Shougakkou bunkasai

- or Elementary school culture festival, to English speakers.

I work at two elementary schools. There is really only one word to describe elementary schools in Japan. That word is: crazy!

The first of my elementaries held their bunkasai, on Sunday,Ostober 25, a day after the Middle school. As usual there were a couple of hilarious performances.

Sixth grade is the final grade in Japanese elemntary schools. Every year the 6th graders'play has something to do with the dreams for their future. This year, the kids spoke of their dreams in front of their "teacher" in a classroom. Now any good Japanese student production needs a twist. So, right after the children told their dreams, aliens landed! (These things happen more often in Japanese plays, than you would imagine!) The aliens said they had seen the future and the children would all become fishermen and rice farmers.

At that point, I got a little bit depressed, because that's quite possibly true. It's no secret that the emphasis is on "fitting in" in Japanese society. My town in semi-rural: farmers and fishemen fight right in.

But then the play took an unexpected twist- having lived in Japan for a year, the aliens were almost predictable- the kids refused to take the destiny the aliens gave them. They decided that they would be what they wanted to be. And the aliens? They had no choice but to leave.

One giant step for 6th grade. One small step for the town of Ichinohe. Maybe...






Another memorable play was the 3rd grade production. It was abotu Doraemon, probably one of the best known early anime characters. Those of you who grew up in Barbados, like I did, might know that cartoon as Albert and Sidney, because for some reason, that's what it was marketed as there. Anyhow. Back to the play. So these guys decided to kidnap Doraemon. Of all the places in the world to take him, he ends up in Ichinohe, where a group of schoolchildren find him. Then Nobito and company (including 4 girls who simultaneously play Shizuka) use the magic door to find him. But the kidnappers won't return him, unless they can answer some questions. Each time they get a question right they get a clue- a letter (or rather a syllable, because the Japanese alphabet is syllabic), but they miss the last question and so they have to do the town dance around the gym to get Doraemon back!

And by the way, the word they had to get was "to-mo-da-chi", the Japanese for friend.










I seem not to have any pictures o the second grade play. I found it hilarious, and I think it summarizes the Japanese take on Western religion and secular holidays.

There were 4 angels. They were happy in heaven until the Head Angel came along and blew them- yes, with wind- out of heaven. Why? Because they hadn't brushed their teeth! So they got blown to Ichinohe, and they saw the children decorating a Christmas tree and hoping to see Santa Claus. So they decided to call Santa and get him to come to Ichinohe, but they got his answering machine.

Being good little angels, they really wanted to give the kids their wish, so they decided to dress up as Santa and 3 reindeer! Then they summoned the children to the school in the middle of the night to meet Santa. When they did magic, they all had to shout, "Cupid Power!" I was absolutely dying!

When the children get to school, they start to freak out, because Santa Claus is there. They speak to him, and he answers in English. They think Santa is smart for being bilingual! Then someone asks where the presents are. The angels faces fall. They'd forgotten all about presents.

Then God arrives and he's hopping mad! (God, by the way, was played by the principal- who'd also already played an angel in May at Sports Festival!) God tells the children that Santa Claus is inside of all of them, and he makes the angels wish the children back home. "Cupid Power!"

The festival at my other school was relatively normal. It's a small school. Only 31 kids in 6 grades. For me, the highlights were first grader, Nanami's impression of an old lady and the fact that 26 of the kids were in the taiko (Japanese drum) band.



After the bunkasai, there was a mandolin player who sang and played, and had her songs interpreted by a deaf-mute. It was totally random, but there is nowhere in the world more random than that school some days.



That's all for now folks. Here's hoping you have a happy day, and if you don't, just scream, "CUPID POWER!"

Soutsugyoushiki, Ninishiki, Ryuunenshiki

First off, let me say, I have no idea if the title of this post is spelled right. It's what it sounded like to my untrained foreign ears. :)

In Barbados, we have two major parades in November: Remembrance Day Parade aat some time early in December on the Sunday after/nearest to November 2nd and Independence Day on November 30th. Because these are the two largest military parades on the island, there are lots of practices leading up to them and the soldiers call it Silly Season.

In Japan, as a teacher, the March/April period is a Silly Season all it's own. The Japanese school year ends in March and starts in April. The first ceremony that occurs is the Soutsugyoshiki or Graduation. For Graduation, there will be an invited Board. At my Chuugakou (JHS), this Board included the 3 principals from the elementaries which feed into it, representatives from town government, representatives from the Bank and representatives from the PTA. They play music and all applaud as the graduands enter the hall (probably the freezing cold gymnasium). Once all the graduands are seated, the Principal goes onto the stage and reads the citation to the first pupil in the list. After that they just call names and give certificates.

At Chuugakkou, there was a speech from the principal then from the PTA and then from the government. The Government also handed out citation for not being absent in the 3 years of Chuu and in the 9 years of school (sho and chuu together). There were 2 kids of about 70, who had never been absent in 9 years.

Graduation was pretty similar at Shougakkou except the kids graduated in the Chuugakkou uniform... Shogakkou doesn't really have a formal uniform. AFter the speeches they all march out to applause...

All of that takes around two hours.

The second ceremony that occurs in this time is Ninishiki. This is the ceremony for teachers who will be transferring. In Japan, Principals switch schools every 3 years, and other teachers switch in 3 to about 6 or so years. SO every year there are between 2 and 10 teachers in a staff who will be moving on. For me, this was sadder than Graduation. My sho kids go into my Chu, and the kids live in town so even those moving onto High School I will see around the place. But many of the teachers live far away and I am closer to the teachers, so when they leave it's a whole nother kettle of fish.

I can see the practicality of changing teachers every few years. It's keeps the teachers on their toes and it makes sure that a school doesn't get saddled with a horrible teacher for 30 years, which could easily happen in the West. But still, the process is a pain in the butt for an ALT. As an ALT you work more closely with other teachers than most of the staff. Legally, a qualified Japanese teacher is alwas supposed to be in the room, so you ALWAYS work with another teacher. This means over the course of the year (or more) you've developped a rhythm with this teacher. Your classes are now probably fine tuned and synchronised. And then POOF! Old teacher gone, and you have to start all over building a new rapport.

The third of these ceremonies is Ryuunenshiki or School Year Opening Ceremony. This is a big to do. A representative from the Prefectural (state) government even went to the one at Chuugakkou. My teachers were amazed to find that we don't really have an equivalent at home. Also at this ceremony the new students are welcomed in a process very similar to that of Graduation, except that they don't get citations, just stand and bow when their name is called. There was a 6+ footer at chuu... that should be interesting :) As withe every Japanese ceremony, there were way too many speeches. (How much can they possibly say? It's the 3rd ceremony in a month!)

What really kills about all these ceremonies are the enkai. An enkai is a eating/drinking party with workmates. So after each of these ceremonies there is an enkai. For the one after graduation, the graduates also attend. For chuugakkou, no alcohol was served, but then they sent the kids home and there was tons of alcohol to be consumed in one hour at the after party.

Each of these enkai can set you back from 3500 yen to 5000 ($35 to $50 US). For me that is six ceremonies (2 schools- thank God the 3rd didn't invite me to stuff!) For some ALTs that can really rack up the numbers. I will be glad when I go to the last of my Silly Season enkai on Friday and pay out the last 4000 yen for food I would not willing purchase.

If you're ever coming to Japan to teach remember to budget for Silly Season. You'll probably spend AT LEAST $200 US more than in a regular month.

The Caterpokey-aka why you should always have a camera in Japan!

Today, was the Rokunensei (6th grade) Graduation Meeting. At least that is what my English Activity Coordinator called it. I never trust anything he tells me about events. He always translates the name literally and it makes no sense in English.

Anyhow, I was supposed to be in the gym at 9.35, so I went to the gym at 9.35.
The whole school was there. The 6th grade was in front of and an stage. The stage has a step right across the front, so some were standing on the court, some were standing on the step and some on the stage. The other classes were sitting in to either side of the stage and directly in front of it. All of the kids formed a square and the space in the middle became the performance area.

The first performers were sannensei (3rd grade). (This isn’t a meeting, thinks Claire.) The 3年生did a little skit and then played the recorder (hideous bane of my school existence…ew). They also did a dance. Of course, it being Japan, it had to involve 10 girls doing cartwheels. That’s almost half the class. I don’t think half of my class could cartwheel when I was 9. I most certainly couldn’t.

Then came the (ni) 2年生. The kids lined up in their rows with skipping ropes hanging around their necks. Music starts to play. They can’t possibly… Of course they can. The entire class is skipping. Well most of the class… one boy can’t seem to get more that 2 skips before he knot up. Cue image of boy falling on head and bursting mouth. Giggles. And it all went downhill from there. Next 4 lines sat. The line closest to me started skipping backward. Burs-ya-face seemingly trying with all his might to burst his face. Claire trying with all her might not to cackle out. The next line did a running skip. The next a hopping skip. The next a crossover skip (which failed miserably). More giggles. Some of the 3年生 ( I am standing behind them are looking at me funny.) The music stops and they stop. Everyone claps.

But they’re not done. Nope. How could they be? They haven’t made the friendly neighbourhood ALT cackle out loud yet… So on run Akasaka 先生 (sensei- lit. before students) and the Ajisai spare teacher whose name no one ever bother to tell me, with a big skipping rope, and then the kids are running in, skipping and running out. There goes Hyuuga-kun falling on his head, the boy two behind him knocks over another boy. Tears! And they refuse to stop. When they get to the end. They line up on the other side and keep coming again. Dying. Guffawing. Gasping for breath. The teachers are laughing too at least. And the 3年生 are laughing at me.

Finally the song ends. Owari desu. (It’s over!) Of course not. They invite the 6年生to try. Only Matsuo先生’s class (6-1) comes. I must admit they are the more athletic looking class… They get the whole class through, and they are doing pretty good on the second run, until Kakeru –kun tries to do a double axle, and Yoshiki-kun crashes into him. Eruption of laughter from the gym…

It’s 1年生’s turn now. (go) 5年生 scampers from where they’ve been sitting to the back of the gym. I wonder what’s about to happen. I expect to be impressed. (ichi) 1年生 is great at whatever they do. Chiba先生got them on lock- all marching around, like the little 1年生 army. They give a speech in parts, i.e. everybody has a line. It’s very common in Japanese schools. And then they march out to the centre with THEIR skipping ropes. They all all skip for a minute. Then the go and put their ropes down. And come back to the centre. The 30 of them line up in about 6 lines, with their hands on the shoulder of the person in front of them, and the music starts. Right foot, tap to right twice. Left foot tap to left twice. Jump forward, jump back, jump forward 3 times. Looks like a caterpillar doing the hokey pokey, I think. The caterpokey!!! Cackle. More strange looks from the 3年生. The music finishes and the invite the 6年生 to join. It’s hilarious. The 1年生(7 years old) are half the size of the 6年生 (12 years old) and just hanging on to them is interesting. And, since there are only 30 1年生 and there are 44 6年生, all of the lines have 6年生 at the front, so the caterpillars heads keep coming off. Lol. And the 6年生 at the back are doing all manner of antics not to jump on the 1年生 in front of them. Dying with laughter!

Next are the (yo)4年生. I already know that they will sing. They always sing. Both Tamayama先生 and Tomiyama先生 are musical. (Seriously?? What evil twist of fate caused them to put 2 teachers in the same year with ALMOST the same name. For 4 months I called them both mumble-Yama. But then Tomiyama 先生 got sick, and wasn’t at school, so now I remember who’s who.) After they sing, they do a bunch of skits about the clubs at the schools. I assume the kids in the clubs made up their own skits to imitate or praise the 6年生 who lead them.

Now come the 5年生. I know Taira先生 is a madman, so I am prepared for anything…They do a couple skits. Then the start to tap their feet and clap. Hmmm, I know this beat… We.Will. We. Will. Rock. You. Lol. I look around for Taira 先生. He’s grinning and giving me the thumbs up. I swear he does these things to make me laugh. No one else will get it. He was an English major in University. His English is excellent. Better than two of the English teachers at my Chuugakkou (JHS). But he refuses to be an English teacher, because he HATES grammar. So instead he teaches in Shougakkou (Elementary) and his kids speak better English than half the Junior High… Instead of we will rock you the kids are singing “Thank you, Thank you, Senpai.” Or really Sank you. Since Japanese never do ‘th’ right. And the next verse is Sugoi Senpai, followed by sutekina senpai. A senpai 先輩(lit. before group) is imported in the “honorific” nature of Japanese culture. If someone is older than you or they got somewhere before you, they’re your sempai. For example, if we both take judo classes but I start a week before you, I’m your senpai. Sugoi and suteki(na) both mean wonderful or something to that effect. After the song, they do an instrumental. Two girls are on upright organ and piano and a boy is on drums ( everybody in Japan plays and instrument) The rest pull out recorders or some weird instrument, you blow into it and play on a keyboard. Apparently it’s called a Kilimanjaro- yup- like the mountain in Africa. Taira先生says it’s a foreign invention. You learn something new every day.

The jou iinkai (learned that word today- there is a large likelihood it is spelled wrong.lol) make an announcement and everybody files out. Just like that? It done?
I go back to the staff room. A while later the bell rings and I see everyone get up. I follow them back to the gym. The 6年生will now perform. The curtains on stage are closed, but now there only 2 rows of 6年生are there. I am trying to go across the line remembering their names. At Minami, I stop. I always mix up Minami and Shiho- simply because they’re tall. Come to think of it, I can’t see Shiho, or Yuri, or the girl that is always with Yuri and dresses like her and lives opposite PFC. They must be onstage. I know the 6年生 must have something up their sleeve. With teachers like Matsuo先生and Hayashida先生, how could they not. They make a little speech in pieces, and then the majority of them run off to stand in front of the sides of the square formed by 1 through 5 年生. 3 of them are standing on the court in front of the stage, 3 on the step, al of them are backing the audience. Yuri, Shiho and the other girl run out and join their classmates. The curtains draw back, there are 6 girls on stage in wigs. The front row of three is wearing sparkly silver. The far two have blond wigs, the middle two brown wigs, and the two closest have black afro wigs. Brows furrowed, I can’t see any of the girls missing. I like at the blond in the back. The dress cuts at mid thigh. I do a quick sweep of the auditorium again. The music starts. Noone’s missing. Unless… They wouldn’t… I turn to Taira 先生, who’s just materialised from backstage and is standing next to me. Otoko no ko desu ka? I whisper. He laughs. They spin around. And there, in wigs and dresses, are six of the boys in Hayashida先生’s class. The one in the brown wig and the fur lined coat, with the enormous boobs is definitely Ryouta, the class clown, and the defined legs that alerted me…definitely Yoshiya. I am dying with laughter again. And they’re dancing. Damn you, vile camera, with lost charger and no memory card. Tears.
Matsuo先生asks me if I got a picture. I tell her I don’t have my camera. She smiles, and takes me to the ‘girls’ and takes a pic of me with them. I must get my hands on that pic!!! Lol.

Afterwards they all got into 2 circles holding hands, 1-3年生 on the inside 4-6年生 on the outside. They turn on music and start doing a dance which involves clapping on either side, spinning around, lifting up your hands, putting them down, screaming Ich-ni-san-shi-go-rok-nan-hach (abbreviated Japanese counting 1-8) and then running around in the circle. I am standing near the stage quite happily until Tamayama先生 (yes, I’m sure it’s not Tomiyama-lol) reaches out and grabs me and drags me in the circle. Next thing I know I am screaming Ich-ni-san-shi-go-rok-nan-hach and running around having a ball.

Afterwards, the classes go back to where they were before. There is a big piñata looking ball tied to the basketball hoop (which is raised about 30 feet in the air). There are a bunch of strings coming from it. Shiho and Kakeru each pick a kid and take with them, they hold the strings and pull. In theory, they were supposed to pull the ball open and confetti was supposed to fall out along with a sign saying, At JHS, Fight! ( I kid you not. It said Fa-i-to- which is how the Japanese write what we pronounce as fight.) That was the theory though. In actuality, the top rope popped and the ball fell down. More laughter. Hayashida 先生 runs out and opens the ball, and holds it up high and lets the confetti fall out. Everyone cheers.
Of course it would not be Japan, if well enough had been left alone. One of the kids was sent for a ladder. They lowered the hoop down (it’s on an electronic pulley system) and kyouto-sensei (I don’t know his name, since everyone calls him and kouchou sensei-the principal- by their title. Ironically I do know the principal’s name- it happens to be one of the first names I could read) climbed up and reattached it. Then everyone lined up in pairs and the 6年生had to pass through while the rest of the school threw confetti. The boy’s wigs got the brunt of it. Lol

And I had to teach them the next period. Accidentally (on purpose) said girls instead of boys. Lol.

校長先生 (Principal) made a little speech and then Taira先生took the mike. He asked for a round of applause for the jou iinkai- these are the kids that run these ceremonies- the little MC's. Then he asked for a round for teachers. Half the 1 年生 turned to me, who had nothing to do with the production. I just smiled. Then he asked for one for the students. I walked between them giving them their applause.

So that was the send off party. Great fun. Never a dull moment in Japan! (Well,
that’s a lie, but there weren't any today!)