November 2, 2008  The Asakumura Athletic Meet


Yamato members in red, Tenkyosai t-shirts attending the athletic meet. We are so ready to compete!


We got 75 balls in the basket for this game. First place


We took first place for the jump roping as well.


For this game, you had to find a piece of hard candy buried in flour using only your mouth. Everyone’s face turned completely white.


For the neighborhood block relay we took first place! Here is the moving scene at the finish line with our anchor runner, Takahiro Mon.


A commemorative picture of everyone from “block 5”. Thank you, everyone!


The Asakumura Athletic Meet is finaly here.

As the day of the meet approaches the amount of people seen running and walking around Asukamura noticeably increases.

That’s how seriously citizens of Asukamura take this event.

There are various events for everyone to participate in, the main attraction being the neighborhood relay.

“BANG!” The start signal echoes across the sky, voices of encouragement shout, “GO! GO!”

And our first relay runner, Chisako san is in … last place! Our next runner is Ogawa san, representing Yamato … but he, unfortunately gets tripped up during his leg of the race.

At that moment, it was almost as if time stood still for the members of Yamato. With bloody hands and legs, Ogawa san stood up and was able to pass the baton to the next runner, Kawauchi san.

Tomoko Kawauchi ran with all her strength.

She passed the baton on to Tetsuro Okubo, but we were still in last place.

Then, our fifth runner, Yoshimi san was able to move up to second place, all by herself!

She passed the baton onto our final runner.

Our anchor runner, Takahiro Mon, was able to overtake the front runner.

If he can hold on, we’ll certainly take first place! But the runner just behind Takahiro was incredibly fast and he was closing in quickly.

Just as “block 5” neighborhood team was giving up hopes for a first place finish … the other runner stumbled!!!

Takahiro raised both hands as he crossed the finish line… in First Place!

It was a really exciting athletic meet.

Regardless of the outcome, we had great time.

Citizens of Asukamura, thank you for all your hard work.

Thank you for a very enjoyable day.  		  
November 3, 2008 (Monday – Holiday) Threshing


First we take the dried rice plants from the rice paddy…


… and load them onto the back of a truck to transport them to the threshing area.


Insert the rice plants into this side of the combine and…


… on the opposite side the rice kernels go into this bag. It’s a wonderful system. I was impressed.


Ahhh, look at these bright and shiny, perfectly-shaped, first-class rice kernels.


Here is the cooked rice  in a clay pot. The aroma while it was cooking was wonderful.

 


Finally, the day has arrived!

The planting is finished. The harvesting is finished.

Now it’s time for threshing!

Threshing is the process by which we separate the rice kernels from the plant.

After the threshing, we had 170 kg of rice.

We had estimated we would probably have about 100 kg.

What an abundant harvest.

We cooked the rice in a clay pot and … wow!

It was a beautiful sight! Nervously, take a deep breath and try a taste.

It’s really sweet and delicious!

The more you chew, the sweeter it gets.

We’re very impressed with the deep taste of our rice.

This is the first harvest of our very own rice, helped along by the warmth of the sun, the assistance of our fellow citizens and our own, insufficient efforts.

We won’t forget this as we partake of it.

But I’m sure the rice won’t last longer than a few weeks.

  

November 6, 2008 (Thu) With Ambassador Otsuka


We were honored by a visit from Ambassador Otsuka and his wife. It has been 6 years since our last meeting.


An Odaiko performance in our basement practice area.


Mr. Otsuka sang a Sri Lankan song for us.

 


This morning, we got a phone call this morning in Asukamura.

To our surprise, it was from Ambassador Otsuka, whom we met during our 2002 tour of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

He said, “I happen to be in Nara, is it all right if I stop by around mid-day?”

We were overjoyed to welcome him and were happy that we happened to call at a time when we were all in Japan.

Mr. Otsuka was the same as ever.

Just like 6 years ago, we shared old jokes and debuted new ones, played Odaiko together and finally, he played the guitar and sang us a Sri Lankan folk song.

And before we knew it, it was time for him to leave.

We stood in silent awe of his unchanging vitality.

This day inspired us also to work every day as hard as we can at what we do.		  

November 8, 2008 (Sat) Miyagi Concert By Marika Nito


I, Mariko Nito, am a native of Miyagi Prefecture


If you’re talking about Miyagi, you can’t forget about “zundamochi”. The green color comes from green soybeans


Practicing before the performance.


Just before starting the performance


At the end we played together with a local taiko group, “Koma no Kai”.

 

 

We’ve arrived! After a long journey, we are here in Miyagi Prefecture! The first stop on Yamato’s Homecoming tour schedule is my own (Mariko Nito’s) hometown of Misato-Machi in Miyagi Prefecture. Even driving as fast we could, the journey took 14 hours!


We will perform the “Shin-on” program, which we have been doing these past two years.

These are songs we have become used to and intimate with, but playing in front of a big audience in my hometown, they seem to have a new and fresh feeling.


My friends and many people who have helped me out (and are still helping me out) from my hometown all came out to see the show.

I had a warm and welcoming feeling from the audience, but I was still very nervous for this concert.

For the encore we performed together with a group, “Koma no Kai”, which is a part of my own taiko roots.

My emotions welled up within me. It was a special time.

I am very happy that I could return to my hometown, Oushida (present day “Misato machi”, in such a way.

I will continue to work as hard as I can to make the citizens of Misato machi proud! Thank you for the warm applause from all those who came to the concert and thank you for your continued support.		  

November 15, 2008 Fukui Concert By Tetsuro Okubo


I am Tetsuro Okubo.



This is the Katsuyama Citizen’s Concert Hall.


During the concert


The day before the concert, we also put on a school program

 

Hi, Tetsuro Okubo here.

The other day, I had the honor of giving a homecoming concert in my hometown of Katsuyama City in Fukui Prefecture. It has been 7 years since I joined Yamato, and one of my dreams has been to perform a concert in the town where I grew up, for the people who have helped me and taken care of me.

I am still only a novice, but in only 7 years, my dream has been granted.


I can feel a deep excitement. As the concert approaches, I feel a big nervousness that I have never felt before.


I was moved many times as I stood on the stage and heard the warm applause and shouts of encouragement from the audience.
I really felt at home.


Thank you, Katsuyama! Thank you, everyone!

I will remember this feeling of thanks in my heart as I continue to play taiko. Thank you for you continued support. 		 

November 22 – 23, 2008       By Takahiro Mon


First of all, we had to get warmed up.


Practicing the music

 

Over the course of two days we held the “Yamato Course Workshop”.

14 people joined the course to get a taste of what life is like as a member of Yamato. In the morning we started by swinging the sticks in the air over our heads 1000 times, then muscle training: lifting shime taiko, push-ups, sit-ups and so on. It was just like Yamato trains everyday. Even as we heard cries of “I can’t go on!!!” everyone seemed to find the will power to keep going!

After lunch, we used the taiko to practice basic techniques. Everyone practiced in sweaty silence. In spite of everyone’s exhaustion, we moved directly into learning the song. The music for “Dandan” was passed out. This song was written by Ogawa san especially for the “Yamato Course Workshop”.

We had everyone memorize the music and then give it a try. We corrected the mistakes and repeated it again and again. Actually, we had planned to practice only until 5 pm on the first day of the workshop, but we ended up making them practice until 10. We are so tired.

The morning of the second day.
At 7:30 we ran 10 kilometers. After that, cleaning, then breakfast. Following breakfast, we had physical training, basic technique practice and finally we practiced the song,

After breakfast, the same as the day before, we did training basic technique practice, followed by practicing the song. In a short, two days we managed to, more or less, learn a complete song.

As we practiced with everyone, we felt how much the participants really enjoyed playing taiko. We were moved by everyone’s intense efforts and energetic practice. On reflection, we could learn a lot about ourselves as well.

Good job, everyone!		  

Nov 24, 2008 10:00        By Marika Nito

 

This is the second “Katsugi Oke Basic Course” workshop. The participants all have taiko experience, but it was their first time to try out katsugi oke style.

Alright, let’s get started. Right hand – don don don don … Start slowly, playing just one note at a time. Now the left hand – don don don don … the left is particularly difficult!

Now for some more specific instructions. The movement of the sticks, the placement of your elbow, getting the balance between your body and the drum, finding your center of gravity; Eventually, you come to see how it is all connected. It took quite a long time (including the lunch break) for everyone to learn how to carry the drum and get used playing it, but in the end, everyone enjoyed themselves.

Before we knew it, five hours had passed. Everyone easily learned the practice song we prepared for the workshop and made wonderful progress.		  

November 24, 2008 16:00         By Marika Nito




Yamato Mini-Concert

 

Yamato Workshop – Shime Taiko Course No. 1
This is the first time that members of Yamato have challenged themselves to offer a workshop on shime taiko. Shall we get started? Ready, 1, 2, 3 …

“Um, we don’t have any sticks yet.”
Oh my gosh! We forgot to pass out the sticks!!!
It was the workshop assistant’s responsibility to pass out the sticks, but because of being nervous, it was completely forgotten. I guess it just showed our lack of experience in giving workshops.
Well, let’s put that behind us and start over. Facing the mirror we began playing single notes slowly: ten! ten! ten! ten! It’s simple, but as you adjust your posture and form, the sound begins to change.
As you stare at yourself in the mirror, putting feeling into each beat...

…before you know it, you’ve been practicing for an hour. In the end, we had scheduled two hours for the workshop. Even if we were to extend the time, we still couldn’t finish. I guess that means everyone will have to keep practicing on their own. Good luck, everyone!