Post by Charlotte Shimizu on Jul 17, 2024 2:48:46 GMT
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Saturday, 2 July 2016
She was cold, wet and tired.
It had taken her a couple days to get to Sapporo from Tokyo. If she’d stayed on the train the whole time, she would’ve made the trip in less than a day, but she’d gotten out at several stations along the main line to Hokkaido. What money she had was dwindling quickly from needing to eat prepared food and stay at the cheapest places she could find.
There’d been a few temples she’d been able to sleep at in exchange for help with the morning chores. She’d actually preferred that though she couldn’t put her finger on why beyond not needing to pay for it. She’d never been particularly religious, though she always attended stomp dances with her mother. Her father practiced shinto-buddhism which had never made much sense to her.
It was raining, of course, when the train pulled into Sapporo Station. While she’d been on the train, she’d appreciated the weather reflecting her mood… Now, however, with the train gone and no idea of where to go in a new city, Charlie was feeling all her hubris and kicking herself for it.
Why had she thought she was so special that she could overcome all of Japan’s xenophobic racism and be accepted by her Japanese kin?
“Excuse me, young miss.”
The kindly voice nearly made her jump. She took the lean man in at a glance; from the oiled paper umbrella over his head, to his darker skin tone, to his purple hakama and tall wooden geta. She was quietly impressed by this. She’d seen the purple hakama on only a few shinto priests, and usually those with the pale blue hakama desperately kept her hidden from them. She wondered what it meant.
“Have you nowhere to go?”
The question startled Charlie. Was it that obvious? She sheepishly glanced down at her battered suitcase and rumpled clothes. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks from shame at being so easily seen through.
“If you need a place to stay, miss, I could use some help at my temple,” the man offered.
“I am fine, really,” Charlie protested, finally finding her voice, only for it to crack. The man smiled understandingly at her, which only made her more embarrassed.
“I would appreciate your company on my return to the temple, please.” He accompanied his statement with a courteous bow. Charlie sighed, knowing that he would insist further. It was a procedure she’d grown used to.
“If you are certain it would not be any trouble,” Charlie said softly, her eyes on her shoes. It was a delicate script she had to follow to its end. While she’d ignored her father’s warnings of how she’d be viewed as haafu and gaijin, she had not ignored his insistence on etiquette.
“It is no trouble at all, miss. I was just in town to pick up a few things for the temple.”
Charlie only nodded and rose, pulling out the handle on her luggage before she stopped and peered up at the priest. She looked over him again more closely. Could the draping sleeves hide whatever he picked up? No, they didn’t move right for that. Did hakama have pockets that deep? Did hakama have pockets at all?
She shook herself and followed the priest from the station, her suitcase trailing behind her. Charlie didn’t recall much of the walk to the temple, her guide offering only occasional comments about this place being the best for groceries, or that place having the best ramen and udon in Sapporo. The stairs up to the temple were almost enough to do her in, but she hauled herself up the long flight after her nameless benefactor.
The man guided her into the temple, into a small but functional room near the back of the temple. She wasn’t a stranger to such accommodations; most preferred to keep their non-paying guests as far from the public areas as possible.
“The otearai is down the hall to the left. You can find me in the dojo in the morning.”
Charlie turned to face the priest before he could slide the door closed behind him, almost panicked. “But… When should I wake up for morning chores?” she asked.
The man chuckled, surprising Charlie. “There will not be much for you to do after my students have done most of the work.”
For a moment, his response baffled her. Hadn’t he said that he needed help with the temple? To ease the sting to her pride?
“There will be plenty to do after my students have left… Unless you were planning on leaving before then, miss?”
The slight jab stung, making Charlie hang her head. She nearly jumped as she felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw understanding. Worse, she also saw pity, though he was at least kind enough to not voice such things. “Rest. We will speak again in the morning.”
“What should I call you?... Sir?” Charlie felt like all her father’s lessons of Japanese etiquette had fled her at that moment and she was desperate for some human connection.
“I am Hitasho Benkei, Kannushi of Sapporo Hachimangū and Kōchōsensei of Hachimangū Dojo. You may call me Hitasho. What shall I call you?”
“Cha-” Charlie started, but then cringed. Her name, while normal enough back in Oklahoma, was a glaring neon sign that said ‘GAIJIN’ here. It was bad enough her skin tone did that. “Una… Shimizu Una,” she answered, remembering belatedly to give her family name first.
Hitasho smiled at her, again in that kindly understanding way. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Shimizu-san. Now please, rest.”
He left her little choice, sliding the door closed, leaving her alone in the dimly lit room.
Charlie sighed and virtually flopped onto the mattress, her backpack slipping off her shoulder and hitting the floor with a muted thunk. Hitasho Benkei was something of a mystery to her, but he seemed like a relatively harmless enigma, one that could be dealt with at a later time.
For now, she had shelter. The rest she could manage.
Sapporo Hachimangū
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Friday, 12 July 2024
Charlie had woken early to the familiar sounds of students rushing around the temple and dojo, doing their assigned tasks. It was with some melancholy that she finally conceded that even if she tried to help, she would spend more time fighting to do the task than actually working. The students were too in awe of her to allow her to lift even a finger. It felt strange to be so exalted after so long being cast as the villain, the outsider, the unworthy.
Charlie sighed, leaning against the pillar of the engawa outside her old room, watching some students in the outdoor ring rehearsing for the next monthly show under Benkei’s supervision. Others were in the dojo, practicing holds and ground maneuvers. Sugioka snapped at them to correct errors with Rini and Masao quietly assisting her. It stung Charlie that her own assistance was more hindrance than help. Charlie had to remain unobtrusive, or she’d disturb the lessons and practice with students clamoring for advice or how she’d felt about one match or another.
She knew this routine, but now she wasn’t a part of it. The realization made her sad and confused. If she had outgrown this place -
Her thought was interrupted, not unpleasantly, by arms snaking around her waist and a chin coming to rest on her shoulder. She smiled, leaning into Pax’s embrace. Here, at least, she could allow herself the luxury of physical closeness with him. Out in the city, they had to restrict themselves. Within the temple grounds however, they were safe from the stares of the public, nevermind the camera flashes. They could do what they wanted, even if the students sometimes pointed and tittered behind their hands at them.
There was a small cacophony of chattering voices as the practice broke up and the students all set about their after-practice tasks. Charlie watched in silence. She knew Pax was waiting for her to say something, but she wasn’t sure how to say what was on her mind. She wasn’t sure he would even understand. She knew he’d try to understand, certainly, and she appreciated that… But she wasn’t even sure she understood the subtle differences that less than a year had made in the place she’d called home for seven years.
She’d barely stayed a day when she came to take Rini back to the States with her back in January, so she wouldn’t have noticed anything different then. She tried to think of how it had been during that month of freedom, right after she and Rini had abandoned Neo-Honshu; had it been like this then? No, it hadn’t. Or if it had, she hadn’t noticed it because she had been too busy getting her affairs in order to leave Japan.
Was she noticing it now because she’d not planned to return to Japan for more than that one trip?
“I think this tour was good for me,” she said finally, having come to the decision only at that moment.
“I’m guessin’ ya mean more than just kicking ass in the tournament,” Pax prompted, the words tickling her ear. Charlie smiled and leaned her head against his.
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “I was going to leave and never look back, y’know… Well… other than my quick trip to take Rini home with me. I would’ve left all their poison to rot inside, ignoring it… And now I can’t… It sucks to deal with it, but… It’s better for me.”
Pax merely chuckled, his arms tightening around her as he pressed a light kiss to her neck. Charlie shivered despite the warm July day, and smiled. She twisted around in his arms to face him, and lifted herself up on her toes to give him a quick kiss.
“C’mon, I want onigiri and I know just where to get ‘em.”
Saturday, 2 July 2016
She was cold, wet and tired.
It had taken her a couple days to get to Sapporo from Tokyo. If she’d stayed on the train the whole time, she would’ve made the trip in less than a day, but she’d gotten out at several stations along the main line to Hokkaido. What money she had was dwindling quickly from needing to eat prepared food and stay at the cheapest places she could find.
There’d been a few temples she’d been able to sleep at in exchange for help with the morning chores. She’d actually preferred that though she couldn’t put her finger on why beyond not needing to pay for it. She’d never been particularly religious, though she always attended stomp dances with her mother. Her father practiced shinto-buddhism which had never made much sense to her.
It was raining, of course, when the train pulled into Sapporo Station. While she’d been on the train, she’d appreciated the weather reflecting her mood… Now, however, with the train gone and no idea of where to go in a new city, Charlie was feeling all her hubris and kicking herself for it.
Why had she thought she was so special that she could overcome all of Japan’s xenophobic racism and be accepted by her Japanese kin?
“Excuse me, young miss.”
The kindly voice nearly made her jump. She took the lean man in at a glance; from the oiled paper umbrella over his head, to his darker skin tone, to his purple hakama and tall wooden geta. She was quietly impressed by this. She’d seen the purple hakama on only a few shinto priests, and usually those with the pale blue hakama desperately kept her hidden from them. She wondered what it meant.
“Have you nowhere to go?”
The question startled Charlie. Was it that obvious? She sheepishly glanced down at her battered suitcase and rumpled clothes. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks from shame at being so easily seen through.
“If you need a place to stay, miss, I could use some help at my temple,” the man offered.
“I am fine, really,” Charlie protested, finally finding her voice, only for it to crack. The man smiled understandingly at her, which only made her more embarrassed.
“I would appreciate your company on my return to the temple, please.” He accompanied his statement with a courteous bow. Charlie sighed, knowing that he would insist further. It was a procedure she’d grown used to.
“If you are certain it would not be any trouble,” Charlie said softly, her eyes on her shoes. It was a delicate script she had to follow to its end. While she’d ignored her father’s warnings of how she’d be viewed as haafu and gaijin, she had not ignored his insistence on etiquette.
“It is no trouble at all, miss. I was just in town to pick up a few things for the temple.”
Charlie only nodded and rose, pulling out the handle on her luggage before she stopped and peered up at the priest. She looked over him again more closely. Could the draping sleeves hide whatever he picked up? No, they didn’t move right for that. Did hakama have pockets that deep? Did hakama have pockets at all?
She shook herself and followed the priest from the station, her suitcase trailing behind her. Charlie didn’t recall much of the walk to the temple, her guide offering only occasional comments about this place being the best for groceries, or that place having the best ramen and udon in Sapporo. The stairs up to the temple were almost enough to do her in, but she hauled herself up the long flight after her nameless benefactor.
The man guided her into the temple, into a small but functional room near the back of the temple. She wasn’t a stranger to such accommodations; most preferred to keep their non-paying guests as far from the public areas as possible.
“The otearai is down the hall to the left. You can find me in the dojo in the morning.”
Charlie turned to face the priest before he could slide the door closed behind him, almost panicked. “But… When should I wake up for morning chores?” she asked.
The man chuckled, surprising Charlie. “There will not be much for you to do after my students have done most of the work.”
For a moment, his response baffled her. Hadn’t he said that he needed help with the temple? To ease the sting to her pride?
“There will be plenty to do after my students have left… Unless you were planning on leaving before then, miss?”
The slight jab stung, making Charlie hang her head. She nearly jumped as she felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw understanding. Worse, she also saw pity, though he was at least kind enough to not voice such things. “Rest. We will speak again in the morning.”
“What should I call you?... Sir?” Charlie felt like all her father’s lessons of Japanese etiquette had fled her at that moment and she was desperate for some human connection.
“I am Hitasho Benkei, Kannushi of Sapporo Hachimangū and Kōchōsensei of Hachimangū Dojo. You may call me Hitasho. What shall I call you?”
“Cha-” Charlie started, but then cringed. Her name, while normal enough back in Oklahoma, was a glaring neon sign that said ‘GAIJIN’ here. It was bad enough her skin tone did that. “Una… Shimizu Una,” she answered, remembering belatedly to give her family name first.
Hitasho smiled at her, again in that kindly understanding way. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Shimizu-san. Now please, rest.”
He left her little choice, sliding the door closed, leaving her alone in the dimly lit room.
Charlie sighed and virtually flopped onto the mattress, her backpack slipping off her shoulder and hitting the floor with a muted thunk. Hitasho Benkei was something of a mystery to her, but he seemed like a relatively harmless enigma, one that could be dealt with at a later time.
For now, she had shelter. The rest she could manage.
Sapporo Hachimangū
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Friday, 12 July 2024
Charlie had woken early to the familiar sounds of students rushing around the temple and dojo, doing their assigned tasks. It was with some melancholy that she finally conceded that even if she tried to help, she would spend more time fighting to do the task than actually working. The students were too in awe of her to allow her to lift even a finger. It felt strange to be so exalted after so long being cast as the villain, the outsider, the unworthy.
Charlie sighed, leaning against the pillar of the engawa outside her old room, watching some students in the outdoor ring rehearsing for the next monthly show under Benkei’s supervision. Others were in the dojo, practicing holds and ground maneuvers. Sugioka snapped at them to correct errors with Rini and Masao quietly assisting her. It stung Charlie that her own assistance was more hindrance than help. Charlie had to remain unobtrusive, or she’d disturb the lessons and practice with students clamoring for advice or how she’d felt about one match or another.
She knew this routine, but now she wasn’t a part of it. The realization made her sad and confused. If she had outgrown this place -
Her thought was interrupted, not unpleasantly, by arms snaking around her waist and a chin coming to rest on her shoulder. She smiled, leaning into Pax’s embrace. Here, at least, she could allow herself the luxury of physical closeness with him. Out in the city, they had to restrict themselves. Within the temple grounds however, they were safe from the stares of the public, nevermind the camera flashes. They could do what they wanted, even if the students sometimes pointed and tittered behind their hands at them.
There was a small cacophony of chattering voices as the practice broke up and the students all set about their after-practice tasks. Charlie watched in silence. She knew Pax was waiting for her to say something, but she wasn’t sure how to say what was on her mind. She wasn’t sure he would even understand. She knew he’d try to understand, certainly, and she appreciated that… But she wasn’t even sure she understood the subtle differences that less than a year had made in the place she’d called home for seven years.
She’d barely stayed a day when she came to take Rini back to the States with her back in January, so she wouldn’t have noticed anything different then. She tried to think of how it had been during that month of freedom, right after she and Rini had abandoned Neo-Honshu; had it been like this then? No, it hadn’t. Or if it had, she hadn’t noticed it because she had been too busy getting her affairs in order to leave Japan.
Was she noticing it now because she’d not planned to return to Japan for more than that one trip?
“I think this tour was good for me,” she said finally, having come to the decision only at that moment.
“I’m guessin’ ya mean more than just kicking ass in the tournament,” Pax prompted, the words tickling her ear. Charlie smiled and leaned her head against his.
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “I was going to leave and never look back, y’know… Well… other than my quick trip to take Rini home with me. I would’ve left all their poison to rot inside, ignoring it… And now I can’t… It sucks to deal with it, but… It’s better for me.”
Pax merely chuckled, his arms tightening around her as he pressed a light kiss to her neck. Charlie shivered despite the warm July day, and smiled. She twisted around in his arms to face him, and lifted herself up on her toes to give him a quick kiss.
“C’mon, I want onigiri and I know just where to get ‘em.”
Well howdy there pardner.