Letter from Events Editor

LETTER FROM THE EVENTS EDITOR

As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s been a difficult year to be thinking about events. The majority of my term as the events section editor was spent scouring the internet for festivals and events all across the country. It was always interesting to explore local traditions and activities—and I’ve definitely added to my Japan “to-do” list as a result. Unfortunately, the last couple of months turned up with nothing but cancelled events. However, this did give me the opportunity to work with the CONNECT team to redefine an “event.” During this time of pandemic, something I’ve been consistently impressed by is people’s ingenuity and ability to adapt. Can’t do a movie night? All of a sudden, Netflix parties were a thing. Community can be found anywhere, and where there’s community, you can have an event.

Choosing favorite articles from this year was difficult. There were so many great events that people went to and chose to share with us. In the end, I chose Alisa van Eeghen’s “The Snake that Played with Fire” (originally published in the October 2019 issue) and Edward Portillo’s “Six Festivals in Six Days: The Tohoku Tour” (originally published in the November 2019 issue). I feel that both of these articles truly made the reader feel present at the festivals. The vicarious experience of reading through these pieces made me want to attend the festivals for myself. Going to events here in Japan can be such an incredible experience—but I feel as though you get out as much as you put in. Both of these authors threw themselves into the experience of being in the crowds, chanting along, making friends just for the night, and truly being a part of the festival. When events start happening again, I encourage you to explore your local area and discover traditions or seasonal hotspots you may have never known about. Until then, I’ll be adding to my “festivals to go to next year” list.

I also wanted to highlight Victoria Eichbaeur’s “Journey to the Heart of Shigaraki Pottery” that was published in the culture section of the February 2020 issue. The article delves into the history of this Shiga Prefecture art form, but also into Japanese pottery as a whole. I was interested enough to do some more reading on my own about Japan’s numerous forms of stunning pottery. Plus, I was lured into reading the article in my quest for knowledge about Japan’s ever-present tanuki statues and their err . . . hefty attributes. Who knew such a remarkable art form could be so closely related to something so undeniably odd? Read to find out how one form of pottery can go from lewd tanuki to elegant tea ceremony.

Linka Wade (Gunma)