Tag ‘Kodo Apprentice Centre’
“New Apprentices Start Their First Year at the Kodo Apprentice Centre” by Michiko Chida
The entrance ceremony for the Year 33 (2014-2015) class of Kodo Apprentices was held on April 6 and now one week has passed. They are probably so nervous about beginning this new lifestyle, but all of the 12 new apprentices have been doing well. I will introduce their week of firsts with some pictures.
Dance lesson with Chieko Kojima
Ranjo-san’s shinobue (bamboo flute) making workshop
Taiko lesson with Tomohiro Mitome
(They do not use bachi (drumsticks) in their first lesson: they use Japanese fans and towels.)
Rice field work (Selecting rice seeds)
Standing by the rice fields and singing a song facing out to sea
Kiyoko Oi teaches all the new apprentices how to make chopsticks from one shared bamboo stick
“Kakinoura’s Festival” by Tomohiro Mitome
On April 15, spring festivals were held all over Sado Island. The community of Kakinoura, where the Kodo Apprentice Centre is located, has taken the Kodo apprentices “under its wings” and teaches them how to dance the local demon dance every year.
If they reach the right standard, some apprentices may be allowed to wear the special costumes and perform as demons in the festival. This is such a special day.
“One Year Down, One to Go! Update on the 2nd-year Apprentices” by Michiko Chida
After seeing off the apprentices from the year above them in January, there were only 8 new 2nd-year apprentices living together at the Apprentice Centre until they welcomed the new 1st-year apprentices in April. They had to adjust their relationship and learn to cooperate as such a small group. And, they had to deal with the harsh Sado Island winter for the first time.
Through this season, they really had to face each other and take a good look at themselves. But, what they gained from this time must become their energy for their new start as 2nd years.
The apprentices came through this challenging season and by the end of March they’d had a lot of new memorable experiences.
Yoko Fujimoto’s “Voice Circle”: 2 days/1 night with Yoko Fujimoto, spent learning songs and listening to the stories. At the end, they sang Hinei Ma Tov to each other.
Kodo Apprentice Centre Entrance Ceremony
On April 6, we had a joint 2014 entrance ceremony for the Kodo Apprentice Centre and Fukaura Gakusha (Community Development Course).
From this year, the shape of the Kodo Apprentice Centre has changed and now there are two courses on offer: one for training Kodo performing members and a human-resource-education course focused on community-development initiatives, designed to both to contribute to the development of our home of Sado Island and to spur local development all over Japan.
The participants from each course met at the entrance ceremony for the first time. The 2 participants in the community development course had already started their program. The 12 apprentices hoping to become Kodo performers arrived on the day of the ceremony, on this bus. United at the Kodo Apprentice Centre, they all vowed to make their dreams come true.
[Kodo Apprentice Centre] “Helping Out with the Tea Ceremony at Aikawa Hinamatsuri Festival” by Michiko Chida
On March 9, there was a Hinamatsuri Tea Ceremony at the historic Sado Magistrate’s Office site in Aikawa. This ceremony was run by students from elementary schools, junior high & high schools on Sado Island, and the 2nd-year Kodo apprentices joined the ceremony for the first time.
