NCF-PIJLC Open House – 大成功！

 

Open house 2007- Japinoy members in Kimono

(The Kanji above reads: Huge Success)

Woohoo! This year’s Open House of the Nihongo Center/PIJLC was the best ever! Since the first time I attended the Open House in 2004, this is the first time I encountered such a big crowd at school. Tons of activities for the visitors too like Origami, aikido, sumo (!), film showing, kimono no kitsuke (kimono wearing), free Nihongo class, trivia contest, karaoke contest, cosplay contest and many more.

Above is a pic of moeru-san and hirodayuy-san (both Japinoy.com members) in their yukata (summer kimono). Looking good, guys! Mr. and Mrs. Yakuza? But something is missing in this pic…Oh, right. Falling hearts. Oh-kay, moving on… I wasn’t able to go around much to the different rooms and activities (or even watch ‘Howl’s Moving Castle) because Keli-sensei asked me to assist with the Kimono room, which I gladly did. The last time I wore a yukata was December last year, for the company’s Christmas party, and all I could remember was how to tie an obi (Not Wan Kenobi) in the ‘chou musubi’ style (butterfly obi, which in my opinion, looks more of a ribbon than a butterfly). There are so many other ways of tying an obi, but I never bothered to learn all of them. At the Open House, there were also the ‘instant obi’, those that you just clip on the back. Convenient. ^_^

Here comes the bride: Japanese weddings, Shinto style

Japan, as in many countries, has its own unique and traditional way of celebrating weddings — the Shinto way. Despite the growing popularity of Western-style weddings, many couples still opt to get married in a Shinto ceremony, wishing to have the same beautiful wedding that their parents and grandparents had. Nowadays, Shinto weddings are infused with Western practices like exchanging vows and rings and cutting cake, and it is in such weddings that the elaborate old-age traditions mix with modern-age romance.

Many Japanese marriages have resulted from mi-ai, and it is for this reason that mi-ai is still widely practiced today. Mi-ai is an interview between a man and a woman, with a view to marriage. It is arranged by a nakoudo or a go-between. It is not compulsory for the two sides to wed; mi-ai simply provides an opportunity for a man and a woman to get to know each other well enough so they can make an informed decision regarding future family life.

If and when the two sides decide to go ahead with the relationship after some time of getting to know each other, the nakoudo arranges for the engagement to take place formally with a ceremony called yui-no. The families of both sides meet to dine and wine together (wine, meaning sake, of course) as a sign that the two families will soon be united.

Respect for Time and Space in Tokyo

Respect for Time and Space in Tokyo
Written by: Wigent
 
Shortly after college, I became a researcher and was assigned to do a survey on the perceptions of Filipinos on Japanese. The study revealed that the Japanese were perceived highly in attitudes like being disciplined, punctual and respectful. Some see these attitudes to be the reason why their country has become the second largest economy in the world. Personally, I have long thought of the Japanese to have the same traits, however, never really dealt with them in business. I think it’s the same with these respondents, they have built their perceptions of the Japanese through media or what others have told them about. Although I have been to Japan before doing this research, I went there for fun, so I thought going there again would be exceptionally educating and see if my (and the respondents’) perceptions were correct.

My present job has given me the opportunity to do that. So while I was doing my daily work in Tokyo I did a mini-investigation and became more observant in the way the Japanese conducted their daily work. I never thought that I could see so much in my short stay.

Every morning I would walk to the subway station to commute to the office. So the first one I observed was the pacing of how Japanese walk. Some walked fast and normal like Filipinos. However, in general, they did really walk fast. By “fast”, I mean faster than most Filipinos would walk. Some even ran and nobody minded. (I say this because I observed in our country that some stare at someone who runs when he’s in a hurry which I think is not polite.)

After this short walk I would reach the train’s platform in a few minutes. Everywhere in the station, reminders for the passengers can be seen and one of these is the very reliable train schedule. Every station has one and according to the schedule, the next train will depart at 8:32AM . “On the dot? No way,” I said in disbelief. I thought maybe the train will depart like 8:30AM or 8:35AM. A few minutes later, the train arrived. We got inside the jam-packed train where everyone looked like sardines in a can. After a few seconds, the train left. At 8:32AM!

To read the entire article, please click HERE ^_^