The Maypole From Hell

~When I arrived at the Civics Center today for my weekly class, there was some kind of celebration in progress. People were dancing outside, and booths were set up with Japanese foods. Inside the Center was a series of displays and exhibits. I later spoke to one of the staff members, who said that it was a cultural celebration from the town of Tochio:

^Tochio is located to the East of Nagoka, on the other side of these mountains (click on the picture for a better look at the panoramic). One of my students is from Tochio, and gets to Nagaoka by bus. She says that the most "exciting" shop in Tochio is the local supermarket, so she and her friends have to go to Nagaoka or Niigata if they want to buy any non-necessities.

On New Year's Day, Tochio merged with Nagaoka, which explains the festival. Come to think of it, Nagaoka is a lot like Cary, North Carolina: it's continually expanding, swallowing up smaller nearby municipalities. It's like a civic version of Wal-Mart.

I took a few pictures of the mini-festival:

^ Yours truly, posing with a pair of uniquely-dressed individuals. I think the one on the right is supposed to be a fisherman, while the one on the left is a farmer, complete with a hammer for pounding rice into mochi.

^ Dolls of old people sitting around. They're highly detailed, but I doubt they would sell well in America.

^ Model houses from Tochio a hundred years ago. Because the town is in the mountains and (normally) receives a lot of snow, all of the roofs are steeply angled so as to keep them from collapsing under the weight of accumulated snow.

^ An example of glassware made in Tochio. This example, a glass plate with a picture of a cat built in, was particularly striking.

^ A display of children's artwork. This, I thought, was the best example. The artist's use of perspective is particularly good.

Finally, here was the most bizarre thing at the festival, just outside the entrance to the Civics Center:

^ Words fail me. I was going to make a joke here involving the word "woody", but I'm just not in the mood. Let it never be said that the Japanese are prudish. ~Oyasumi!