Do, Wash, Repeat

Maiko Preforming at Naha Main Place  

While the coronavirus leads the headlines, we’ve kept busy with activities and then washed our hands. Saturday we went to Naha Main Place and watched maiko, (apprentice geisha), perform traditional Japanese songs and dances. Many of the mall customers wore masks which Ryan says protects the rest of us from their sneezes. I appreciate their efforts. Some people wore their masks over their nose and mouth, others just their nose or mouth, others under their chins, and the rest some other way, even on their foreheads, I guess as charms to ward off the virus.

Start of the Bike Race  

The next morning we got up early to watch a bike race on Camp Kinser. As I walked to the start, I met Seiko, an Okinawan whose 16-year-old son was racing, and as a typical teen, did not have any interest in his mother fawning over him in front of his buddies. Once the starting gun was fired, (we were on a Marine base, after all), and the racers took off, Seiko took us over to the top of the biggest hill on the course. It was short but steep. Grant and I would be hard pressed to push our bikes up the hill, much less ride it. For the five laps, the front pack rode it with ease. The rest got slower and slower, and I think some questioned their decision to enter the race. Seiko’s son was pleased with his time. 

After seeing my pictures of the maiko, Seiko explained they weren’t an Okinawan tradition, but rather from Tokyo. Okinawa and its nearby islands were populated by Ryukyu, not Japanese. Two different ethnic groups, and the locals are rightly proud of their own culture. Even their Shisa are unique to their islands.

Bella with Shisa  

At the Baseball Game  

Monday we attended the local Chunichi Dragons v Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (Kumejima) baseball game, one of the last of the spring training season. We chose stadium seats, but I sort of wish we had opted for outfield, i.e., sitting on the grass, so our backs would have been to the sun. On the other hand, sitting out there would have included being next to team bands, which played the entire time its team was at bat. Drums, trumpets and dancers singing. There seemed to be team songs which were played over and over, with others thrown in. My favorite was “Happy Birthday” which I think was an uncomplimentary commentary on a call by the umpire. We left after the 7th, so don’t know who won. 

No matter where we went, the majority wore masks. Dang, I wish I had stock in a mask company. Until Ryan tells us differently, we’ll keep doing what we want and keep washing our hands. What else can we do?