Tsuwano horse archery!

Hi guys!
So today I am again making good on my promise of `Things to look forward to` and posting about my visit to Tsuwano and watching traditional Japanese やぶさめ or horseback archery. Before I write about my adventures in Tsuwano I figured I should first dedicate some time to posting a little bit about the background of Yabusame.!

Yabusame is a form of ritualized mounted archery that arose as a form of offering to the gods of Japan, who in turn would grant prosperity and victory to the Japanese people. Zen Buddhism was a major factor in refining and evolving the form of mounted archery used in battle into the more spiritually based form of Yabusame. As a form of martial art, Yabusame helped warriors learn concentration and discipline. The addition of Zen taught breathing techniques taught one to stabilize the mind and body which provided the archer with clarity and focus. This combination enabled practitioners to calmly draw ones bow, aim and shoot accurately in the heat of battle. To do this successfully was considered to be the mark of a true samurai who had mastered his training and fear. 

Ready you are. 

Because of the spiritual nature of Yabusame, most matches are held at Shinto shrines. At the beginning of every match a ceremony is performed, in which the priest blesses both horses and riders. In the match,the archer gallops down a 250-meter long track, using his or her knees to control the horse while drawing the bow, which measures about the same height as the rider. When reaching the target the archer then aims, and with a deep chant of In-Yo-In-Yo (darkness and light), fires. The sound made by the arrow hitting the target is almost as important as the the riders` accuracy. The explosion created in the strike is traditionally believed to transfer the archers` courage to the spectators.

(This is just a brief summarization, if you want to learn more about Yabusame click here, or visit your local library)

So, on April 8th, fellow Yamaguchi ALT`s Brad and Jessica decided that we would drive from Yamaguchi City to Tsuwano (in Shimane prefecture) to see the annual Yabusame ceremony which is held on the 2nd Sunday of April. So we piled into my car and made the slow long trek. Due to a bit of a late start we ended up missing the first Yabusame match that was held at 11a.m., but thankfully there was a second match that would begin at 2pm. So we used that time to explore the grounds, nom on some nomz, and run into other fellow Yamaguchi ALT`s! 

Look! We found Wayne, Sarah, and Matt!

And Brad nomming on some chicken on a stick.

I used this time to stalk and photograph the really awesome yabusame archers!

Just before 2pm we decided to line up near the track so we could get a decent spot, near the third andfinal target, to photograph and watch all the action. We ended up standing near an older Japanese couple who were pretty adept at understanding English and chuckled at the odd conversation that we crazy foreigners were having behind them. 

And then began the really long wait. We knew that there would be some sort of opening ceremony but we weren`t aware of just how long and elaborate it would be. For the most part we couldn`t see the blessing ritual and so we were a little confused about what was taking so long for the ceremony to start. Eventually, when our patience was wearing a little thin, as we were short on time, the judges, horses, and archers walked down along the length of the track in a parade (subdued) like manner, and then the matches began!

We didn`t get to watch the entire match because we needed to start heading home. But we did manage to snap a few successful photos (those horses are really fast!), and see a few successful strikes of the target. Before leaving Tsuwano we decided to wander a little bit around the center of Tsuwano to admire the cherry blossoms, the huge koi and the generally nice weather.

Koi swimming around along the avenues of Tsuwano.

The Tsuwano and the horse archery were really cool to see, I think I`ll go again next year. Also there is a steam train that runs from Yamaguchi city to Tsuwano during the more pleasant weathered months, I`m thinking maybe I will ride it sometime, I`ve heard that it is supposed to be really scenic. So we`ll see!
Until next time!!!

New Horizons

April and Spring have arrived and with it the beloved Japanese cherry blossoms!
As much as I and the rest of the citizens of Japan love the cherry blossoms and Hanami, the coming of Spring also signifies the start of a new school year in Japan. Unlike American schools (and I am assuming schools in most other Western societies) which end around anywhere in June/July and resume in late August or early September, the Japanese school schedule begins from April and runs through until about mid- March. In a way it kind of seems to match having the new school year parallel with the coming of Spring and `re-birth`. (Note: I`m sure there is actually a different reason, but this is just a nice coincidence that I happen to really like).



(Photo Courtesy of Awesome Yamaguchi ALT Brad)


Like I have mentioned, for the past week I haven`t been very busy since classes have been out, my BOE on the other hand has been bustling with energy as people buzz in and out of the office making last minute preparations to ensure a smooth and successful new school year. One of the most prominent shifts that the new academic year presents that directly affects me is what I like to refer to as, `Musical Chairs: Sensei Edition`. So, at the set of the new school year not only are 1st year ES students being initiated into Elementary schools, ES students transferring up to JHS, JHS students transitioning into HS students and HS students preparing to begin University, but behind the scenes there is also a transferring of teachers and other positions related to the education system.

My BOE has had a few transfers, namely a large number of the staff who had worked on the national games have been transferred to different positions around Oshima. Within my office I was a little sad to learn that our department head was transferred, he had a really sexy deep low voice that I liked to listen to while preparing my lessons or typing up these blogs. Our new department head is really nice, so I really can`t complain too much. Thankfully both of my supervisors are still here, both of them have been really helpful with getting me adjusted to life in Oshima and I would`ve been a little torn to discover that I would be getting a new supervisor in charge of governing my professional life here.

The most significant changes of course are the ones within my individual schools. During the first week of April, amongst all the bustling going on around our office, the ones that I paid direct attention to was when my school principals` would enter to introduce the new staff. Unfortunately not all of my schools had the time to be able to stop by, I think I have gotten to meet the `new` staff from about 6 of my 14 schools. In most cases when the staff would enter I was relieved to see that for the most part my teachers have only been shuffled from different schools within Oshima`s school districts. But there were a few teachers that came in who will be completely new faces that I can expect to be teaching with in the upcoming weeks. This is a little bit of a nerve wracking experience for me, seeing as the past 7 months I have adjusted to the different teaching techniques of my schools individual teachers. And now I am getting thrown a curve ball of wild card teachers that I am unsure of how well we will work together in a classroom. Basically, I get sent back to square one of learning how to adjust to individual teaching styles.

There were only a few changes that really sparked my interests. The first being, that my absolutely favorite JTE was no longer the English teacher at Nasake Jima ES&JHS. He was so much fun to work with because he was really young and had a lot of creative ideas for engaging students with English language. Not to mention he was also the most receptive to ideas I had for English lessons and activities. But beyond just myself, I was also a little disappointed to learn that he was leaving (potentially out of Oshima) because I felt that the way he presented English lessons were really accessible and enjoyable for students. Simply put, I felt that he was the most qualified teacher for making a significant impact on English acquisition in Oshima. Thankfully, I later found out that he will still be working as an English teacher in Oshima and that he will actually be visiting all of the JHS. From what I could gather from talking to my new Department head was that my favorite teacher would kind of serve the same job as me, team teaching English at the different JHS on Oshima. So, I`m sad that I likely wont be working with him again, but I`m really glad that he`ll still be about and teaching practical English to the students of Oshima.

The only other major upset so far came when I discovered another one of my JHS teacher switches. This switch was really probably the worst possible switch that I could have ever expected. So there is only one JHS that I very much despise going to, and the reason primarily being was that the JTE was awful. I didn`t so much mind that all he made me do was read out a few sentences and otherwise stand in front of the class, because hey, if he was doing a great job of teaching and wanted me out of the way, no problem. BUT the problem is he doesn`t do a particularly great job. In fact 90% of the English class period is given in Japanese. And the strategies employed are extremely traditional. I had personally been hoping that he would retire, or else transfer off of Oshima. Unfortunately that wasn`t the case. And what did happen was that he was transferred to one of my favorite JHSs. And it`s further disheartening because a lot of the students there are really eager and dedicated to learning English, but their previous teacher`s strategies really facilitated and encouraged them to improve. So I`m really not excited to see how the new school year will be with him at that school. The only potentially bright side to this situation is that the teacher he is replacing will be going to his old school. So I`m hoping that I will no longer despise visiting that school and I know that she will do a really good job of providing the students with the proper English lessons they have been missing. It also means that I will no longer be used solely as a prop at that school! Yay!

The final change that April has brought that directly impacts me is a change in English textbooks. I`ll no longer be teaching from New Horizons but from Sunshine (does Japan have a sense of humour or is this also just coincidence?). Unfortunately the basic lesson structures and strategies are the same (see not practical/useful English) and implemented in the least sensical kind of way. But on the bright side I`m not familiar with the different speaking,reading, writing activities so I`ll have fun doing new lessons.

To sum it up there are a lot of changes on the horizon. Hopefully they will all prove to be for the better.

Things to look forward to: Tsuwano Yabusame (horse back archery). I`ve already posted some photos on Facebook but I will post more and likely some commentary soon!