Tour of Tokyo

June 11, 2008

Today we began by a full, Japanese style breakfast complete with Miso soup, raw fish, salad, kiwis, and pineapple, as well as scrambled eggs and bacon while overlooking a view of Tokyo from the 40th floor of the hotel. After this, we had another orientation seminar concerning Tokyo, where to go and where the police have asked us not to go at night due to the seedy underworld activities present there, particularly areas in the Shinjuku district. After that, we boarded our buses and proceeded on a tour around the Imperial palace grounds and then to a tour of the National Diet Building.

After the Diet experience, several of us were able to have our photographs taken with a Congressman from Tokyo. There were many other younger groups of Japanese students also taking tours of the building for educational purposes. Although some student groups clearly were allowed to dress in whatever they wanted to, private school groups were there as well, segregated by sex and all wearing uniforms.

Next, we made our way to a traditional Tenpura lunch which was quite tasty, and which fortified us all to go on a shopping frenzy in the Asakusa district near the Senso-ji Buddhist temple and the Asakusa Shinto Shrine. They gave us 30 minutes and dropped us in a consumer’s paradise. How could we help ourselves? We were all able to buy just about anything we wanted to; one woman sprung for a $400 sword to mail to her husband. I was tempted to get one too, but I’m thinking about a smaller one under $100. I want to see if there are better prices around. The one she bought was around 3 feet long. I'm thinking that someone in my house could get hurt with one that long.

Upon our return from our shopping spree and visit to the temple/shrine, we returned for a engaging performance/lecture on Kyogen Theater. In Japan there are five forms of theater, stretching back to the 7th century: The Gagaku, from 1400 years ago which played an important role in Shinto religious celebrations; 600 years ago the Noh and Kyogen theater were introduced, Noh being a type of tragedy and Kyogen being comedy; and 400 years ago, at the beginning of the Edo period, the Bunraku, or puppet performances, and the Kabuki theater, featuring live performances were established. The man who presented and performed today is Don Kenny, a world renowned translator of traditional Kyogen into English, and who is responsible for bringing English Kyogen plays, which are comedies that poke fun at the human condition and universal folly in humans, to the world. Originally from Kansas, he discovered the beauty of the Japanese language and Kyogen theater while stationed in Japan in 1959, while in the Navy. He has made Japan his home for the past 50 years.Although the costuming, masks and stylization of voice-delivery are traditional in nature, his English translations of the ancient texts allow for a fresh twist on an old concept. The above picture is Mr. Kenny signing a copy of his book entitled A Guide to Kyogen, originally published in 1968, and which is now in its 7th edition.