[September Festival
]
There are anywhere from 100,000 to 250,000 local festivals held in Japan each year.
These celebrations deeply and closely relate to Shinto and Buddhism, our two major religions,
and the local shrines and temples that organize and hold them. We are very much a nation of festival-goers.
I'm not enthusiastic about every feast and festival day, myself, but I do miss summer and harvest festivals.
Especially the Minnesota State Fair, the second largest state fair in the U.S.,with its portable Ferris wheel and the food stalls
selling buttered ears of corn and corn dogs. The fair was canceled this year, of course.
But this event has been held annually since 1859, interrupted only by the Civil War,Dakota War, the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago,
World WarII, and a polio epidemic in 1946. And now the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
All our family loved this 12 day end-of-summer tradition leading up to the Labor Day Holiday.
Promotion of farm goods across the state was the original goal of this event, and even now agriculture remains an important focus in Minnesota,
in addition to large scale entertainment and technology industries.
At the farm products competition, I heard the term 'swine' used to refer to the more familiar 'pig' for the first time.
I could see Falcon Heights from my classroom window, the site of the Fair Stadium. To me, it seemed just the ruins of a spooky ghost town.
But my neighbor told me about the state-wide event held there and the year-long effort that goes into preparing for the fair.
Although the MN State Fair will not be held this year, in the weeks after Labor Day,hopefully it will be time to go back to school
or work whether in person, via computer or a little of both.
It serves notice that autumn is on its way.
(Kazuyo)
In autumn, Japanese admire a beautiful full moon, and all can recognize the image of a rabbit
on the face of the moon,but hardly anyone knows this tradition is based on an Indian Jataka tale, in which a pure-hearted rabbit was willing
to die as a sacrifice to Sakra.This rabbit's virtue was so touching that Sakra drew his likeness on the moon for all to see.
Our family has had some experiences with a bunny of a more earthbound variety.
Some years ago, a baby Netherlands Dwarf Rabbit came to our house. His innocent eyes, sniffy nose, pale-pink ears, twitchy whiskers,
and every single comical gesture at a glance melted our hearts. Soon, Sunny grew up to be very quick on his bunny feet,
and although from time to time he did some naughty things, like gnawing the corner of the wall or scratching at the floor,
we didn't want to coop him up in a cage. Whenever possible, we allowed him the run of the house.
One day I went out shopping without noticing I had inadvertently set Sunny free on the verandah.
When I returned, I turned pale realizing he wasn't in the house. There was a narrow gap under the wood deck,
one from which he'd never tried to escape before. I desperately searched for him until dark.
My family were all very worried. My eldest son, in particular, couldn't sleep that night, and his teacher reported he'd been absent-minded
all the next day in school.
I asked the public hall to announce "missing-1 pet rabbit" during the daily community affairs loudspeaker broadcast.
My kids printed up posters and asked neighboring stores to post them. All our neighbors looked around their houses and yards.
A sympathetic friend of mine walked alongside me as I searched through the bushes, calling "Sunny-chan!"
Someone hesitantly suggested that a weasel or a crow might have gotten him.
Perhaps my family having allowed Sunny so much freedom ended up exposing him to danger. Sunny still hasn't returned.
That event was traumatic enough to discourage me from having another pet for years, that is until my children got hold of a hamster.
To my surprise, last September they went to a pet shop by themselves and used their allowance to pick out a lovable looking pet hamster.
The tiny, cuddly ball of life pretty much helps release stay-at-home Covid-related stress and gives us some peace of mind every day.
Pets are family. Still, I sometimes wonder where Sunny went and how he's getting along.
I do this particularly while viewing the moon. The brightest full moon falls on October 1st this year.
(Miwa N.)
This summer is very different from last year.
We can't go out easily because of the current pandemic, so my family cancelled our trip to Osaka this year.
My son and I were feeling down about this, so my mother called me to see if we wanted to go to MICAN Park for the day.
The park opened last winter in Matsuyama at Baishinji Bayside. It's named after MICAN, Ehime's prefectural mascot.
There's a park center with a souvenir shop and a mandarin orange processing plant on the 1st floor and the MICAN Cafe
on the 2nd floor. After browsing the souvenir shop, we went to the cafe.
Of course, there were lots of dishes on the menu with mandarin orange as an ingredient, and everything looked very delicious.
It was hard to choose, but I finally ordered an iyokan soda float topped with iyokan soft cream.
Iyokan is a variety of Ehime mandarin.
Iyokan marmalade gave a unique flavor accent to this drink, and we can choose any combination of drink and ice cream.
This Iyokan Soda is not too sweet and just a little bitter, so I think it's good for adults.
I loved it so much. In addition, the beautiful ocean view from our table was so relaxing.
I've already been there twice this summer, and next time, I want to try either the very photogenic MICAN mini-parfait,
the iyokan shaved ice, or maybe the orange onigiri.
(Chiharu. I)
This summer I happened to pick up a book entitled the IKIGAI Journey.
I had never thought of ikigai very deeply until reading this book.
The two Spanish authors define Ikigai as the Japanese secret to a long and happy life.
Indeed, Ikigai consists of the following two words in Japanese:
iki meaning life or being alive and gai meaning what is worthwhile and has value.
This summer we attended our grandparents' 33rd Buddhist memorial service.
A few days after the ceremony, an old lady visited us to pray for them, one of my grandmother's younger friends.
She looked much younger than her real age, and we were surprised to learn she would be 99 years old this autumn.
Despite her age, she had good posture and a clear voice.
While we chatted, she reminisced about the time she spent with my grandmother.
This lady's energetic manner made me feel one's numerical age really doesn't matter.
She can do almost anything she wants without asking for help from others. She seemed entirely satisfied with aging.
I wondered aloud how she could be so positive about everything.
She answered, "When I wake up every morning, first thing, I give appreciation to the Buddha for my being alive that day.
And then I cook breakfast for myself and do household chores one by one by myself as my daily exercise.
Everything is fun for me. Rather, doing something by myself makes me feel alive at that moment. That is my Ikigai."
While reading the book, I remembered our conversation.
Even if ikigai is not always exceptional or special, it is enough that people can feel the joy of simply being alive.
I too will try to simply enjoy the adventure of finding happiness and a purpose to live throughout my life.
I am now embarking on my own journey to find ikigai.
(Y. Kashio)
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