Sakura and the ceremony

The sakura (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom in the Kanto region (basically the Tokyo area) now, which means many people are outside having hanami (flower-viewing) parties or taking family portraits.

For those who are not too familiar with them, the cherry blossoms are an integral part of Japanese culture. They are held as something special due to their short blooming period (around 2 weeks) and eye-catching fluffiness. The cherry blossom tree is naked for a long period over the cold winter months, then as the weather warms, every bud on the tree bursts with these fluffy pink-white flowers (depends on the species of course). Since they are literally everywhere, I highly encourage anyone visiting during this period to get up high and see how far they have spread in the town or city you are visiting. Up close, they are quite impressive in full bloom (called mankai). During the season, you will find sakura-flavoured or inspired goods everywhere. Eventually, the petals detach and scatter in a flurry on the ground and the green leaves appear on the branches. This is definitely not as impressive, neither is the soggy mess the leaves make after rain. I always draw similarities to the beautiful jacaranda flowers in Brisbane (short, beautiful bloom and awful mess afterwards).

Historically, sakura have been used as a symbol in the Buddhist religion, by poets and authors, and even by the samurai class. Their short brilliant existence was seen as the circle of life, death and rebirth (Ohnuki-Tierney, 2002). The samurai often compared themselves to cherry blossoms as well. As Till (2005) describes, a samurai's life was similar to the delicate, perishable flower that falls at the slightest breeze, just as a samurai would sacrifice his life at a moment's notice for his daimyo (local leige lord). In more recent history, the kamikaze pilots in WWII painted sakura on the side of their planes as an analogy for youth, beauty and sacrifice (Ohnuki-Tierney, 2002). Needless to say, they have a very strong link to Japanese culture and have persevered as a symbol for a long time.

The Ceremony

Yesterday I attended my first official orientation ceremony in Japan. The previous two companies I worked for in Japan (2001-2008) didn't have one of these ceremonies because they were predominantly involved with international staff and (middle) managed by non-Japanese. However, I am now the only foreigner at my school and one of two foreigners being welcomed into the whole school group. I guess I should explain what the "whole school group" means. The high school I am working at belongs to a much larger group of schools of the same name, from kindergarten through to university, and in a few different locations in the Greater Tokyo area. If you remember from the blog post I did on "Getting a Job part II" that there were two of us that successfully secured a job, well he was the only other foreigner at this orientation. In total, there would have been around 40-50 new recruits at the orientation, all dressed in very similar clothing (black suit and white shirt) and quite nervous.

I'm going to start at the beginning though. The invitation to the orientation in Tokyo stated that we should be at the location at 9:45am for a 10am start. I arrived spot on time, however when I approached the board room (yes, the same one I was interviewed in) there were only two empty seats. On one side of the room were the "important" people - principals of the various schools/campuses, and on the other were two straight rows of men and women in black suits staring blankly towards the front or pretending to read the schedule for the day. It was a little eerie to say the least. I went to my seat, had a name tag and schedule with my name on it waiting for me, and squeezed in next to a few fellow teachers from my school. However, we didn't utter a word. There was an air of formality and tension in the room that no one wanted to disturb. So, we all sat there for around 15-20 minutes in silence waiting for the MC to start things rolling. I couldn't help smiling a few times but luckily didn't get the giggles. That would have made me stand out even more.

I really had no idea what to expect. So, luckily I was seated near the end of the back row and could take cues from the people in front. It began with a very formal "confirmation of employment" ceremony. This involved our name being called out, responding with a strong hai (yes) in our best inner-samurai voice and then approaching the Chairman. He then read out a certificate (they were all the same except our name) that confirmed our employment and handed it over to the recipient (when business cards or certificates are handed over, both hands are on it when given and then the recipient also accepts it with both hands, bows and says a "thank you very much"). I felt sorry for the poor Chairman who had to do this around 40-50 times. Afterwards, the Chairman welcomed us all and encouraged us to do our best as an organisation. It was a pretty good speech actually and expressed his passion for education and the philosophy of the school organisation very well. Then... oh, they love these in Japan... we all had to give a brief self-introduction and state our specialty (I am assuming you know that all of what I am mentioning was conducted in Japanese. Luckily, I taught self-introductions to students in Australia - pretty similar except for the more formal language). I am proud to say that I was the only one to pull a few laughs, at or with me, it doesn't matter. I was about no. 36 in the order, so I stood up and said where I will be teaching and where I was from and that my specialty was... English. I guess you had to be there to understand how downright hilarious that sounded. The Chairman and every single principal then gave words of encouragement which really made us feel part of a family. The school teachers were then separated from the university teachers and were taken into another room. An outline of the school's background, rules of employment, and superannuation (pension system) were then explained in as much detail as time permitted. Finally, we were given a very fancy obento box (packed lunch box) and green tea for lunch. I left after this stage (of course I am going to eat the free lunch), as I had travelled the furthest and had been given the option of staying for the group work or not.

It was a really interesting experience. On the one hand, it felt way over the top and unnecessary. But on the other hand, it was a congratulations and genuine welcome to the school group. It well and truly made us feel as though we now belonged to this great big family and we're working as a team to build its reputation. I liked that implied message.

Ohnuki-Tierney, E. (2002). Kamikaze, cherry blossoms, and nationalisms: The militarization of aesthetics in Japanese history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Till, B. (2005). The 47 ronin: A story of samurai loyalty and courage. San Francisco: Pomegranate.