Sports Day

Sports Day...the day you find out the coordinated from the uncoordinated, the fast from the slow, the athletic from the unathletic. It's a beautiful thing, and I had the pleasure in taking part in it.

Each year in Japan there is a national holiday called "Sports Day." It is basically like the track and field day you had at your elementary school as a kid, but instead of just making an afternoon of things, the Japanese go all out. For instance, the WHOLE village participated (this may not be the same in all areas of Japan. In fact, it may only be my village because it is so small). The elementary school was split into 3 teams, the junior high school into 3 teams, and each neighborhood (spanish: barrio) had old men and women on it.

There are only two words that describe the opening ceremony for Sports Day: Third Reich. Yep, you all remember Hitler I am sure. Well, remember when Hitler's Army briskly marched by him and performed the infamous "hail!" Well, that is what they do here. In my village, however, the role of Hitler was played by the town mayor. I am not joking...look at the pictures.







The Sports Day activities include: many relays, tire-pushing-with-a-tiny-stick race (I partook in this one being the opening leg for the mayor's influential team), tug-of-war, ball throwing in a basket, soccer relays, huge ball pushing relay race, kindergarten kiddy tractor pull, miscellaneous weird make-up-whatever relay race, crazy japanese line dancing, croquet, hurdles, and about a million other games. People who say that the Japanese are only creative in the sense that they can make already existing things better have never been to a Sports Day Festival. Talk about imaginative, well, except for the Hail Hitler thing. Oh, FYI...the symbol for a Buddhist Temple on a Japanese map is a Swastika. Coincidene that both Japan and Germany were axis powers during the Second World War...Hail No!







I did the wheel rolling relay, the Japanese line dancing, 4 man relay, and tug-of-war. Our tug-of-war team placed second. I personally think that we didn't get first because we had two women elementary school teachers on our team that couldn't have weighed more that 150 pounds combined. Funny story about the 4 man relay. My team consisted of Hasuya-sensei, Kyoto-sensei, a second grader (aka 8th grader) Hiromi, and myself. Our team was kicking butt all the way until the last quarter turn. When yours truly was really putting on the after-burners and took a corner of the muddy track a little too fast. Next thing I know, I am flying sideways through the air, splattering on the ground much like a sumo wrestler being tossed, and pulling my sweatpants up that had been pulled down by the muddy earth and my momentum. It was quite embarrassing, although I had no time to think about it. Instead, I hurried to my feet, pulled my pants all the way up, and ran the last quarter of the track. One team passed me due to my fall, but they were no match for my long strides and enormous reach of the baton to barely beat them at the finish. It was seriously one of the most invigorating experiences I have been a part of. By the way, there was a camera crew at the festivities that shows local happenings on UTV (Ueno Television) so the whole village will be able to take in the events over and over again until next year. I have already been on TV teaching kindergarteners. Ratings aren't that spectacular...exception: the older women demographic.