Looking back on Hutt Japan Day 2017

By Amber Walters

Hutt Japan Day 2017 was held at the Dowse Art Museum and Square on Sunday 19th November 2017. It had been announced by the Mayor at the previous year's biennial Japan Festival in the TSB Arena, that Lower Hutt would host a smaller festival in the in-between years. It was a beautiful, hot day and it involved market stalls inside the Dowse venue, two performance stages (inside the Dowse and outside in the Square), a food truck fair, skype window to our sister city in Minoh-shi and the amazing travelling photo booth. Nearly 3,000 people attended this event which was much more than anticipated and really showed a hunger for more cultural activities of this nature in the Lower Hutt Central Business District.

We are extremely grateful to the Hutt City Council for their Event Support Funding as well as Air New Zealand who kindly sponsored two free return flights to Osaka.

Read the full write up and see photos from the the day here.

Hutt Minoh Teacher Exchange 2017

Hutt-Minoh Teacher Exchange Programme - Part 2

On the 17th August two teachers will be arriving from our sister city Minoh, Japan. They will be visiting six schools and an early childhood centre in Lower Hutt. Ms. Koike is a Year 5 teacher and Mr. Ariura is a Junior High School English teacher. While they are here, they will be teaching our students about Japanese culture, some language and learning about the New Zealand Education system.

Michelle & Ardis in JHS, Minoh 2016

They are in Lower Hutt as the second part of the Inaugural Hutt - Minoh Teacher Exchange Programme. 

Lower Hutt and Minoh celebrated the 20th Anniversary of their Sister City relationship in October 2015. During these celebrations Mayor Wallace and Mayor Kurata signed an agreement to formalise the establishment of the Hutt-Minoh Teacher Exchange Programme.

Hutt City Council Projects Manager, Linda Goss-Wallace and her Minoh City Office colleague, Noriko Ueno, worked together to establish this exchange opportunity for local teachers to experience educational similarities and differences and to embrace the culture and lifestyles in each country.

Michelle & Ardis in front of Minoh's most famous landmark 2016

In October 2016, Michelle Gibson and Ardis O'Connor went to Minoh to visit schools and to see the Japanese education system at work. They taught the students English, and New Zealand culture. Michelle and Ardis worked very hard fundraising to pay for expenses while in Japan and to help pay for expenses while the Japanese teachers are in New Zealand. Hutt City Council contributed some money towards airfares and Michelle and Ardis have raised thousands of dollars during the past 14 months.

This exchange has provided an amazing opportunity for cross cultural encounters involving hundreds of young people in the two cities. There are now many young people in Minoh who have seen photos and videos of Lower Hutt and of New Zealand in general. This programme has opened up the horizons of young people and has planted dreams for their future travels. Judging from the Japanese students' "oohs" and" aaahs"  while watching videos of Lower Hutt, they will head straight for the Days Bay wharf and the Hutt River Cycle trails when they visit. Thanks to Ms. Koike and Mr. Ariura, many students in Lower Hutt will soon see photos of Minoh's beautiful waterfall and Katsuo-Ji Temple in the hills above the city. 

It is a joy for these two beautiful cities to have links for hundreds of young people. 

For more information on this teacher exchange programme, please contact Linda Goss-Wallace, Hutt City Council Projects Manager. Tel: 04 570 66 66

Postcard from Minoh 4 & 5 blog by Martin, Hutt boy and Minoh JET

Over the Christmas festive season, our friend and blogger Martin has been very busy exploring Japan and providing insights into the life of a Hutt boy living and working in Minoh.

Please continue to check out the great blog, photos and stories by Martin on his blogsite :-

 https://newzealandmeetsjapan.wordpress.com/

 Blog 4 - Further into Serenity (which was the in the lead up to Christmas in Japan, autumn leaves, christmas lights and English speaking competitions!)

 and the latest entry from the New Year onwards

Blog 5 - The Road to El Dorado ( Christmas and New Year period, 20th anniversary of Minoh Hutt Friendship Club, his sister comes to visit, road trips around the country, renewing for another year in Minoh)

Some great photos below..

Christmas lights pilgrimage!

Kobe - Luminaries Light Festival

Kobe Tower at night

Martin -huge Ghibli fan!

Thomas and Martin - two Hutt boys living and working in Minoh schools

"Postcard from Minoh 3" blog by Martin, Hutt boy & Minoh resident

Fear and Loving in Japan

I have seen the dark abyss of a child’s mind and it takes form as a Japanese holiday. To put in to words the fear in the eyes of a child who is put through this torture is indescribable. This truly is the darkest festival I have witnessed and participated in to this day, the Tengu Matsuri. I think back to my first horror movie and the fear that it lay in to my poor virgin soul. Fortunately at the time I could console myself with the knowledge that these terrifying characters on screen had no presence here in the real world. Sadly for these Japanese children, Tengu creatures are not virtual images on a screen, they appear in the night to reap havoc and physical harm upon children. This is a reality that I cannot imagine experiencing as a defenceless juvenile. Every tear shed by the innocence that night was justified.

Allow me to foreshadow the events of a Tengu Matsuri. Essentially, it’s a festival, a day for celebration, which should connote festive feelings right? You would think so. And I certainly thought the same as I walked up to the temple in the late of evening. Food stalls and happy families filled the streets. The atmosphere was brimming with fervent laughter and cheerful faces. Many of my students were present and in the prime of their happiness, perhaps doing their best to hide the anxiety welling up inside them. Then it began with the beating of a ceremonial drum (insert yet another Lord of the Rings reference). The ephemeral cheerfulness on the kids’ faces collapsed completely. Like a flame to an ant hill, they scattered in a wave with enough force to knock down a small elephant. I was drawn up hill toward the sounds of muffled screams under the deep bass of the drum. There at the temple doors under the lantern light stood a dozen men in but white dressing around their waste and groin, brimming with inebriated smiles. A beautifully crafted hand-mechanized dragon with lustful hunger in its movements swayed on the veranda, inciting terror and apprehension in to the white-faced children doing their best to hide in the ruffles of their parents’ clothing. And then came the Tengu... Okay I need to be as clear as I can about this. Tengu are Japanese goblin-like creatures with long noses and hyper-aggravated expressions on their faces. And the men that dress up as these characters: temple monks – oh yeah how intimidating can a monk be? Well as it were… Extremely. All the temple workers congregate prior to the event and drink together until they are swaying with intoxication. Then when the time comes, they don the costume of a demonic creature before running in to the crowd of visitors with bamboo sticks, smacking anyone they can get to. I’m serious. Drunk monks run around in a terrifying costume and beat upon people’s heads. It is said that being hit by a Tengu should bring good luck to the victim, hence the reason to celebrate such barbarity. I’d never seen anything more brutally old-fashioned in my life! I was hit five times to a point where I was bleeding from the skull, literally. The expression on my student’s faces upon seeing me wounded by these drunken creatures was priceless. If they weren’t already terrified, they were then petrified. It was so much fun! And yes I feel luckier.

So The Tengu Matsuri takes the cake for the highlight of the month. But then there was the Eikaiwa session where I volunteered to give English lessons to older citizens here in Minoh. Here I was told wonderful stories of yesteryear from the voices of wisdomed men. On the topic of sport, I learnt a lot from these men. One of them was a table tennis champion here in Osaka which of course is no small feat when this is the second largest city of Japan. Then I met a man who is now a professor in the study of martial arts. His stories could bring the dead back to life. Then I met a man who grew up in a mountain village where they would ski to school everyday. He showed me photos of the place and this village was seriously the manifestation of a fairy tale. There was so much experience at this one table and it was so fascinating that I quickly forgot that I was a volunteer worker and not a cross-legged child listening to folk stories. I listened to these tales of Japanese heros like I listen to Led Zeppelin’s No Quarter, in complete mesmerisation.

On the topic of music, when I first brought up that I was very fond of small-venue gigs I was told by the locals that they scarcely exist. This is not true. We found a café that has live music every weekend and it is fantastic. The performers of the night were so enthusiastic, so passionate; they were clearly riding the ambition of becoming the next Radwimps, rising up from the smalls of Osaka pub-venues. Their energy and creativity reminded me of the fervent expressionism back home in Wellington. It was beautiful. The following weekend, we went to yet another small-venue music event in what felt like an apartment more than a venue, with just the addition of a bar and complete turntable setup. A Steve Zissou lookalike manned the tables for a period of the evening, and getting to know him I discovered there is actually a very present, though esoteric scene here for such events. He had moved to Osaka as an English teacher only to become an events manager of electronica/drum n bass events. There were a lot of these types here actually, visitors turned resident. It’s a reality that many come face-to-face with when the beauty of Japan engulfs them. Perhaps I will empathise with these figures one day.

So following this ephemeral apartment intrigue, I managed to crane myself out of bed early next morning to attend my first ever American Football game. I felt a sense of irony attending an American Football game in Japan as a kiwi who knew only rugby before this day but it was hugely thrilling.

I loved every moment of it. I now have a new passion for a new sport. Some of the plays made by this particular team were so advanced that I couldn’t help but feel awe at the level of profession. It’s an experience I heartily recommend to anyone who should so find the opportunity. A friend and I were escorted to this game by a pair of local girls which leads me to my concluding point. I implore that should you ever visit Japan, be it for a week or a year, go and meet the locals! You will never see the real Japan as a tourist. All the best places I have visited here have been recommendations by the locals. From the video game bars to the unique clothing stores, to the secret serene areas void from hordes of tourists and locals alike, you must exert yourself and really engage the residents here in order to experience Japan at a truly authentic level. You won’t regret it. I have never met a Japanese person who is uninterested in having a conversation, and you never know where it will go. Chaos theory, though chaotic, will lead you to the most beautiful ends.

"Postcard from Minoh 2" - blog by Martin, new JET/Minoh resident

Mr Miyagi McFly

I am a bonafide sensei. I am responsible for the education of juvenile delinquents. Sadly, all those Japanese samurai films could not prepare me for the position. I feel more like a herder of sheep than an educator of language. Never have I had to contend with such volatile energy. To explain the situation as a mere culture shock would be a gross understatement. I find myself physically drained by their fervent outbursts. Honestly though… It’s absolutely brilliant and I love it. 

I had heard only good things about teaching in Japan, until a mere handful of days before I was set to teach. Meeting with the JETs of Osaka, I was fortunate enough to learn of the many horrors that can come from teaching Junior High Schoolers. For starters, I was told of the deranged Southern Osaka school kids who rip up their textbooks and jump out windows. I was told of female teachers having their bras unhooked in the hallways and male teachers being grabbed by their fifth limb to compare size. Students use the school grounds as their home away from home, doing whatever they want, sleeping wherever they want, and disregarding any form of authority. These stories were the first reality check I had experienced since arriving in Japan a month earlier. Needless to say (but I will for the sake of dramatic intrigue), I was a little shaken.
Like setting up defences for the siege of Helm’s Deep, I prepared myself mentally for the nightmare I was soon to endure. But then the first day passed without a hint of misconduct, and then the second, and the third, and the tenth. Still today, weeks after my first day as an English teacher, I have yet to experience anything demotivating or even remotely degenerate from my students. In fact, I believe my school to be the best-behaved school I have ever entered, a shining star amongst black holes perhaps. The kids have such energy. The teachers are motivated and compassionate toward their students and the general vibe that umbrellas the school is a cheerful one. Being here has already improved my own state of mind. I should make it very apparent though that despite my school’s great personality, there has still been a lot of adjusting to do. Unsurprisingly, things are just a little different in Japan. 

Sports day (Undokai) at Minoh 5 Chugakko

In order to offer context, junior high-schoolers are aged roughly 13 to 16 years old. For me, this was a very confusing age, during which I went through puberty and explored new avenues of pain and pleasure: romantically, spiritually, and intellectually. Thinking back on my own experiences at this age, I am concerned about the effects that this point in one’s life can have on a person. And yet, there are few dramas to report. Most of these kids arrive to school with a smile on their dial. My memories of this age are fraught with melodrama so it’s such a refreshing feeling to see that the children here are less jarred by the disturbances that this time in their life brought me.
I must say that my norms have been challenged a great deal in Japan. What I consider to be status quo is often radically different here. It’s the way students present their affection for one another that has me raising the brow. Sometimes I fear to turn a corner at the risk of seeing something that could damage my retinas. I don’t want to overdramatize this at all, I’m sure it’s not that big a deal, but these teenage boys really enjoy each other’s physical company. In the four weeks that I have been teaching here at Go-Chu, I have seen a plethora of rambunctious teenagers asserting their love for one another with what I can only describe as a very contrast set of gestures. Whilst the girls engage in the standard mode of affection through the means of group huddles, fuelled by roaring giggles, the boys literally mount one another. I have seen a cornucopia of strange food groups created by boys coming together. I have seen pancake stacks, five boys high. I have seen bacon on the skillet. I have seen human sushi rolls. The list is endless. And nobody bats an eyelid. It’s completely normalised here. You can only imagine my reaction when I’m invited to join the “fun.” I assume that with my narrow vision clouded by preconceived notions of school etiquette, I react in a very foreign way to what is a native commonality. I am still very much the new kid on the block and it will take time to get accustomed to Japanese norms but sometimes I feel like a leopard amongst lions and it’s startling, yet, fascinating.

Teaching has already had a huge impact on me. The micro humans at my school are incredibly polite and affable creatures. I have already chosen a few favourites to mentor due to our mutual interests, and I hope that my presence here can have a positive effect on them. I think teaching is for most people, an innate skill that can be activated by a catalyst - such as starting a job as a teacher... Seriously though, I wasn’t sure it would be a job for me. I certainly didn’t want to be a teacher when I was still in school but now I find myself becoming compassionate about the job. It’s hugely rewarding. There is a no photography policy in my school so here are some photos of what I’ve been doing with the rest of my time this past month.