I started the day by heading into the office as usual. Then at about 9 am I headed over to the Galleria to meet the rest of the group that would be going on the Autumn Trip organized by the International Exchange Association. I never really am given a lot of background information before I attend events like these so I really didn't know what to expect as I boarded our tour bus.
The only thing I have come to expect is that I will be the only foreigner and I will be the youngest person there. And this event was no different in that respect.
Our first stop was a temple called Sanjyuusangendo. It is, like all temples in Japan, extremely old. It is also very big and houses 1,001 kannon statues. No pictures are allowed inside the building so I can't show what it like. But it is really quite a sight. In the center of a very long room is one giant Buddha statue which marks the mid point of the rows and rows of kannon statues. There are 500 on each side of the large Buddha.
I had been once before when my friend Lara and her boyfriend Ryan (friends from college) came to visit Kyoto, but it was nice to visit again. My Japanese companions and I spent a little time discussion the translations on the signs describing the main statues, but for the most part it was a time of quiet contemplation.
Afterward we all went to lunch at a nearby upscale hotel. There were some awkward moments when Fujiwara-san used her so-called 6th sense to tell me that I have a boyfriend....I don't really know where that came from...but other than that it was just a nice, western style lunch.
We boarded the bus again to go to our main stop for the day, the Kyoto Korean Life Center-Elpha. I wasn't really sure what this was, though I knew it was something like a retirement home for permanent residents of Korean descent. Japan actually has a fairly large population of Koreans, who either were forced to come to Japan during the war or who have moved here. They still face some discrimination, which is one of the reasons for this retirement home catering to Koreans, but it was much worse several decades ago. Most of them adopted Japanese names and do not speak their native language. My friend Shigeno-san, who is in my taiko group, is actually Korean but he never learned Korean because his parents wanted to spare him as much discrimination as possible.
The other main reason for this type of home is because as the people get older, some of them get Alzheimer's and forget the Japanese they have learned and can only remember Korean.
It actually turned out not to be a home, but a community center that operates three days a week. The Korean seniors are picked up and brought to the center where they can play games, sing karaoke, eat meals, get massages, and simply have companionship.
So basically, we were visiting an Old Folks Home. This kind of thing is not something I am usually comfortable with. I wish I were, but I never know what to say, and add on the fact that I am speaking Japanese with these people and it was a bit intimidating. But after a while I really warmed up to it, with the help of my colleague Ijiri-san and one of the volunteers at the center. I started playing a game that is kind of like match and mah-jong, only played with cards. I don't remember what it is called but it was interesting. One of the old ladies in the group I was in was fascinated by my hair, trying to figure out how I got it to be the color it is. She wouldn't believe me when I said I don't dye it. She also wouldn't stop telling me how pretty I am. Which was nice. She even said that she wished she could have a face like mine (mostly because of the shape of my eyes).
Before we left we played a huge game of catchball, in which they used small beanbags and an empty milk carton. The old people really seemed to enjoy it. It was really cute. And then before we left we all went around the room and said goodbye. The old lady who thought I was beautiful was crying because we were leaving. A couple of the others were crying too and they all told us to come back sometime, though I doubt anyone actually will. I'll admit that I wouldn't go alone...mostly because I don't think they take random visitors and also because I don't know how to get there.
But it left me with a very good feeling. These people are living in Japan but it is nice to see that they have a place where they can be with people like them. Even though just by looking at them you can't tell that they aren't Japanese, they are foreigners here and probably get treated like it. And I have come to learn how just a few small comforts from home can make a huge difference.
It was nice to participate in an event that actually felt international and like it had meaning.
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