3/27/05: Okinawa and Fire Festival

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful time in Okinawa with our friend, Aya. Okinawa prefecture is a string of subtropical islands and home to beautiful beaches and scenery. While very Japanese, it is influenced by nearby China and the U.S. military presence, but mostly it is unique because of its past independent existence as the Kingdom of Ryukyu. Viewed as the Latin America of Japan, its people are energetic, expressive and enthusiastic.

Aya took us to Shuri Castle where the king governed from the 15th century until the 1870s when the Japanese mainland began absorbing the kingdom and stifling its history. The castle was destroyed during WWII, but has been lovingly restored and is an impressive site. Okinawa was under U.S. jurisdiction until 1972 when it was returned to Japan and the islanders exchanged their dollars for yen and their passports switched from American to Japanese.

We spent a good part of the next day at Aya's beautiful home where she showed us how to play Sanshia (Okinawan guitars), a gorgeous instrument covered in snakeskin. Later on we went to Gyokusendo Kingdom Village which depicted traditional Okinawan life with its crafts, foods, dance and music. The kids got to form drinking glasses and do Bingata, a way to dye cloth with vibrant colors and designs using a rice paste stencil.

We began our Sunday with a list of places to go to, but ended up spending the entire day at the aquarium. We had been warned by an aquarium enthusiast at Sony that he had visited many of the world's aquariums and Okinawa's was the best. He was right! The collection of sea life was impressive and fascinating.

Ryukyu cuisine is a combination of Chinese and Japanese cooking styles. Aya took us to a fresh food market where we could negotiate prices with the vendors and then bring our purchases upstairs to the restaurant floor. We had our fish prepared in a Ryukyu style sweet and sour sauce. What a fun way to have a meal!

Our trip was over quickly, a few weeks later, back in Nagaski prefecture, we attended a fire festival in the town of Chijiwa. The entire village dressed in elaborate costumes and carried torches to a shrine. The festival depicted the samuri times where the coming of age was 15 and the boys began training as samuri.

School is over for Bridget and Eric. It was a good experience and they already miss their classmates. The Japanese school year ends late March and begins again two weeks later. We won't be beginning the new year and will crank up the home schooling schedule until Dave's assignment wraps up the end of April. We're squeezing in a trip to Australia and will be back in Vermont by mid-May. Time has zipped by!

Photos at: http://photos.yahoo.com/~iverlink Folders called March Okinawa and March Fire Festival

Blog at: http://iversonjpn.blogspot.com/