Welcome Meeting in Shirononishi Community Center

Saturday afternoon the community members in Himeji planned a welcome meeting for the new English teachers. The new teachers sat in the front row and we got up to introduce ourselves. After our introductions we got to watch a traditional Japanese dance performance. It was wonderful getting to see a Japanese traditional dance. The performer was a women who performed a dance that's usually done by men and then did another dance that was more feminine. Each move she did was gentle and specific. It was just amazing to watch as she used her body and fan in such a way.

 

Blake and I introducing ourselves to the community.

We had a small break session after the performance with snacks and drinks. We were able to talk and get to meet some of the community members. The female teachers all got to try on kimonos. We went to another room and got to pick a kimono that we wore. Some of the Japanese women came and helped us put on the kimono and obi (sash securing the kimono). There's also a slip called a nagajuban that you wear under a kimono. We did not wear a nagajuban as we put the kimono over the clothes we were wearing. Once everyone had their kimonos on we went back to the room and were going to perform!

Practicing the graceful moves before our performance.

We practiced the moves a couple of times. The moves represent an action. The fan we have is not used for fanning yourself but is a prop for the dance to represent different items depending on the dance.

Short clip from our performance.

Quite a fun experience! 

To our surprise the community gave us the kimonos that we had chosen as gifts. A very sweet gesture from them! We received a beautiful welcome and we're happy to be able to be part of this new community.