Culture Day, Nov 3rd, 2008

Culture Day is an annual holiday in Japan that aims to promote culture and the arts. On this day, all around the country, a variety of art exhibitions, performances & traditional cultural activities would be organized. Of course, we were not about to miss out on the fun!

A Kimono head instructor first showed us how to don a kimono correctly. The entire process took about 40 minutes! We were then individually guided by our own instructors as we barely remembered the steps.

Clad in our kimonos, we were then treated to a traditional tea-tasting ceremony. It did feel that we were transported back in time, where there was much importance placed on beauty, precision and a deep understanding of nature using our senses.

See the white board in the background? The teacher drew us a graph for us to learn about how the temperature of the hot water would fluctuate, so that we will know the best time to serve.

My first time in a kimono. :)

& (possibly) a moment of grace?

It took us some time to get to the garden as we had to walk baby steps. ;)

In the afternoon, we then attended a Traditional Japanese Music Concert. It was my first acquaintance with the light yet powerful sound of the flute. The nagauta (traditional music that accompanies the Kabuki theatre)ensemble consisted of singers, shamisen (a plucked lute) and the hayashi ensemble of the Noh.

Interestingly, this concert was a collaboration with the British council so there were some English kids who performed the drums alongside their teacher. It was very entertaining!

Caught a glimpse of the 'stars' after their performance.
Happy tea-drinkers!

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