Fashion Show
Again, the main showroom space is transformed, and for the last time. This time, a catwalk extends around half the space and is elevated for models to parade on and strut their stuff. The girls look almost bizarrely similar, but they were well choreographed and all had on a similar style of clothing. I’m not going to pretend like I know anything about fashion, so this will be a very superficial skim through, but it was still interesting to watch. They obviously put a lot of work into the show and some of the outfits were very elaborate. Some of it was a little weird, but weird is kind of the norm here, so I’d be more disturbed if the designs were not weird. I’m amazed at how talented all the kids here are at what they do, especially because most of the time I see these kids in class, they’re usually sleeping.
Fire Festival
This one’s a doozy. I say that because this was just so crazy and beyond my expectations of what it would be like, I’m still amazed now, thinking back. What I thought would happen was they would pile up a bunch of cardboard, maybe do some drumming and burn it. Instead it was a complete reversion to a primitive time. It was literally like stepping into a page of “Lord of the Flies”. First, everybody passed out cans of soda to the entire school population which was now gathered in the central quad. I was told that last year it was beer instead of soda, but that the school banned it because everybody became too drunk (more on that later). Everyone then proceeds to shake their cans as much as possible and we (all the foreigners) soon realize we’re standing in the middle of a giant soda fight. We retreat to a safe distance with our backs to a building and our umbrellas drawn and ready to deploy in self defense.
Then the drumming starts…
A procession of drums played by a group of students wearing nothing but what seemed like painted potato sacks and war paint all over their faces and bodies marched forward with some people throwing firecrackers in front and behind the procession. In the center sat a guy carried on a huge platform that was being carried by 6 more nearly naked guys. They carried him to the other quad where he came down carrying a box in his hands. To this day I’m not sure what was exactly in the box, but from what I’m told, the box contained a pig’s head. (Sound familiar to lord of the flies yet?) The “leader” carrying the head then walks to each of the potato sack clad guys and yells in his face. The guy then each individually responds in turn with a loud yell back into his face. Then the torch man who holds a huge pole commences the lighting ceremony. He lights the end of the torch and walks towards the field where the bonfire will take place. The leader and the platform are carried towards to the field and a few moments later, everybody unleashes the fury of soda. We run to avoid splash damage and the whole school is not far behind us. Everybody is laughing, screaming and yelling while spraying cans of soda and running all in the same direction towards the field.
The 30 ft. wooden structure is set ablaze…
And the drummers start a drum cadence that they will continue to repeat for the next 4 hours. Inside the fire, cracks and pops start to go off as the fire reaches the firecrackers hidden inside the structure. A group of the 10 potato wearing guys stand in a ring around the giant fire. They begin a ritual that has been a long standing tradition that begins with them getting into a deep horse stance. They then wave one warm, then the other in the other direction in a big sweeping motion over their heads and then open their arms swiftly while yelling “HEY HEY HEY” every time, then stand up erect, walk a few steps and repeat the same movements and yelling. As they do it more and more, people start joining in slowly until the whole school is in a giant chanting, waving frenzy. Yes I joined in, and honestly it was a lot of fun. It felt primal, with no reason or logic except for the desire to yell at a giant fire to the beat of rhythmic drumming. The beat stayed steady for a while and the tempo slowly increased as the night progressed until people were doing the ritual as fast as they could and running around disorganized and to no particular rhythm. Then from out of nowhere people started circulating 2 liter water bottles that were not filled with water. I watched from the sidelines as the Japanese students yelled, screamed and laughed with their friends taking large gulps of what I assume is alcohol from these 2 liter water bottles. On numerous occasions I saw a few very small Japanese girls chug half the bottle and now I realize why this festival has the reputation of everyone ending up very drunk. I and a number of other friends were getting very hungry around 9 and we almost left because there seemed to be no end to the shenanigans. But then they stopped, and we went back to see what they would do. They then unveiled another huge wooden structure that was built in the form of a kanji (Japanese character). Each year they choose a word that represents that year and the festival. I don’t remember the meaning of the kanji but they lit it afire and started the same chanting running ritual around this new fire. The naked guys had now been outside in freezing temperatures wearing no shoes, no pants and sleeveless (probably itchy) potato sacks for four hours now. One thing I will have to admit is they have stamina I would never ever want to try to imitate, but kudos to them. And thus ended the closing ceremonies of the Ohashi School Festival 2009.
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