This morning we checked out a new local market. I was hoping to stock up on fruit but it turned out to be street food under a huge marquee with a running programme of dance acts on a stage at one end. So we had a team of 60-80-year-old women, "Pansy" emblazoned on the backs of their emerald-green T-shirts, kicking and twirling to a ditty from Okinawa; some break-dancing youths; and a group of infant kids. I've FB'd a couple of videos. It gave the impression that this a nation who just has to perform, with and without talent. But Machiko insisted that many Japanese are very shy. And I guess that's another reason why the drinking culture is so strong.
I let slip last week that I'm a shiatsu practitioner and Masan was quick to line me up, starting with a session for Rie. She is perceived as most in need, still recovering from a serious car accident last year. So this afternoon we hit the futon.
It was interesting, bringing Western-style shiatsu back to the country in which it originated - or at least gave it its name. I knew my quality of touch would be less physically challenging than a Japanese body worker's. And Rie's feedback confirmed this - and that what I had done was right for her today. So that was good. Masan, of the no-pain-no-gain mentality, will be a different ball game.
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