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| While in Imabari City, I was fortunate to stay with the Yanase family for my homestay weekend. They will always have a special place in my heart for all of the hospitality and warmth they shared with me. |
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This is the Yanase family. Fumihiro-san (Mr. Yanase) and Hatsumi-san (Mrs. Yanase) with me in front of their home in Imabari City. |
| On the first night, I met Fumihiro-san's mother. She is a retired music teacher. I had the pleasure of listening to her play the shamisen, a three-stringed guitar-like instrument. |  |
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Little did I know that I would be an active participant, not just a passive bystander. This is me trying to learn the difficult fingering of the shamisen under the watchful eye of my tutor. |
| Here we are playing a duet. I am playing
the koto, a thriteen-stringed harp. The koto is much easier to play
than the shamisen...sort of like playing by numbers.
We are playing "sakura" or "the cherry blossom song". |
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Here we are in the tatami room of the Yanase house. I am wearing Hatsumi-san's kimono. This is the kimono that she wore on her 20th birthday. |
| Stephanie poses with the koto in kimono. |  |
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These are called washi paper dolls.
Made from layers of folded washi rice paper that is as soft and pliable as cloth. |
On Tour
| On Saturday morning we toured Imabari City and some of the neighboring islands. To make sure that I was comfortable, the Yanases invited along two foreign exchange students and a local teenager who was proficient in English. Josef is from Germany and Katie is from Australia. |  |
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We visited a horse farm. These miniature horses are indiginous to Japan |
| This is me ringing a temple bell. |  |
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Here is the touring gang at a restaurant on Ohmishima. In the center of the table is a wire grill on it we cooked our own food. Everything ranging from pheasant and vegetables to octopus, shrimp, and sea bream or tai, a local favorite. |
| This is me at a local cemetary. |  |
| Here we are at the Yanase's house. I am being instructed on how to make paper dolls and origami. |  |
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Here we are in the kitchen. I asked if I could learn how to make sushi... |
| So sushi is what we had... |  |
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Any and all types imaginable. |
Rice Pounding Festival
| Before taking me back to the Kokusai Hotel on Sunday, we participated in a rice cake pounding festival at a local elementary school. Individual families used to make rice cakes for the New Year, but now many families do not grow their own rice nor do they have the equipment to make large quantities of rice cakes. So, the school hosts this festival as a community activity and all who participate share in the rice cakes produced. |  |
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Here I am trying my hand at pounding rice.
The hot rice is placed in the mortar and is pounded to release the gluten. When it has been pounded enough, it forms a dough-like ball and is taken inside the gym for processing. |
| Inside, the rice is shaped into a patty. |  |
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Then a piece of sweet red bean paste
is placed in the center of the rice patty and covered up like a dumpling. The rice cakes are eaten a sweet treats. |
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