Ryukyu Mura

As I write this post, I realize that we have just three weeks left here in Okinawa. This means I could probably post every day and still not get caught up. Better late than never, right? I hope to have everything documented by the time the girls leave for college. I can make a nice photo book for each of them. (Oh good God, Mom, photo books are so 2010! Stop embarrassing me!)

Okay, so when we left off last time, Grandma Maggie and Poppy had traveled from afar to see us, Maggie and I accidentally ate pig's ear, and Justise Winslow had blocked the shot of a Stanford player while jumping over the dude's head. Ok, that last one might have been more recent. If you don't know what I am talking about, just google it. You're welcome.

Early in the Dolbows' visit, we headed to Ryukyu Mura, a village designed, mainly for tourists, to learn more about the traditional crafts, dances, and lifestyle of the Ryukyan people. Think Williamsburg for Okinawa. 

The main event for our visit there was a 30 minute performance that cycled through all of the traditional dances and celebrations of the Ryukyu culture. I love the colors in the traditional clothing. The art of painting the fabrics is called bingata, and it is one of the main crafts celebrated here.

The Lion dance is another traditional dance, with connections to similar dances in China. The lion, which on Okinawa resembles the Shisa, is supposed to summon good spirits. It is fun to watch the lion dance because it takes two people to wear the costume and the coordination between the dancers is impressive. Zoe's general dislike of dogs affected her enjoyment of this portion of the show, but soon they moved on to an Eisa performance.

I love watching the Eisa drummers. The dancing, drumming, and singing is full of energy. There is so much to the culture here that has been kept alive and that the younger generations seem to enjoy as much as the older ones. 

Water buffalo are a common farm animal on the island. In this demonstration, they were being used to operate a sugar cane mill, crushing the cane to allow the sweet juice to flow. 

At any good tourist destination, and especially here in Okinawa, there is always an opportunity to spend even more money with additional "experiences". The girls had already painted shisa when we first arrived here, but it's hard to pass up a craft activity with these two. What I love about doing crafts with them is the opportunity to see their unique personalities borne out in art. Zoe, who often declares that she plans to be an artist when she grows up, goes wherever the paint takes her. She loves to swirl it and doesn't get upset if she makes a mess. She also has tremendous focus for a preschooler when it comes to art projects. It's just about the only time she is reasonably quiet.

Then there is Maddox. She organizes her paint and makes a plan for what she is going to do. Sometimes the organizing of the craft materials takes far more time than the actual execution of the craft. She gets frustrated when the colors mix or when the result doesn't match what is in her mind's eye. I would chalk some of these differences up to developmental age, but I remember when Maddox was three and four, she would make pages and pages of "artwork" that was simply stickers lined up in neat rows all across a page. I don't think Zoe has ever lined anything up in her life.

Zoe's final product: 

Maddox's final product: 

A Duke Shisa! Atta girl. 

The funny part was watching the Japanese tourists (Okinawa is an increasingly popular tourist destination for mainland Japanese) make their own Shisa; all well designed and color coordinated. They were painted to look like the ones sold in the souvenir shops. There was a couple at our craft table who laughed and laughed, good-naturedly I trust, at Zoe's shisa in particular. They took a photo of it as well. I assume they posted it on Facebook and that the photo has gone viral in Tokyo.

Okay, now go eat some leftovers, shop your local businesses for great holiday gifts, and eagerly await more posts from me. Just don't hold your breath, ok?