OsakaHaHa: Autumn Equinox

Shubun No Hi is held on Sept. 23^rd and the people of Japan get a national holiday. It is a time where they pay their respects to their ancestors and remember the dead. We saw many visiting the cemetery and the local Shinto Shrine.

It is also the first day of fall and let me tell you it pushed in with O-ame (big rain). It was so hot the night before that we were sweating through our pj’s. But as it had been cooling at night and we dislike air-conditioning we kept the windows open hoping for a night breeze. The middle of the night brought a thundering storm with a lot of heavy rain so Tim and I had to run around closing windows so the floors wouldn’t get wet. The temperature dropped at least eight degrees which left us reaching for blankets by morning. We all slept at that point with no desire to rise until later in the morn. The heavy rain, thunder and lightning didn’t let up until around ten am.

After breakfast Tim worked from home not wanting to get soaked and the kids did their homeschooling practising phonics and math. Then we shifted into learning about the full moon. Why?

It was also the day for Autumn Moonlight Viewing which everyone reminded us to do and is a very big deal. This activity occurs on the full moon of Sept. which happened to fall on the Equinox this year so today was an extra special day as the two combined in ceremony.

So, I drew a picture of the full moon containing two rabbits, male and female with a rice thresher in between them which Japanese people claim they see in the full moon. The kids coloured it and hopped we would see the moon soon.

We had a delicious feast for dinner. Yaki-Udon, noodles with squid, steamed Kabocha squash, broccoli and a big salad. The bottle of French wine called ‘Nature Vivante’ was a perfect match. The kids call Udon ‘Kung Fu Noodles’ and they slurped them in a way that is not polite in western culture. Here, the louder the better.

For dessert the children ate a white cake with a strawberry on top that was delicious. (I know because they love me enough to have fed me a bite each). Tim bought us “Moon Cakes” which is traditional for the night and they were made of pounded rice and red bean paste. I tried my best to enjoy the chewy, sticky stuff but the light wine buzz made me child-like and I couldn’t help but do a blasphemous thing and challenge Eleanor to a tug-of-war with it. What a laugh. That led to an even bigger competition as Eleanor then challenged me to a sumo fight.

You see, the 5^th Sumo wrestling competition has been taking place in Tokyo and it has been on T.V. so we have watched a bit for cultural learning. What could I do? So, I accepted Eleanor’s challenge and the first ever Reiffenstein Sumo competition began in my yoga room. (so much for peace and tranquility).

Tim was the referee and Eleanor and I sized each other up, then departed company to consider our options and throw a lot of salt to cleanse the fighting area. Back in the circle we stomped and tried to look really strong while the referee (Tim with a cereal box on his head) yelled directions. Then we wrestled and laughed ourselves to the ground. Lucas challenged the winner and then Tim got in the action. All I can say is thank God we were not in those little diaper things those big guys wear.

The moon shone out from behind the clouds and we ran up to our balcony to see if those rabbits were up there. We found them upside down. We all began to wax poetic and below is a sample;

Tim’s Haiku

Harvest moon

Crickets chirping softly

Fall is here

Lucas’ poem

Like the moon

Likes the trees

Likes the clouds

Likes the breeze

Ella’s Compilation

I see the moon in sky

I watch the clouds floating by