Day 4:
The day started out with a trip to Heian shrine for the opening and blessing.
I figured that the participants would stand in the outer courtyard while the Sensei who where part of the ceremony would be inside the shrine. I was wrong. When we got there, we all filed into the inner courtyard where seating had been arranged. We then were privileged to be part of the ceremony and to be blessed by the priest. This is a pretty big deal. The only ones other than the priests and attendants who are allowed there are worshipers for special ceremonies.
After that came Enbu. I could take all day to write up the highlights. But I'll be brief here. It started with us taking our place in the Butokuden. Sosai (the Prince, and yes I do mean Royal family) started out the ceremony and was followed by a couple of other short speeches. Then came the opening performances to chase away then Demons.
At this point we exited the hall as a group (just JKI) and reentered in the back. We were the first group to participate in the Taikai. It was a great honor to be the first. I couldn't see it, but I was told we did extremely well.
From there we went back to our seats and sat quietly while the rest of the 600 participants performed as well. Guys, It was incredible. The level of most of the groups was astounding. We saw Iai, Aikido, Karate, Judo, Juijutsu, Aikijutsu, Jodo and more. I can't even begin to name all of the styles, much less their Ryu. It was humbling as well. I saw Budo that puts mine to shame. I now have an idea how little I really know about budo, and how far I'll always have to go.
We continued from around 9am until around 3:30 with a short break for lunch. After we closed for the day we scurried back to the hotel for a quick change and went to our second dinner. It was much more casual than Last nights.
Oh, I see I forgot about to tell you about that. I'll correct that tonight :)
Dinner was a 7 course meal served as a single dish to be passed around. Kind of like a Chinese restaurant, but a bit more formal. The menus from all of the banquets blurs a bit so I can't remember the menu. But I do remember that they all were excellent.
Well, that's it for now. I'll post again tonight after we get to Takayama. Oh,before I forget. We have a view of Mt Fuji from our hotel window here in Shin-Fuji. It's shrouded by clouds at the top today, but we got to see it yesterday through the light haze.
See you all tonight.
2 comments:
That sounds so amazing, I can't wait to see the pictures. I can barely imagine how it must have looked. So the JKI team got to perform first, and won a team award? Congratulations to all of you!!!
Thanks again for writing this blog, and I hope you enjoy your vacation!
Deb Brown
A bit of clarification; as I understood it, the JKI received the award for "Most Outstanding Team" on *both* days. And to open an event like this (on both days) is a position of great respect and responsibility, as we set the initial watermark for others to reach.
There were a number of other people that came up to us afterward and expressed how they "felt our spirit" or could "see our spirit" when we did our waza... high praise indeed. That and the opportunity and privilege to stand on that floor where so many other masters have stood was worth all the trials and challenges of the trip.
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