Okayama

After I dropped mom and grandma off at the airport, I went to Okayama for a one day trip! I spent the night on Thursday, and did some sightseeing on Friday. (Remember, this is 2018…way too much travel that August.)

Peach Boy Statue

The first thing I saw when I got to the station was the Peach Boy statue. Okayama is famous for the story of Peach Boy or Momotaro. And, although the version which circulates throughout most of Japan says that Momotaro was born from a peach, the Okayama version tells a slightly different tale…

Korakuen

First I made my way to a famous garden, korakuen. It is the garden just outside of the castle in Osaka. I enjoyed walking slowly through the trails, and even sitting in a small hut-like thing for a moment before moving on. I was able to enjoy a nice slow, relaxing evening!

Okayama Castle

Then I went to Osaka castle. Inside the castle were a lot of exhibits on the history of the castle and of the area. I only skimmed parts of it because, if I’m being honest, reading that much Japanese sounded like a bit of a pain at the time. From the top floor of the castle I could see all of Okayama. It was awesome and the detailing on the roof of the castle was quite cool, too!

The Library

Okay, call me a nerd…but across the street from the castle was the prefectural library! I just had to stop by. I found the American Corner, too. Basically a whole section of the library was devoted to books in foreign languages, and the area with American English books was specifically labeled. It really caught me off guard!

Wandering through the library was also a nice way to cool off after having walked around outside for hours.

Lunch

I had lunch at a ramen shop in Okayama! Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the place, but it’s known for having a unique flavor profile! It was definitely a delicious bowl of noodles!

Aeon

I know, I know…I went to Aeon a lot this vacation. This time it was justified! Apparently the Aeon in Okayama is the biggest one in Western Japan! So I had to check it out. Let me just tell you, it’s exponentially bigger than the one in Kochi…

Driving

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to go to the Kibitsu Shrine this time, but I’ll be sure to hit it up next time! After my day trip to Okayama, I was off to Hiroshima! Stay tuned to see what I did on my two day adventure.

 

Until next time!! xx

Japanese Folklore

Like every culture/nation/people, Japan has its own unique set of folklore. The stories in Japanese folklore often include other worldly beings such as gods, devils, and animals with special powers, as well as normal people who interact with them. It’s true that Japanese culture – specifically related to Japan’s native religion, Shinto – focuses on the relationship between people and the rest of the world. Shinto is an animistic religion; animism is the belief that all things possess a spirit of some sort and should be treated with respect. This emerges in Japanese folklore as people coming to life from fruits or trees in some cases, while in other cases it can take the form of gods interacting with humans.

This is a picture of Momotaro (peach boy) being born of a peach.

And this is a picture of Princess Kaguya (also referred to as take-no-ko which means bamboo kid by her friends) being born of a bamboo stalk. In both of these stories, the children grew quickly and became strong young adults who went on to do great things. Another similarity between the stories is that both children were found by old couples who had no children of their own.

Reading children’s stories and folklore of a different country can give you a lot of insight. While reading, anything that you may find unusual could very well be a distinct difference in cultures. It is rare that children’s stories include aspects that would confuse children of the target culture or country.

That being said, if you’d like to read some Japanese children’s stories in a very simple fashion, click on the link for a blog that has simplified versions of the stories in English with pictures!

As for Princess Kaguya’s story, I’ll be reading it to my students tomorrow. Here’s the full story. Princess Kaguya

 

Until next time! xx