A New Emperor and Golden Week

We have just experienced some fascinating events here in Japan--
               the coronation of a new Emperor and Golden Week.

A new Emperor! Emperor Naruhito ascended to the throne in a ceremony on May 1st. This was all very intriguing to me so I did some research to learn more. Emperor Naruhito is the 126th Emperor in a line that extends back to the country's founding in 600 BC, with the first Emperor claiming descendancy from the sun goddess Amaterasu! So now we know why the sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology, why it is on their flag, and why Japan is referred to as the 'Land of the Rising Sun'.  Maybe you already knew that!

Japan's Imperial Family is the oldest continuous monarchy in the world. Each Emperor's reign is called an 'era' and has a name. When that Emperor dies, his name is changed to the name of his era. For example, Emperor Hirohito, who reigned from 1926-1989, reigned during the Showa Era (meaning 'radiant Japan') and is now known as Emperor Showa. Emperor Akihito, who just abdicated the throne for health reasons, reigned during the Heisei Era (meaning 'peace everywhere'). Emperor Naruhito's Era began May 1st and is called Reiwa (meaning 'beautiful harmony').

Eras are about more than who is the emperor of the day. They are also the basis of the Japanese calendar system. For example, 2018 was Heisei 30, meaning 30 years after it began. We are now in the Reiwa Era and 2020 will be Reiwa 1. Below is Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako.

The other interesting thing that occurred this past little bit is Golden Week. It is the biggest holiday season of the year here in Japan. It is a period of time from late April to early May in which there are several holidays, including The Emperor's birthday, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day. And this year it was extended to include the Emperor transition days, making it 10 consecutive days, from April 27th to May 6th. Many businesses close down and it is a popular time for travel by Japanese citizens. Fun fact: the Post Office is also closed, or at least our local one!

I loved Golden Week because we saw so many families out and about doing fun things together. Lots of families riding bikes and hiking, having picnics, and the malls were packed too. There is a park near us and we walk by it most days. During Golden Week, it was bustling with families.

During Golden Week, we had the opportunity to visit homes and eat with two wonderful families here in Kumamoto. The Takahashi's had us over for lunch last Friday. President Takahashi is our Stake President and also a medical doctor who treats some of our missionaries. He and his wife are so fun and loving. Their son Shohei was one of the ward members who came to help us move into our apartment back in October! Wonderful people! (By the way....Shohei is an artist and does amazing artwork which I want to share in an upcoming post.)

And on Sunday we got an invitation to have dinner with our neighbors, the Fukumoris, and the Sister missionaries from our town. Sister Fukumori majored in English in college and has helped us multiple times with business we had to do in town, and sometimes she has to decipher mail for us. Another wonderful family!

And another of our favorite activities: apartment checks! That might not sound like something you would think is fun, but it is because we get to visit the missionaries in their homes and get to know them better. They have a checklist they have to fill out which covers all aspects of a clean and safe apartment. They do so well! I'm so proud of these young people who are living away from home without any parents to nag them (well, except us maybe), and they take care of business like they should. These are our Elders serving in Tsuboi--Elder Murata, Elder Swan, Elder Roldan, and Elder Hauck. Elders Hauck and Murata are the Zone Leaders for our zone and oversee 18 missionaries (20 including us), providing stellar examples and ongoing encouragement and training.

These are our Sisters serving in Shimizu and Nagamine. They were doing splits today, so Sister Sato is here with Sister Evangelista, while their companions, Sister Monson and Sister Smith were at a teaching appointment together. Again, such wonderful examples of dedication and hard work and love. They are rockstars. Plus this apartment had the cleanest kitchen sink I have seen. Spotless!

Quite a long post, but it has been a busy couple of weeks! We can't say often enough how grateful we are to be here and to be participating in a small way in the Lord's work. Jesus Christ lives and He wants the beautiful message of the Gospel to be shared with all of our Heavenly Father's children. It is a message of hope and love and joy!