Alright. So last night I went to Ginza with a bunch of JLI to see a Kabuki play called Ura Omote Sendai Hagi (Sendai Hagi Front and Back) at a theatre called Kabuki-za. The play was split into 4 acts that were actually kind of hard to follow. For example, a gong was supposed to represent dusk....yeah. Our English listening guide was really useful. All of the actors were men, even the women roles. There was one actor, Kanzaburo, who played 3 roles during the play. Shichinosuke (the emperor from The Last Samurai) was in the first act, which was interesting to see since I didn't know he was a Kabuki actor. The costumes and stage were stunning, but I couldn't take pictures. It was weird how during the 25 minute intermission everyone busted out boxed meals and started eating, especially since in the States you aren't allowed to eat in theatres. Anyway, there were a couple of kids in the play and they had this really strange high, held out voice thing that they did. It's apparently supposed to train their voices and give them 'psychological distance' from the characters they play (since many of them tend to be very tragic). The last thing that made an impression on me was how the stage rotated and they changed the entire set up in a minute. I didn't know the stage could turn until they started moving it. The play lasted for 3 and a half hours. Overall, it was really great to watch.
While we were in Ginza, we noticed that it's right next to Tsukiji and decided we should take a trip there sometime to see the fish market. (That means getting there around 5am in order to watch the auction and get in line for sushi.) I want to try the katsudou sashimi. (The live sashimi that they knock out and cut up.) One guy in my class was telling us about how he got the katsudou octopus and it woke up while they were eating. In theory, I want to try it, but I don't know if I can actually stomach it. Besides that, I also signed up to go to a sumo stable at 6:30am before school. Hahaha, I hope it's interesting.
Other than that, I've mostly been doing school stuff. I've also found out how much I like melon bread. So yummy. Oh yeah, I gave in and bought the expensive grapes. They were delicious. =) Last Friday, Theo came to visit. He helped me get started with EAP, so it was cool to see him. This is a picture of a funny Engrish window we passed. If you look carefully enough, you can see us in the reflection. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to make it vertical.) Isn't it great that they don't have any English speaking staff, but their sign is completely gramatically correct and in English?
