Shinzou wo Sasageyo, Minna-san! I’ve been in a bit of a revitalized good mood primarily due to rewatching episodes of the anime 進撃の巨人 (“Shingeki no Kyojin”), so I thought I’d relate an experience I had while living in Tokyo in 2015 called “Attack on Wall Tokyo” as well as another one I had during a trip to Sapporo in 2016 called “Attack on Wall Sapporo”.
This is surprisingly, another one of those “I can’t believe I haven’t written about this sooner” posts. But then again, when you’re in Japan, there’s next to no time, zilch, to really document it other than via photos. As such, 4 years later, let’s talk about concerts in Japan, and specifically, my first concert in Japan.
Throughout my time living in Japan, I tried to do things that I had never done before. My first Kabuki experience though, was a no joke, INTENSE experience steeped in rich Japanese history and culture.
I’ve retold this story many a time for friends and family alike, but I’ve never written about it here, which feels like a glaring flaw on this blog. This is because, as it was my first experience in Japan, I would say that even though it wasn’t when I moved to Japan, it is certainly important enough to document (at least in my mind anyway). So what happened? How did I get there anyway? And what made it my first night so memorable? To tell the whole story, we have to start back in 2012.
My first time going to a Kabuki (歌舞伎) show and the significant reunion was in 2015. I stood in a striped black and white shirt and a black vest finished with a black skirt in the Ginza (銀座) district in Tokyo (東京) in front of the theater, Kabuki-za (歌舞伎座), holding onto the strap of my purse and my phone waiting nervously, hoping I’d be easy to spot. My eyes darted around, trying to find someone I knew in a sea of faces.
A long time ago, I was a gaijin (外人), or foreigner there. I was fresh off the boat in Japan with a tiny studio apartment. I didn’t even have a phone at the time. None the less, I was determined to experience EVERYTHING I could in this country. And I learned early on to ALWAYS GO FOR IT when in the land of the rising sun. Trust me, it’s worth the risk. 😉
Today, I’m sharing with you all my experience at Itsukushima (厳島), more popularly referred to as “Miyajima” (宮島) or “Shrine Island”, located southwest of the city of Hiroshima (広島). As one of the “Nihon Sankei” (日本三景), or “Three Views of Japan” coined by the scholar Hayashi Gaho (1618-1688), scholars consider it one of the most scenic and beautiful sites in all of Japan… and that’s an understatement!
Today is indeed a unique day in the history of the world, more specifically in the country of Japan. Yesterday marked the end of a literal era, the Heisei Era (meaning “peace everywhere”), of Japan. Now with the Crown Prince’s ascension comes the beginning of a new era, known to the world as the Reiwa Era (令和) with a translated meaning of most closely the phrase “beautiful harmony”.