Katana and Mayor day

Date of Activity: June 26th

Today we first had arigatou event practice. It requires a lot of effort, but is definitely worth it. After an awesome bentou lunch box the mayor of Arao city came to visit us and we had a great Question and Answer session. We learned a lot about the city and it’s mayor.

After the interaction with the mayor we went to a katana smith. That was a great experience. We saw a bit of the process of making a katana, which takes about two weeks. Some of us got the chance to personally experience how difficult it is to deform hot iron. I for example can tell firsthand that it is really difficult.

deform hot iron


We also got a demonstration of how to use a katana during our visit. And we also were lucky enough to get the opportunity to slash some bamboo mats ourselves after learning how to wield the Japanese Katanas. These bamboo mats are said to be as though as a humans stomach. It is really hard to hit the bamboo at a proper speed and angel, but when done correctly it cuts through as if cutting through air.

After the host family pickup i went to the nursery home where my host brother and sister were. After dinner this great day with a lot of new experiences slowly approached it’s end, getting closer to another day full of new exciting experiences.

Ellery Oosterberg – The Netherlands

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