At about 1p, met a 日本語のclassmate, Jacob, to find a つまらない物 (gift for the host) for the day's festivities. A chat room student had invited us over to her grandmother's old Japanese style house for tea ceremony. The invitation into someone's home is an incredible honor for anyone, let alone foreigners! And so, we went to the Tokyu market at Shibuya station in search of our "boring thing."
A funny word for a gift, but it makes sense, you see: in Japanese culture, one must always bring a gift for one's host. However, the gift's value is of supreme importance. So, it is proper form when presenting the gift to say, "This is just a boring thing..., (but please have it)." The implication being that, regardless of the the gift's actual value, it in no way reflects on the significance of your relationship with the host. Modesty at its finest. After some foraging, we decided upon a sweet, flavored bread assortment, thinking that (a) it's presentable, being colorful, wrapped and pretty to look at, and (b) in case she didn't like or couldn't eat particularly sweet things, hopefully, it would still be yummy. That, and the name of the store pwned.
Les Deux Magots.
Huhuh. Fruit is also a popular gift, being imported from the Asian continent. Many of the finest specimens are selected as special gifts, and single melons/tropical fruits can reach into the $100s.
~$130 Massive Mango (about a foot across!!)
And so, off we went to meet Naoko and her g-ma. Her house once belonged to Naoko's great grandfather. It was built about 90 years ago and was still in excellent condition. We were told ahead of time, but were still shocked to see the house was HUGE, and a beautiful garden completely circumscribed it. I didn't take pics of the house, out of politeness, but here's the garden. For reference, my apartment is about the size of that veranda!
Naoko and I in front of the house. The demon dogs scare away the gaijin.
Veranda.
This makes Jacob happy.
Garden
The hydrangea are in bloom!
Even more garden!
Dunno why, but I really like this pic:
Naoko showed us the old hand-well on the property, too. Although it's since been...um...repurposed, the pump is still functional!
Old hand well.
Naoko's grandma made us traditional o-cha (powdered and whisked green tea), sencha, and afternoon teas, and served us all kinds of traditional Japanese sweets: some with red bean, some "dry" sweets that melt in your mouth, and all very artistically constructed. Food is literally an art here. The sweets were so beautiful I was afraid to eat them! Naoko had even gone out of her way to purchase "Western" cakes in case we weren't fond of Japanese desserts: multilayered chocolate cake, cheese cake, fruit-tart cake, chocolate mousse cake...I can't even describe how amazingly thoughtful that was! Virtually complete strangers going to such trouble!! And everything was delicious!! Pics coming soon from Jacob's camera.
Insert "sweets" pics here. Coming soon....
As all good things must come to an end, after an enjoyable afternoon practicing Japanese and talking with Naoko and grandma about Japan and her travels abroad, as we were putting our shoes back on, grandma surprized us once again by presenting us with these beautiful, super soft deerskin(!!) bags. I'm not entirely certain of all the customs regarding gifts here, so though I was very tempted to refuse such an appreciatable and extravagent gift, I felt like it was required to accept(?). I really hope it was right...sometimes it really feels like I'm stomping my way through the culture. 外人スマーシ!
Deerskin!! Jesus.
Oh, and I saw this in the コンビに (convenience store) on the way home:
Goddamn, I love Japan.
Such an incredible day!! Today has left me dazed, a little confused, and absolutely, deeply grateful! I mean, how many foreigners can say that they were invited over to a beautiful, 90-year-old Japanese home for tea and the opportunity to chat with a person from another culture and a completely different generation?! It still amazes me. Virtually complete strangers showing such incredible thoughtfulness and kindness...there's no cultural parallel for this in America. All I can say is...wow....thank you!!
What a great experience, Kim. Thanks for sharing. EA
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