Saturday, March 17, 2012

A Year Has Passed 一年が経って


It's been already a year since that date.
For some people, there could have been some days when they felt a day was so long.

On Maui, people freely gathered at Kalama Park in Kihei to commemorate and pray for Japan.

Some people brought leis and offered them to the ocean. Some people put hands together facing the sun that was setting over the horizon. Most of them were Japanese, but some were other nationalities.

早いものであの日から一年が経ちました。
でも人によっては一日一日がとても長く感じた日もあったでしょう。

マウイでは東北地方太平洋沖地震からの一年を追悼するため、キヘイのカラマパークという公園で皆で思い思いに集まりました。

レイ(首の周りに飾る花のネックレス)を持ってきて、それを海に投げ入れる人もいましたし、水平線の向こうに沈んでいくお日様に向けて手を合わせる人々もいました。日本人がほとんどでしたが、他の国籍の方もいらっしゃいました。

Yuichiro and his wife Ayumi posing for their son
What a cute scene that was
悠くんと、奥さんのあゆみと息子
何とも和やかな光景です
Our friend Yuichiro Kunitomo happened to be on Maui, so he danced a beautiful prayer on the spot. We all made a big circle, and he was dancing inside of it. Maybe one of his moves looked like clock hands, and one boy who spoke English as his native language (and probably high school age) walked by and said loudly, "Look, there is a human clock! What time is it? Hahahahaha" and walked away. Although he did not seem to know to respect people's space, I thought what he said was quite interesting.

Yeah, what time is it really? What time is it in a sense of the human history and in a sense of the earth time? Do we have an enough time to contribute to the earth's natural life span or are we shortening it by quite a bit?

丁度そのときに日本から来ていた、友人の國友悠一郎が即興で祈祷の舞を踊ってくださいました。みんなで大きな輪を作って、その中で悠くんが踊っていのたですが、ある動きのときに悠くんが時計の針に見えたのか、その場を通り過ぎていったアメリカ人(とは限らないけど英語を母国語として話す人)の若い青年が(多分高校生くらいの齢)「見ろよ、人間時計だ。今、何時でっすか〜?ハハハ〜」っと大声で野次を飛ばすように言って去っていきました。「何て場をわきまえない子なんだ」なんて心中で思いつつも、彼の残した言葉はとても適しているようで心に残りました。

いや、本当に一体今は何時なんでしょう?人類の時計という意味で。地球の時計という意味で。この地球さんに生き生きと長生きしてもらうために私たちが出来ることをしているのでしょうか?それともその時間を奪ってばかりいるのでしょうか?


As I was watching children happily running around in front of the setting sun and the waves, I wondered, "What can we leave for these children?" "What kind of life do we want them to have?" "Are we being good role models for them?" "Are we loving them with all our hearts and mind and strength?"

There is a Japanese rock band called Frying Dutchman and their song, "human ERROR" has a strong message, and a part of the lyrics says, "Who is the most pitiful? Children are! They are our future. What use is being an adult if we cannot protect them?" This line touched my heart.

夕陽を前に、波を前に楽しそうに遊び走り回る子ども達を見て、この子たちに残していけるものは何なのだろう?この子たちにどんな人生を送ってもらいたいか。私たちは良いお手本となっているのだろうか?私たちは全身全霊でこの子たちを愛してあげていられるのだろうか?と思いました。 Frying Dutchmanという日本のロックバンドの「human EROOR」という歌の詩の一部である 「何が一番可哀想かって? 子どもが一番可哀想だろ! 俺たちの未来なんだぞ 守ってやれなくてどうすんだよ!」 に心を打たれた私でありました。

Monday, March 12, 2012

Izanai Yosakoi Performance on Maui

Energy of Izanai going around!
イザナイのエナジーが巡り回る
On Monday, March 5th, we had a wonderful gathering at the Studio Maui in Haiku. The event was to raise money to purchase geiger counters for local Japanese people in Fukushima, so that they can gain more information to make informed decisions in their lives. Lei'ohu Ryder of Maui, the Izanai Yosakoi dancers from Japan as well as Maui, and the great helpers of Maui made the event possible.

Despite of the fact that it was a Monday night in rainy Haiku, the studio was packed! We were grateful to have that many people. It was because of you who supported it. Let me use this opportunity to thank you again. Thank you!!

3月5日の月曜日、マウイのハイクにあるスタジオマウイにて素晴らしい集まりがありました。それは福島の地元の方々が使えるガイガーカウンターを購入するための、資金集めのイベントでした。マウイのレイオフ・ライダーさんとイザナイよさこいグループと、マウイの地元の皆さんで作り上げたイベントでした。

月曜日の夜だというのに、ハイクという田舎の雨がよく降るよるだというのに、会場は来てくださった方々で埋まり、大成功となりました。これも偏(ひとえ)に皆さまのおかげです。この場をお借りして再びお礼を言わせてください。ありがとうございました。


This photo holds 16 dancers from Maui!
Two are missing since they danced only in Honolulu this year.
They have worked very hard since last September.
I was very grateful to dance with them.
Yako and I are in different costumes because we danced two different dances,
and the first one was the Indian dance (called Odissi).

この写真に写っている16人がマウイいざないよさこいダンサーズです!
もう二人いたのですが、その二人は今年はホノルルのみで踊ったので
この写真には写っておりません。(タラちゃんとちあきちゃん)
彼女達は昨年の9月から練習をがんばってきました!
皆さんと一緒に踊ることが出来て、とても光栄でした。
やこと私だけ違う衣装をまとっているのは、私たちは
よさこいとオディッシィダンスを両方し、オディッシィの方が
先だったので、そちらの衣装を着ていたからです。


With my friend April.
She had never danced in front of audience before.
I was very grateful that she was courageous enough to
give it a try, and she did so well.
(In the back, Shinnosuke who is my dance brother is stretching,
and I am not sure if his fingers have any meaning.)

友人のエイプリルと。
彼女はこれまで人前で踊ったことがなかったのです。
新しい世界に勇気を振り絞って参加してくれたことを心から感謝。
(後ろで慎ちゃんがストレッチをしているけど、指には意味があるのか?)
(そして正座している敬偉の姿勢も良し。)


From left: my Odissi teacher, Sarala Dandeker' son, Sarala, me, and my dear friend Yako.

左から:私のオディッシィダンスの先生の息子、サララ先生、私、マウイの親友の一人やこ


We were rehearsing an Izanai Yosakoi dance piece.
As I wrote earlier, I danced two: Yosakoi and Odissi, and
Odissi was before Yosakoi, so I had its costume on first.
Therefore, this mis-matching, dancing Yosakoi in Odissi costume
happened. The leg behind me is my leg. (Photo by Take-chan)

イザナイよさこいのリハーサル中。
先ほども書きましたように、オディッシィダンスが先だったので
オディッシィの衣装を先に着ていました。なのでこの衣装でよさこいという
私も初めての組み合わせとなりました。
後ろに見えているの、私の足です。
(写真提供 竹ちゃん)


My suge-gasa (hat).
I've been using this since I was 19 years old (a decade ago).
I found this at my parents' home when I went home this past January,
so I brought it back to Maui.

私の菅笠。
19歳のときから使用。(10年前の話)
今年のお正月に里帰りしたときに見つけ、
マウイに持って帰ってきておいた。


On Wednesday, March 7th, the Japanese dancers and I went up to the top of
Haleaka as we always do. 
Our beloved teacher, Suga Kunitomo sleeps there... 
as well as Kouji and Kobacchi (two Izanai dancers).

そして3月7日の水曜日には、日本から来ていた踊り子と一緒に
例年通りにハレアカラの山頂まで行ってきました。
そこに私たちの親愛なる恩師、國友須賀が眠るのです。
幸治さんも、こばっちも。


This year, we were also greeted by the full moon rising over the crater.

今年は火口から登るまん丸お月様にもお目にかかれました。


The very round sun and the very round moon were there.
I wonder if the time has also teemed.

まん丸なお日様とまん丸なお月様でした。
時も満ちたのでしょうか。


And we had a fun late evening time with the dancers.
We dont' get to see each other as often as we wish.
(I saw some of them for the first time in 3 or 4 years.)

その後、なかなか会えない踊り子たちと楽しい宴。
なかなか会えない私たち。
(中には4、5年振りに会えた方もいらっしゃいました。)


I love you, everyone!
みんな、アイ ラブ ユー!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Honolulu Festival 2012


Here it is again, Honolulu Festival!!
This year was the 18th year.
We, Suga-ren, has been participating every single year since the very first year.

今年もやって参りました、ホノルルフェスティバル!!
 今年で第18回目。
何と須賀連は第1回から連続参加。


Maui dancers flew to Honolulu in the morning on Sunday, March 4th.
7 of us took this black limo from the airport to the hotel where all the Japanese dancers were staying.

マウイダンサーズは3月4日の朝にホノルル入り。
7人乗りの黒いリムジンタクシーに乗って移動。日本から来た踊り子さん達が泊まっているホテルまで。


Quickly we changed into our costumes and put the make-up on. We took another cab to head to the Convention Center.

着いてすぐにメイクと着替え。またタクシーに乗って、コンベンションセンターへ移動。


Here is a video of us dancing at the Convention Center. 
(In case you are curious to know where I was, I have a pink hachimaki (headband) and am in the second row and the second dancer from the left side if you are facing the stage.)

上がそのときの演舞の様子。
(私は舞台に向かって左手から二人目。前から二列目のピンクのハチマキをした者です。)


Great smiles!
いい笑顔だ、みんな!


You cannot dance with an empty stomach. At lunch time, we, the Maui dancers were so excited to go to Shirokiya which is located in the Alamoana Shopping Center. We cannot eat this kind of Japanese food on Maui, so it was a rare opportunity.

腹が空いては戦は出来ぬと言うもので、お昼になったのでアラモアナショッピングセンターの中にある白木屋へ。マウイに住む私たちにとっては、このような日本食が食べられる機会が稀なので、わっさわっさと嬉しそうにたどり着いた私たち。


Last year, we did not know that there was this Japanese food court, so we ate something else, and when our stomach was totally full, we found Shirokiya, and we were so sad. So ever since then, we have been saying, "We are going to Shirokiya the next year!!" and we lived our hard lives relying on that simple hope (nah, we're just kidding), but we really looked forward to eating there as much as dancing in Honolulu since many of us cannot go back to Japan as often as we would like to :)

昨年はフードコートで日本食じゃないものを食べて、そのあとに白木屋を発見し、もうお腹がいっぱいだった私たちは涙したという思い出があるのです。それからというもの、「来年は白木屋に行こう!」を合い言葉に、それを夢見て生きてきたのです。(というのは大げさですが。)でも、本当になかなか日本に帰れない私たちは、ホノルルで踊ることと同じくらい楽しみにしていました(笑)。私はおからと栗おこわを食べました!


We were walking around in these outfits.
こんな格好でホノルルを歩き回っておりました。


Do our backs have some melancholy feeling?
Well, we have strong backs, don' we?

後ろ姿に哀愁が漂いますか?
いえいえ、格好良いでしょう?


Then we gathered at the starting point of the parade on Kalakaua Avenue.
そしてパレード出発地点に集合。

We danced our souls out!!
パレード魂込めて踊りきりました!


Can you tell how proud, satisfied, and refreshed we were from our facial expressions?
(We were packed in an elevator.)

踊り終わった後の爽快感と満足感が私たちの表情から読み取れるでしょうか?
(ホテルのエレベーターに乗り込んだところ。)


We even watched fire works!!
花火も見れました。


Here is a short video of the fire works.
(I taped it for my dad who loves fire works.)
こちらに短い映像。(花火好きの父のために撮りました。)


Then we flew back to Maui in the very last flight of the day. We used the same limo we rode in the morning. We were pleasantly exhausted...

そして一番最後の便でマウイに戻ったのでした。朝使ったリムジンタクシーのおじちゃんにまた来てもらいました。心地よい疲労と共に家路についたのでした。

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Fund Raiser for Japan 日本のためのファンドレイザー


Dear Maui Friends,

Sorry for this last minute notice.
I got quite sick for the past some days, so I could not sit up in front of a computer until tonight.

This coming Monday, you will be glad you did come even though it is a Monday night :)

My dance sisters and brothers are coming from Japan!!!
Well, I used 3 exclamation marks, but I don't know how to exactly tell you how excited I am to see them and dance with them again. I used to dance with them before I came to Maui (11 years ago). Their dance is amazing, but what more amazing is their openness. They share their hearts so openly and passionately. It is difficult not to be affected by their dance :) You will be blown away by their heart-touching and deepening performances.

They are coming to Hawaii to perform in Honolulu Festival on Sunday, and they have to go home right away, but before they leave, they wanted to show their appreciation to the Maui community for the help you provided for Japan last year. Then Aloha in Action (founded by Lei`ohu Ryder of Maui) suggested that we could do another fundraiser for Japan since Japan is still in need of help. This is how this event was created.

All the profit will be used to purchase geiger counters which will help common Japanese people to find out accurate information regarding radiation. As I borrow my friend, Mike Crall's words, "Imagine that every day you needed a device to monitor your food for atomic fallout. That it was just simply way of life as you needed like a key to your apartment."

Per performance, there is another element that makes this year even more special. There will be 18 dancers from Maui joining the Japanese dancers! I have had a privilege to teach a class since last September, and this many people stuck to it despite of their busy life and challenging choreography :) Well done!! Please come and support Maui's own Izanai Yosakoi dancers!!!

I will be performing both Izanai Yosakoi dance (modern energetic Japanese dance) and Odissi dance (classical Indian dance) with my teacher, Sarala Dandekar and dance sister, Yasuko Schlather. This is also a piece that you don't want to miss. It is a rare opportunity to get to see my dance teacher perform here on Maui. You might have seen me performing Odissi here and there at Maui's local events, but you can't say you've seen a real Odissi until you see her perform.

So having said all that, please come :)

What: Fundraiser for Japan
When: Monday, March 5th, 2012
Where: The Studio Maui (in Haiku)
Time: 6 to 8:30 pm
Who:

  • Musical Performances by Lei'ohu Ryder & Maydeen Iao
  • Thrilling Izanai Dance by the Izanai Dance Troupe of Japan & Maui
  • Sacred Indian Odissi Dance by Sarala Dandekar, Akari Ueoka and Yasuko Schlather
  • Mystical Shakuhachi Flute Music by "K"

Why: To raise money to benefit local groups in Japan to purchase geiger counters, so that they can determine safe places to build homes, create farms and grow safe foods. Even to know if what foods they have purchased are safe to eat.
How Much: $15 donation
More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/371657342858361/

Here is a documentary program on YouTube.
You can learn what sort of life the children in Fukushima are forced to deal with on daily bases.
 "Children of the Tsunami"
BBC program in full. First aired on March 1st, 2012.


Aloha and Arigato,

Akari