Month: April 2010

  • Formally Representative

    On Sunday, we had the first formal meeting of the Representative Assembly for Foreign Residents. The program was simple, but all of it was important, and all of it got done. First, we all received our formal notices of appointment from the deputy mayor of Kawasaki. This was when we officially became representatives, with a…

  • Kiyoharai Shiki

    Last Sunday, the evening before we moved in to the new flat, I asked the priest of the local shrine (Shirahata Hachiman Daijin) to come to perform a purification ritual for us. The Japanese name is “Kiyoharai Shiki”, which means, roughly “Cleansing Purification Ritual”. People who read Tamao will remember that Akiko and Shiraishi did…

  • Shinto Traditions Course — Kasuga

    The Japanese academic year starts in April, and with it the Kokugakuin Open College courses also start again. Once again, they are offering a Shinto course, and once again I’m taking it. The number of people taking the course has increased every year, and this year there are over 180 students. The lecture room is…

  • We’re In

    Yesterday, we moved into our new flat, and we slept here last night. Everywhere is full of boxes, but my computer is set up and working, and I am hopeful that I will be able to get the office clear of boxes before my first student arrives in five hours or so. The rest of…

  • All Change

    The actual physical move is almost upon us. The removals company will come on Sunday to pack all of our things up, and our air conditioners will be moved on the same day. On Monday, our things will be moved to the new flat, and we’ll hand over the keys to this one to the…

  • Preliminary Training Session

    Yesterday, there was a preliminary training session for the eighth Kawasaki Representative Assembly for Foreign Residents. As one of the new representatives, I naturally went along. The session was held in Kawasaki City Hall, in a meeting room on the fifteenth floor, which had quite a good view of the city. There were name badges…

  • Cherry Blossoms

    The cherry blossoms are out in Tokyo. Unfortunately, the weather is really not very good. It’s raining this morning, and the forecast is for it to continue doing so for much of the day. Yesterday was grey, and rather cold. Nevertheless, we went out to see the cherry blossoms. We went to our local graveyard.…