Nastu Matsuri (Summer Festival)

Last weekend at Nakayoshi was the Summer Festival, which is a fund raiser for the school as well as a cultural event with a professional kagura performance in the evening. It's also a chance for the older children to show off their baking skills. Starting at 4:00 all of the children emerge from the school and the 3 older grades, wearing their bandanas and aprons, sell the cookies they've made. Then they take off their aprons and get to spend 300 yen (which the parents have paid in advance). Instead of actual coins, they have play paper money on a string around their necks and they go around in groups, play games and eat some things, buying each item themselves and paying with the paper money each time. They also carry paper bags with their names and marks on them which are to hold the things they buy or the prizes they win from the games they play. Meanwhile the parents are managing the games and selling sweets they've made in advance, as well as cooking things on the spot like stir-fried soba noodles, hot udon soup, and grilled chicken. I was in the cafe with parents from Kellan's class where we sold snow cones (kaki gori), coffee/tea, and homemade baked goods. Kellan's class only came out for about 30 minutes and the kids were wheeled around in carts...although for the opening ceremony they all walked out holding hands, which was SO ADORABLE. Then they went back inside and the teachers fed them an early dinner, having bought things from the festival. Jolon's group stayed together until 6:00 which was when the parents met up with the teachers and picked up their kids. We fed Jolon some dinner and Jan took the boys to watch the kagura (traditional Japanese performance)....an old story is told by a few characters on a small stage.  Three people sit to the side of the stage and play a drum and two flutes.  At the end of this particular famous story there is a big fight between a warrior and 4 giant dragon-snakes. Once I upload the video, I'll have to include it. Most of the kids in Jolon's class were scared and many cried when the dragon-like snakes came out. After it was all over we helped clean up and then went back into the school for a late snack with some of the parents and teachers.