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The Obon Season has begun
Jun. 24th, 2012 09:29 pmToday my serious, long term girlfriend Meagan and I went to the Lodi Buddhist Church Obon Odori. We arrived in the afternoon just in time for a tour of the church and a short lecture about Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. It was a a nice lecture but just the briefest of overviews. Then we made an incense offering and went up and looked at the altar real close and he talked a little bit more. After we left the altar, there was a short calligraphy lesson and we all wrote "Kizuna" in kanji on fans.
Kizuna, which means "ties" and is the minister's theme for 2012. In a little piece of synchronicity, Kizuna, is also the name of a project I was involved in following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It is a fiction anthology, the proceeds of which go to a charity for the care-taking of orphans in the affected regions.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GFID4O/
I was honored to make the cut, as I am sharing pages between the covers with some first rate authors. My contribution is my short story called The Push of Man.
At the end of the Tour, my serious, long term girlfriend Meagan made friends with an older Japanese lady that did the tour. Ruth was convinced that Meagan was Japanese in a previous life, and as we spent the day with her and her husband Henry, she would often introduce Meagan to her friends and family members that we encountered insisting that Meagan was Japanese. We had lunch (She had sushi, I had tempura) and reconnected with Ruth and Henry. We talked for hours as if we were long friends. At 7:00 was the Taiko performance which I was eager to see. The drums kept making a car that was parked nearby chirp its alarm.
After the Taiko performance began the dancing in the street. This is just like the scene in Karate Kid II before Daniel-san has his fight to the death. Ruth tried to get us all to dance, which my serious, long term girlfriend Meagan enthusiastically jumped into, and I deferred. But I did take video. And really Meagan's and my relationship went on a deeper level. For the first time, I was tasked to hold her purse while she ran off and did something.
By the time that there was an intermission in the dancing, we were quite chilled, it did not occur to us to pack light jackets in the middle of Summer, so we decided to go home. Ruth had invited us to join her at the San Jose Obon Odori which is coming up in a couple weeks. I don't know if we will have the time or the money for such a trip, but it would be a nice thing to do. At the least, we will go to the Stockton Obon Odori on July 21. With the Bazaar at the Stockton Buddhist Temple the following week.
Also I signed up for an introductory Taiko lesson in September. I tried that years and years ago, but on my way to the first lesson, my car ran out of gas and by the time I got to the temple, it was all over. Lets hope that take two works out better.
Kizuna, which means "ties" and is the minister's theme for 2012. In a little piece of synchronicity, Kizuna, is also the name of a project I was involved in following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It is a fiction anthology, the proceeds of which go to a charity for the care-taking of orphans in the affected regions.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GFID4O/
I was honored to make the cut, as I am sharing pages between the covers with some first rate authors. My contribution is my short story called The Push of Man.
At the end of the Tour, my serious, long term girlfriend Meagan made friends with an older Japanese lady that did the tour. Ruth was convinced that Meagan was Japanese in a previous life, and as we spent the day with her and her husband Henry, she would often introduce Meagan to her friends and family members that we encountered insisting that Meagan was Japanese. We had lunch (She had sushi, I had tempura) and reconnected with Ruth and Henry. We talked for hours as if we were long friends. At 7:00 was the Taiko performance which I was eager to see. The drums kept making a car that was parked nearby chirp its alarm.
After the Taiko performance began the dancing in the street. This is just like the scene in Karate Kid II before Daniel-san has his fight to the death. Ruth tried to get us all to dance, which my serious, long term girlfriend Meagan enthusiastically jumped into, and I deferred. But I did take video. And really Meagan's and my relationship went on a deeper level. For the first time, I was tasked to hold her purse while she ran off and did something.
By the time that there was an intermission in the dancing, we were quite chilled, it did not occur to us to pack light jackets in the middle of Summer, so we decided to go home. Ruth had invited us to join her at the San Jose Obon Odori which is coming up in a couple weeks. I don't know if we will have the time or the money for such a trip, but it would be a nice thing to do. At the least, we will go to the Stockton Obon Odori on July 21. With the Bazaar at the Stockton Buddhist Temple the following week.
Also I signed up for an introductory Taiko lesson in September. I tried that years and years ago, but on my way to the first lesson, my car ran out of gas and by the time I got to the temple, it was all over. Lets hope that take two works out better.
