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For my first event I
attended the 67th annual Obon Festival in Monterey, CA.
The Obon Festival is a 500 year old Japanese Buddhist celebration which honors one's ancestors. Traditionally, it is a holiday where families reunite in order to honor the graves of their ancestors.
“An ancient legend says the folder of 1,000 cranes is assured a wish come true, and it has become a symbol of luck and good health.”
- Obon Festival foreword by Buddhist Reverend Shinseki
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The first exhibit I visited was the crane exhibit. At the crane exhibit, I
learned about some of the mythology behind the Japanese crane.
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In Japanese folklore, the
crane is a mythical animal and is said to live for 1,000 years. The
crane symbolizes timeless contentment, fidelity, and longevity, and
also the wish to carry out the dreams of our ancestors.. In fact,
ancient Buddhists believed that the crane carried the souls of the
dead to the Pure Land. In time, this belief lead to the practice of
folding 1,000 origami cranes in hopes that the folder's wish will be
fulfilled.
The crane exhibit ties into the theme of mathematics + art, since origami, the folding of paper to create art, is based entirely on making geometric folds. In fact, the quality of finished piece of origami is entirely based upon the precision of the geometric folds. Just like in mathematics, a small mistake in origami will have a snowball effect and create a misshapen end product.
The crane exhibit ties into the theme of mathematics + art, since origami, the folding of paper to create art, is based entirely on making geometric folds. In fact, the quality of finished piece of origami is entirely based upon the precision of the geometric folds. Just like in mathematics, a small mistake in origami will have a snowball effect and create a misshapen end product.
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The next exhibit at the Obon
Festival was a koto performance by the local artist Michael
Hatori.
The koto is a musical
instrument traditionally created using wood for the body, ivory for
the bridges, and horse hair for the strings. It is an iconic
instrument which many would recognize for its unique sound which
creates a distinctly Eastern sound.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OfzJHby_BRc/S9gjy6L53PI/AAAAAAAACFg/UgcrPzg8coE/s320/koto01.jpg)
Before his performance,
Michael Hatori explained to the audience that the piece being played
in the video was a musical interpretation of the coming and going of
the tides. He further explained that the alternating sounds
throughout the song were meant by the composer to mimic the coming
and going of the waves in the ocean. For this reason, I thought it
was a great example of how the worlds of mathematics, science, and
art can come together to create something beautiful, novel, and
unique.
The final exhibit was the
Taiko drums.
Taiko drumming is an ancient
Japanese art that dates back to 500 BCE. It is characterized by
large wooden drums covered in animal skin. Historically, they were used in court style music performed in castles as well as to motivate troops.
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At the Obon festival, the
Taiko drums were played by a local group of drummers called Shinsho-Mugen Daiko. The most unique aspect of the Taiko drumming experience, for
me, was the visceral feeling of the ground vibrating from the deep
booming sound of the drums. On top of that, the Taiko drumming helped me to appreciate the mathematical nature of music. Because Taiko drumming does not have the variety of sounds that many other instruments possess (since it is a drum, after all), the majority of the melody comes purely from rhythm.
I would definitely recommend the Monterey Obon Festival. Whether you are interested in Japanese culture specifically or merely music in general, the Obon festival offers a unique insight into traditional Japanese art and music that the average person would never encounter in their daily life. Most importantly, the Obon Festival makes one appreciate the beauty of mathematics when applied to art.
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