Since before I landed on this island, I have endeavored to find out exactly the name of the place: where does Goto end and Fukue begin? After seeing both names used interchangeably at times, I think I understand now:
1. Fukue is the name of both the town and the island.
2. Goto is the name of the island chain.
3. The dialect spoken by the locals is "Goto-ben" (though some towns on the islands may have variations; 'ben' is the Japanese suffix for dialect).
With that preface, I will endeavor to be on-point with my names from here on out.
Well I won't beat around the bush: last weekend consisted of a lot of partying, which I argue was necessary to fully understand and enjoy the Goto experience. The first was the Goto Beach Party. Over 50 ALTs from far-flung Nagasaki, Omura, and neighboring islands like Naru visited last Saturday to enjoy swimming, barbecue, and drinks.
I had a great time talking with some Nagasaki ALT friends as well as the opportunity to make some new friends. Everyone seems to be quite pleasant and chill; the lack of cliques is a welcome absence. When you travel, more often than not you meet people of similar disposition and temperament. I would say more but I can sum up the evening as talking, eating, drinking, and one poorly played game of cornhole. The weather the week leading up to the party was terrible, but it all cleared up by the day of the party. Pictured below are some clouds but they provided welcome cover at times from the scorching sun.
The Fukue Festival followed the next evening. The day started out rough for me: I slept very little the night before and battled a massive hangover. To my shame, I considered the possibility of skipping the festival (I committed to it without realizing it was the same weekend as the beach party). But I took some ibuprofen, drank a ton of water, and joined the other ALTs at the Board of Education (BoE).
We were not simply going to the festival: we were part of it! We joined members of the BoE in getting prepared for the festivities. We were dressed in traditional yukata, the two-toed socks called tabi, and the undersized wooden sandals called zori. The zori didn't quite fit so what you have to do is jam your tabi toes into the thong so that it is lodged between your big toe and the neighboring toe. It was more awkward than uncomfortable as sometimes it would slip off when I got carried away with my dancing (erratic hopping and jumping). After getting dressed we had dinner and drinks downstairs with our team. The food was great and I had a little alcohol for health reasons ("hair of the dog"; it actually helped me overcome my hangover). The idea was to fuel our bodies as much as possible for the dancing that would commence shortly.
We walked over to where the other participants were getting ready to parade. I didn't have my cell phone on me because my yukata didn't have pockets--otherwise I would have taken pictures! I saw some magnificent floats depicting samurai heroes of lore; a couple of half-naked guys straddled giant taiko (drums), which they would hit relentlessly to a rhythmic beat all night. Several women practiced playing their flutes while still others wore elaborate costumes. It was a awesome sight which was all the more incredible once the parade began.
The drums signaled the beginning of the parade. We jumped, clapped, and sang. As the parade snaked its way through town, our group stopped at almost every intersection, linked arms together, and danced maniacally in a circle round and round. We chanted "Rassera, rassera" as loud as possible, which means, if my research is sound, "Irrasharu", the polite version of saying "Come and watch!" By the time we finished our dancing the floats ahead of moved on so we would run, jump, and shout until we caught up. No doubt we were quite the sight! Several times I saw some students and teachers cheering me on during the parade; it encouraged me to dance all the harder!
I am told that the Fukue Festival is very important here---more so than New Year's! It was thus a huge honor to participate. Also I learned that it is a three day festival: Friday-Sunday. I tried to "go all out" Sunday evening; I doubt whether I could sustain such a performance for three evenings! I continue to find more and more examples, like the Fukue Festival, proving that one does not half-ass work, play, celebrating, studying, or really any kind of activity in Japan: rather it is expected you go all out all the time until you die.
That is hyperbole but I find it curious that whenever I ask Japanese people what they did for their weekend/holiday, I typically hear, "I did nothing. I rested/slept." I will rest weekends too but I also like to sight-see, explore, meet up with friends, etc. Back in the States, weekends were my opportunities to simply do stuff. I wonder if because Japanese people work so hard and do so much stuff during the week all they want to do is watch TV and sleep during the weekend. Of course I could be completely off-point: maybe my question is too personal so saying "I did nothing" is a polite deflection of my rude inquiry. (Shrug) I don't know. It's a theory I will pocket and explore diligently but carefully during the rest of my time here. I am truly curious: what do people do here during their weekends?
Today I have a full day of classes. After that I leave for Korea stopping first in Fukuoka for the night (after I take a ferry to Nagasaki and from there a train to Hakata Station). It will be a long day ahead of me but I am excited! Hopefully I can be better in the picture department!