Konnichiwa students,
When I left you on Friday, it was because I was going to have some cultural experiences in Minamisoma.
The day began with our group learning out more about the Minamisoma Festival, I mentioned earlier, by watching a video at the Minamisoma Cultural Museum.
We then were introduced to some artistic cultural handicrafts. During the first activity we made magatama beads from a soft stone. Comma-shaped magatama beads were found in ancient burial mounds excavated in Minamisoma. However, people did not start wearing these beads until the Buddhist religion was established in Japan in the 7Th century. The wearing of these beads symbolized power; they also were used as a protective charm. In ancient cultures, the medicine man, or shaman wore a stone that conveyed power to their community. These comma-shaped ancient beads have not been found anywhere but Japan, so perhaps early Japanese shamans wore them.
The second artistic endeavor we completed was painting wooden postcards using water-colors in a delicate fashion. These postcards can only be sent through domestic mail in Japan, otherwise, I would have sent one to the school!
Thirdly, we were participants in the Tea ceremony, which deserves another entry to itself because I think it is a very important ceremony.
And, lastly, we met our host family for the evening and next day, and went with them to their homes. It was a FULL day.
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