Undoukai

Today was Reiko's sports competition (運動会). I don't remember ever doing anything like it when I was in elementary school. Anyway, the premise is this: the entire elementary school is split into two teams, red and white. The two teams compete in multiple serious and county fair-type sports to win. It also involves brief dancing interludes. I defy you to find something cuter than a few hundred children dancing while wearing matching hats.

Above is a shot of what Reiko calls "The Old People Dance." I thought it looked pretty fun, but apparently it's usually done by older people, and is therefore mortifying to perform when you're only in the sixth grade. They invited parents to dance with their children, so my host mother joined in, too.

One of the non-sports was this "chicken"-type battle. Three kids (separated by gender), would support another one on their hands. They would send ten teams of these four kids from each side. The goal was to rip off the hat of the kids on top. Children in red hats went after children in white hats, and vice versa. There were some great moments of surprise hat grabbing from behind. There was also a lot of arm smacking. It seemed a little violent, but also like the kind of thing I would have loved when I was eleven.

After that was another, all-grade competition. I didn't fully understand, but I think the objective was to keep the ball from hitting the ground for as long as possible. It was the kind of thing that requires some precision. In other words, it went flying into the groups of nearby parents about every thirty seconds.

Near the end of the day, the sixth graders had a cheer competition. It was pretty cool, actually. They had two boys, one from each team, stand at the microphones. They barked out encouragement with their hands behind their backs and wearing what I think is the traditional clothing for the class cheer leaders. Here's Reiko cheering for the white team (she spent the past two weeks making her own pom poms):