うち帰ろか？Neighborhood HIRAKATA

If you are somewhere in your early 20's, and you tell a person from Osaka that you are living in Hirakata City, the first reaction that you will most likely get is 「あ、外大生？("Oh, are you a Gaidai student?")」－Hirakata City, or Hirakata-shi （枚方市）, as we would call it, is famous for it's local foreign language university, Kansai Gaidai. This city of less than 410,000 people, located right in between Kyoto and Nara, has been my home for nearly a year.

Having been raised in Kobe for almost my entire life, I consider myself a 神戸っ子 ("Kobe-kko"), or a "Kobe-person". Whenever I am asked where I am from (the tanned skin and my rather exotic choice of outfit seem to confuse many people whether I am from Japan or some other tropical country), I subconsciously try to distinguish myself from people in Osaka, despite my strong Kansai dialect. "My hometown is Kobe," I would say,"Shittou?" (「知っとう？」Kobe dialect for "Do you know?"). Most of the time they will say that they've heard of the city but never been, and I usually end the conversation by saying how beautiful it is there, and that they must pay a visit sometime. For this blog, I was tempted to write about my beloved hometown, but instead chose Hirakata-shi, my second home that is yet to be explored.

So far I have found out that my house in Hirakata-shi is in a highly residential area, and therefore is extremely quiet - both day and night. In the morning, I see some people starting their day by watering their plants in front of their doorsteps, having a walk in the park, or perhaps taking out their garbage bag to the designated bumping spot. Even in the evening, the area feels almost empty, and I am barely reminded of the neighbors' livelihood when I walk past a house during dinner time and smell their dishes.

From where I am living, it is hard to imagine that this relatively small city actually has quite a vibrant nightlife of its own.When I head towards the local Hirakata-shi station, a brief 15 minutes bike-ride from my house, I see many restaurants and 居酒屋 ("izakaya"), Japanese bars that serve anything from alcohol drinks to deserts. At this time of the year, you might see a crowd of サラリーマン("salary-man", white collar male workers) enjoying their drinks at a 立ち飲み屋 ("tachi-nomiya"), where they would literally stand (立ち) and drink (飲む) after a long day of work.

It is also not rare to see a 屋台("yatai"), a van that serves different kinds of food and drinks, parking just around the corner. The stereotype that I once had of おっちゃん("Occhan" middle-aged men) talking to the yatai owner with a cup of sake in his hand was completely destroyed, when I saw young female students in the seats, enjoying their meal.

In a nutshell, Hirakata-shi seems to have a good mixture of peace and excitement. What more can you ask after a pleasant evening at the 市駅 ("shi-eki" a local way of saying 枚方市駅) : a warm, cosy futon that awaits for you, in the peaceful, silent neighborhood.

縁起の文化 The Culture of "EN"

こんにちは！The title of this blog, 合縁奇縁 ("ai-en-ki-en") is one of many Japanese four-character idiom, known as 四字熟語 ("yoji-jyukugo"). This idiom means that the encounter that we have in life - be it good or bad - is due to the power of 因縁("in-nen"), generally translated to fate or destiny. In Japan, it is believed that this force is what draws two people together. As a Japanese, I would like to believe that those who stumbled into my blog share some kind of "en" - or destiny - with me. I will be happy if my blog postings can help you get a better understanding

of the Japanese culture.

In Japan, we often use the word 縁起 ("engi") to rationalize the many wonders and mysteries of life. In English, it would be translated into omen, although I personally think this translation does not fully express the rich definition that the word originally encompasses. In this blog post, I will give some examples of the way the notion of "engi" can be seen in our culture.

When you pay a visit to a shrine or a temple in Japan, you will most likely see a line of people waiting to get in front the alter in order to honor the deity (well, let's be honest, most of the time they are there to make a wish). If you have been to one before, you are probably familiar of the offertory box, or お賽銭箱 ("osaisen-bako") that is located in front of the alter. The question is, how much are you suppose to offer the deity without feeling too stingy or overly generous? 100yen? 500 yen? Or perhaps, a 1000 yen bill?

Surprisingly enough, the answer is quite modest: 5 yen. In Japanese, 5 yen is pronounced "go-en", synonymous to the word "御縁 ("go-en"), which is an honorific way of saying 縁 ("en"). It is believed that there would be good omen if we throw in a 5 yen coin in the offertory box. So next time you go to a temple or a shrine, don't feel that you have to offer a fortune in order to be respectful. As with any kind of offering, it is the thought that always counts (needless to say, generosity is always welcome).

Speaking of gifts, my mother recently gave me a wallet that she had been using for a while. When I opened it, there was a 5 yen inside - another example of a way we wish people good luck. 皆さんにご縁がありますように！May there be an "en" to everybody.