Canadian Spirit Holiday Services: Japanese Performing Artists Blog, Penticton, Canada

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Traditional Japanese Culture:

How did I become interested in promoting Japanese performing artists? Well, it all began with my love for traditional Japanese culture. Sure, modern Japanese culture is a lot of fun and I enjoy reading manga, watching anime, and playing the occasional Japanese video game but what really moves me is the traditional culture from long, long ago. I had lived in Japan for many years before I first discovered its traditional side. My first experience with traditional culture came in the form of Japanese “ryokans” (traditional Japanese inns). I was partner in a company which made reservations for overseas travelers who were interested in staying at a ryokan. I was in charge of the website and collecting information on the ryokans, and from here I discovered the world of traditional Japanese architecture, style, and design and I fell in love with it. When I first saw photos of the old fashioned wooden ryokans with their elegant interiors and gorgeous surrounding hot spring baths and gardens it was love at first sight. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life and I wanted desperately to show off these ryokans to the rest of the world. I could not believe I had never known about these fabulous places, and I could not understand why they were not celebrated as an integral part of Japanese culture. From this point, I started visiting the ryokans with my newly acquired digital camera (actually, my first camera!) and took picture after picture after picture. The more photos I took the more I fell in love with the ryokans. I simply could not get enough of them. Of course when I began to actually stay overnight in the ryokans, well, I was completely hooked!

After I discovered the ryokans I started visiting the historical sites in the Kansai area, namely, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, Mt. Koya, and Mt. Shosha. As part of my job I had to explore these areas and tell our visitors what they could expect when visiting these famous sites. It was fantastic touring the temples, shrines, castles, and gardens. Also, the more places I visited the more curious I became and the more places I sought to explore and discover. My wife Atsuko worked on weekends so I would often bring my children Angela and Matthew with me to take pictures and record my journeys. It was tough to find both the right time and the right conditions to make these trips. More times than not, the weather did not cooperate and I would have to wait until another weekend to make a trip. If there was a festival happening I would try my hardest to take in the festivities come rain or shine! Two of my favorite festivals were Kyoto’s “The Festival of the Ages” and "Festival of Light." With the Festival of the Ages, I loved watching the long parade of costumes dating back hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The "Festival of Light" was simply magical with lanterns lining the streets and all the temples and shrines lit up. I felt so fortunate to live in the Kansai area where I had relatively quick access to the ancient sites, and my love affair with traditional Japanese culture and history rapidly developed and deepened.

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