Peaceful Day

It was cloudy on Saturday but the somber mood was appropriate for the day’s adventure: a trip to Peace Memorial Park.  The park (and its accompanying museum, which we didn’t get to see) commemorates the Battle of Okinawa which lasted for 90 days during WWII and claimed over 200,000 lives, more than half of which were civilian.
The park itself, just as a nature preserve, is gorgeous.  I found these in the parking lot on the way in!
The centerpiece of the park is this fountain, which overlooks the ocean on one side . . .
. . . and these walls on the other.
The walls list the names of every one that perished during or as a result of the battle—military and civilian, Okinawan, Japanese, American, Korean, British and others.
There were probably 20 or more smaller monuments around the park.  Not being able to read much Japanese really put us at a disadvantage here, as we had no idea what these additional monuments were memorializing—different events during the battle? or maybe one for each region of the island?—but they were interesting to look at!  Several of them had colorful origami crane chains like this one.
We really enjoyed walking around and reflecting; Logan, on the other hand, enjoyed climbing all the steps and tossing pebbles :)
It is a unique experience to witness and pay respect to the truly universal suffering of war.  The park is intended not only as a remembrance of the past, but also as a tangible expression of the wish for peace in the future.  May it be so!

Eisa-sa-sa!

Hello again!

     For our latest island adventure I bring you . . . (drumroll) . . . eisa dancing!  Traditional dance of the Ryukyu Kingdom, eisa uses drums, chanting and karate-type movements for a high-energy performance which is pretty much unlike any other form of dance I’m familiar with.  The Island-wide Eisa Festival was this weekend, in conjunction with the Orion Beer Festival (a local brewery), so we piled Logan into the stroller and off we went!

This group was tremendous!  They’ve performed around the world—London, Carnegie Hall, Australia, China, etc.

Members of another group waiting their turn to perform.

There were children in several of the performances as well, but this little guy was just standing in the back of the crowd, dancing and banging his little heart out on his drum!

Perhaps the boy in the back of the crowd should give this little guy some lessons.  “Oh, am I supposed to be performing?”

Meanwhile, this little guy was chilling and watching the show.  In spite of the ear infection (and perhaps, because of the Tylenol), he was in a great mood and spend the better part of the time running around, taking in the sights and smiling at people.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for reading; stop by again soon!

Redirection

Hey—if you haven’t checked out Jake’s blog in a while, you should do that.  His latest entry is a great reflection on Logan’s current development.  He’s such a fabulous little boy (Logan, that is; Jake is a fabulous man)!  Click here: jhwilde.xanga.com

Deep Blue Adventures

Hey all,

     Hope you enjoyed a happy and relaxing Labor Day weekend.  We decided Monday would be a good day to finally make the trek up to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium; it’s on the northern end of the island, about an hour and a half drive via the expressway.  We headed off just as Logan was ready for his first nap and he slept the whole way up!  When we got there we were greeted by this absolutely stunning view . . .

According to the brochure, this tank is roughly 30 feet deep, 115 feet wide and 90 feet long.  It was enormous!  Among its residents are three whale sharks—the largest fish in the world!  The aquarium itself was the largest in the world at the time it was built and still holds several world records.

We ate lunch at a cafe next to the giant tank where we could enjoy the stunning and unusual view of manta rays flying by.  Then we headed off to see if we could find any mermaids among the other fabulous sights that the aquarium offered.

Logan says “hey Mommy, look at the fish!” 

Unfortunately about this time I noticed that my camera battery was about to die (poor planning, I know) so we had to conserve shots through the rest of the aquarium.  (That’s why I wasn’t able to get a picture of the mermaid--sorry!)

Outside the aquarium they have several other features including a dolphin show . . .

A turtle tank (Logan loved the turtles; I guess he takes after me in that respect J) . . .

And manatees!  Unfortunately none of them were named “Barbara”. 

The overall park complex also includes the Oceanic Culture Museum, a native Okinawan village, a nice stretch of beach, a large children’s park (ocean-themed, of course) and an enormous botanical garden and arboretum—none of which we had time for during this trip but, rest assured, we will be back!  (And I’ll have my camera battery charged next time!)