Taiko and Cooking!

Yesterday I had my third taiko performance! We played at a little shrine on top of a mountain in honor of the Noto Kirishima Matsuri. Kirishima is a red flower that is apparently the town flower of Noto, and this little shrine is named Kirishima Shrine after the flower which grows around the staircase leading up to the shrine.

After our group gathered and loaded our seven drums into a car we headed to the shrine to set up. We drove into the countryside then took a narrow, steep, and winding road and found the shrine on top of a little mountain. There were about forty people present, some waiting to watch and the event organizers standing behind a row of tables where they were selling snacks and fresh vegetables for just 100 yen per bunch (approximately a dollar). I even saw five of my students, who gave me excited shouts of encouragement, "がんばれ、オリビア先生！" ("Do your best, Ms. Olivia!")

After the shrine priest completed the opening ceremonies, there were at least 8 opening speeches given by everyone from the mayor to the community center leaders. With that, it was time to play. We filed up and crouched behind our drums to start the show!

After our taiko event was finished, I spent the rest of the day with my taiko mom and her husband who is one of my judo coaches. We hung out at their house watching videos of taiko performances and judo competitions and chatting the afternoon away. They invited me to stay for dinner so I got to help cook and learned so much about Japanese home-cooking!

Chopping nagaimo in sengiri style

She had received a freshly caught fish from one of the other taiko ladies, so I watched her as she filleted it and sliced it up for sashimi. Then we prepared the other dishes. In Japanese cooking there are many different ways of cutting food. For the sunomono, she taught me how to chop the vegetables in sengiri which is like very fine julienne strips.

As we cooked she told me little tips and tricks for each dish we made. She laughed as she poured a splash of vinegar here and a splash of soy sauce there, saying "適当!" since she doesn't measure anything, but rather adds ingredients by instinct. I was not surprised by this since my mom cooks the same way. Its a skill that all great home cooks eventually acquire as well as the ability to cook tasty food without a recipe. Some things are the same no matter what culture you are in.

While we used different seasoning ingredients for each dish she explained to me what flavors they would create and which dishes to use them in. During each stage of preparation she would take a spoonful to taste and then draw out a spoonful for me to try, then we would add another ingredient and taste it again to see how the flavor had changed.

After a couple of hours in the kitchen we laid out a feast on the low table in the living room where everyone sat to eat dinner together. Our menu for the evening was sashimi, chirashi zushi, vinegared vegetables, clear broth soup, chicken stuffed tofu pockets, and tofu tart for dessert. Our food was colorful with a variety of shapes and textures and balance of flavors.

Young yellowtail sashimi and chicken stuffed tofu pockets

Chirashi zushi

酢の物 is a style of side dish that is frequently eaten with Japanese meals, it is some variety of chopped vegetables with sweet vinegar.  We used nagaimo, cucumber, and carrot here.

For dessert- Tofu Tart! While taking it out of the pan it cracked, but it still tasted great and the five of us ate the whole thing!