Golden Week

A week of warm holidays

Welcome back, dreamers.

This week at the intersection of April and May is known as Golden week in Japan, a series of holidays that provides a rare break for the otherwise rigorous school and work terms. It kicks off with Showa Day on April 29, named after that era’s emperor, Hirohito, though the holiday is now a way to loosely remember the Showa Era (1926-1989; Japan went through a lot during those years).

The following week sees the main event — a three-day run of holidays escalating in significance: Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day from May 3-5 respectively. The latter is by far the oldest and most storied of the bunch, having roots as early as the 1100s as a day for women to purify the home and rest. When the samurai became the ruling class toward the end of the century, the custom changed, all thanks to a pun. The purifying flower, 菖蒲 (shoubu - iris) has a homophone in 尚武 (shoubu - militarism, warlike spirit), and so the day became more about recognizing and protecting the boys of families.

Over several centuries, more traditions evolved, including displaying 武者人形 (musha ningyo - samurai dolls), and flying 鯉のぼり (koinobori - koi banners), both of which are still widely practiced today, and were even on display at my school. The tradition stems from an ancient Chinese legend about a school of koi attempting to swim up a waterfall. Over the course of many years, the koi realized the futility of the task, were discouraged by the spirits residing nearby, and one by one gave up. Eventually, there was only one koi remaining and after centuries of swimming reached the peak of the stream, where it was recognized by the gods and rewarded by being transformed into a dragon.

Koinobori, samurai dolls, and other Golden Week decorations at my school

Ghibli

This week was the culmination of a goal I’ve had many years before even thinking about coming to Japan; the journey to the elusive Ghibli Museum, celebrating the movies of Miyazaki, Takahata, and many others. That I was able to finally get in was a real relief, I was beginning to worry I woudln’t be able to make it.

The building is small but well packed, featuring three exhibition rooms, a cafe, a handful of rooms with stellar setdressing (like the robot from Castle in the Sky), and most exciting of all, a theatre showing an short film by the studio that is shown nowhere else outside of the museum. As part of our homework over Golden Week’s four day weekend, I wrote briefly about my visit, which I’ll attach below, just for the fun of it.

ゴールデンウイークの間にやっとジブリ美術館へ行った！日本へ来たからチケットを買おうとしていたが、早く売り切れるから買えなかった。きっちり9時にホームページにいかないことには、チケットを買えない。ジブリ美術館はすばらしかったが、思っていたよりちょっと小さくて、ずいぶんの部屋はカフェとか店だった。しかし、出展や特別な映画はすごかった。上映される映画は毎月変わっていて、私を見たのは「水グモもんもん」だった。あの美術館でしか見えないし、ジブリの映画がきっかけで日本の映画や文化に興味を持つようになったし、特別な経験だった。ジブリが好きならおすすめだ。ねこバスの部屋みたいな子供向けこともあるからご家族にも楽しいはずだ。

“Over Golden Week, I finally went to the Ghibli Museum! Since coming to Japan I’ve been trying to buy tickets, but they sell out fast so I haven’t been able to get them. If you don’t go to their website precisely at 9:00, you won’t be able to buy any. The museum was spectacular, though a little smaller than I expected, and there were a lot of cafes and shops. However, the exhibitions and exclusive movie were amazing. The screened movie changes every month, and the one I saw was called “MonMon the Water Spider.” You can’t see it anywhere besides the museum, and watching Ghibli movies is a large factor in what got my interested in Japanese movies and culture, so it was a very special experience. If you like Ghibli movies, I highly recommend going. There’s also a room with the catbus and other interactive elements made for kids, so the whole family should be able to enjoy the museum.”

I had to fit in a couple of new grammar points they wanted us to use, so excuse the sloppy structure toward the end.

While the museum wasn’t as encompassing and immersive as I’d hoped, what was there was deep. I was especially drawn in by the exhibit of preliminary sketches scattered around rooms dressed to evoke an artist in the heart of the creative process. The dedication to creativity was thoroughly portrayed, and bolstered by the museum’s commitment to thematic consistency. I’m writing about it with a bit of a cold, logical voice, but it was genuinely moving. I was happy to see some love given to one of the studio’s often overlooked films, Takahata’s quiet classic My Neighbors the Yamadas. For more underrated Ghibli recommendations, revisit my post from last fall on the breadth of their output.

Photos are prohibited inside, but encouraged outside

The Ghibli Museum is located in a town called Mitaka, which uses a kanji I recognize and love despite its rare usage, 鷹 (Taka - hawk, falcon, half of my middle name). For the curious, the full name of the town is 三鷹 (Mitaka - three hawks).

How has spring been treating you? Despite a four day weekend, my days have been busy and my emotions all over the place! I miss you.

愛を持って、

With Love,

gb

These letters are inspired by the Earwyrms playlist and newsletter. Read it here.