Toyota Higashi
Kindergarten
We soon arrived at our first destination for the day, Toyota
Higashi Kindergarten. The kindergarten staff were already waiting for us in the
school compound. And the cute little children, who were clearly expecting us,
waved excitedly from their class windows on the first floor. We walked across
the school compound which was covered in soft white sand until we came to the
veranda, where slippers had been neatly arranged for us to wear. For all our
other visits too, we were required to remove our shoes and wear the slippers
provided by the host to be worn inside the building. That of course means, the
floor inside their buildings are clean.
We were then split
into two groups: the ‘practical’ group that went to see the kids in their
classrooms and the ‘theory’ group that went to listen to how the school is run.
I was in the first group. We were taken to the classrooms on the first floor.
Along the corridor, some kids played enthusiastically. Others were thrilled to
see us. The kids ranged from 3 years to 6 years old and were separated
according to their age. Some of them had prepared little songs for us, others
asked us to join them in their play. One of the games with the 4 year olds
involved them sitting in circles holding a long string which they all held together
in their circle. They needed to move the string along faster and faster
according to the piano music their teacher played and in alternating
directions, clockwise and anti-clockwise. There were other games too involving
the string. At first glance, the games would’ve seemed quite purposeless apart
from being quite fun for the kids, but actually, I suspect the games served a
purpose, that is to develop the children’s motor skills, specifically grip strength
and also attentiveness along with social skills like teamwork.
In the kindergarten, they are also taught selfcare including
how to use the toilet properly. Even though they are allowed to play and have
fun, cleanliness and neatness was a priority, as evidenced by the neatly
arranged slippers and bags in shelves.
Mr Auslan and family distributed fidget spinners to them as
gifts which they were really happy to receive.
After a 30-minute tour of the kindergarten, we re-joined the
‘theory’ group and all of us went out to the sandy compound to watch a cute and
wonderful performance by the children.
Once the performance was over, one of the teachers gave a
short speech thanking us for coming. We too of course were very honoured at how
they treated us as guests. After that, the teacher invited all of us to stand
in a row, so the children could give us origami necklaces which they made on
their own. And to our surprise, there was one little girl who made something
extra on her own initiative when she heard we were going to visit her school.
So, the teachers asked her to present the gift to us herself in front of
everybody, as a recognition for her thoughtfulness. I was touched indeed by the
kindness they all showed us and particularly of that little girl who took the
trouble to make one extra gift for us.
Then it was time to say goodbye. All of them, teachers and
kids lined up at the gate to say sayonara
and arigato gozaimashita. They kept
waving goodbye until we got onto the bus and drove away. I think all of us were
very touched by the warmth and kindness shown by both the children and the
staff of the school. We would later realize that the kindness we experienced
was not unique to this school, but across the board, wherever we went. In that
sense, I think the Japanese are an embodiment of how Sayyidina Ibrahim treated
the noble guests who visited him.
 |
Cheeky little boys saying ‘hello’ to us
|
 |
| A ghost house they made themselves. How awesome is that! |
 |
Neatly arranged bags in shelves.
|
 |
Such clean toilets and neat arranged slippers!
|
 |
| Dr MAZA listening to the explanation about the game, while the rest of us watched the children busy with their activities |
 |
The kids performing for us using bamboo drums.
|
 |
All of us were given origami necklaces by the kids which
they made themselves.
|
 |
They lined up at the gate as we were leaving to say
sayonara. Some gave us high fives!
|
Ryunan Primary School
Ryunan
primary school was not too far away from Toyota Higashi Kindergarten. Upon
arrival at the school, we were greeted by the school’s deputy principal and
sister Miwa, a local Japanese Muslim who spoke English fluently and became our
translator for the rest of the day. She was dressed like a typical Muslim lady,
and greeted us with the greetings of peace, Assalamualaikum.
Her daughter studies at the school and that why she was part of this visit. She
helped speak to the school administration to allow us to use one of the rooms
for prayer after the school tour.
As is
Japanese culture, the deputy principal kept bowing to us to welcome us and as a
sign of gratitude I suppose for visiting the school. Before the tour began, we
gathered in the meeting room – which looked very much like a classroom – for a
briefing about the school. After thanking us for visiting, the deputy principal
gave us the opportunity to ask questions, which we did not waste. Some of the
questions we asked were about the demographics of the school, the school
curriculum, parents support for the school, what religious values are taught if
at all, how are teachers hired and others.
Some of the
interesting points I remember are that in lower primary – years 1 to 4 – a
single teacher teaches all the subjects for each class. Only in grades 5 and 6
are teachers assigned to classes based on their areas of expertise. This
enables the class teachers in lower primary to bond with their students well,
and get to know them properly, which will definitely be of great importance in
nurturing the children seeing to their needs, academically or otherwise. There
is a national test for teachers who wish to enter the teaching profession which
is quite difficult, but this ensures that the job is given the best and most
dedicated people who passionate about teaching, unlike here where not
infrequently, people go into teaching as a last resort, because they couldn’t
get into other courses in college.
As for
religious studies, they don’t have religious classes like we do, but they have
morality and ethics classes where the students are taught theoretically and
practically the dos and don’ts, or the rights and wrongs in Japanese society.
The children, boys and girls alike, are taught life skills like sewing and
cooking. The school has a good relationship with the parents and members of the
community who frequently volunteer to help for school programs. Not only that,
children go to school on their own unaccompanied, usually on foot. The whole
community takes care of them. Sometime parents take turns to accompany the
children to school. This sort of environment is a true manifestation of the oft
heard quote, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.
 |
 |
Just look at the shoes! So neatly arranged, Subhanallah!
|
Our first
stop was a grade 6 music class. They were practicing a song on the recorder.
When we entered the class through the back door to observe the lesson, the
teacher calmly took her seat at the piano and started playing a song which was
the harmony to the melody the students played with their recorders. It was an
amazing performance. They must’ve practiced hard to impress us all, and they
did!
 |
| Traditional looking classrooms |
 |
| Identical school bags |
The grades
five and six students are required to go and plant rice as part of their
curriculum in any nearby rice field to learn how farmers grow rice. They are
involved in the whole process from sowing the seeds to harvesting. The
harvested rice is brought back to school for them to cook and eat together.
This way, they learn not only how to appreciate the food but also farming as an
occupation.
 |
| Harvested rice |
During
lunch, selected groups of students from each class come down to the pantry
dressed appropriately in aprons, caps and face masks, to take lunch up to their
classes for everyone to eat. The meals are either prepared by the school, or in
the case of this primary school, by a centralized kitchen in the city and then
sent to the school. Parents are informed of the recipe for the week beforehand,
so they can make replacement dishes for their kids if there are any diet
restrictions. On the day we were visiting, the main dish was chicken curry
which is non-halal. So sister Miwa cooked her own curry and packed it for her
daughter to eat with the other students during lunch.
Once they
get to their classes, they serve all their classmates equal portions and all of
them return to their seats. Students who feel they cannot eat so much are asked
to remove the excess back into the pots before beginning their meal so no
wastage occurs.
Once they are done eating, they return all the
pots, trays and other utensils along with extra food to the pantry. In
addition, the small boxes of milk which they all get is undone and rinsed in
sinks along the corridor of their classes before being deposited into a
specific recycling bag in front of the pantry.Thus, they are trained from a
young age to be responsible, to practice good hygiene when handling food, to
prevent wastage, to recycle and to be what Muslims would say, good khalifahs.
 |
| Joined sinks like this are present in front of every class. Very practical for lunch, for art class, and for cleanliness in general. |
We also visited the sick bay which looked very comfortable
and was very well equipped. They have a full-time school nurse who also acts as
a counsellor. When I showed my students a photo of the sickbay, they cheekily
said, “Kalau macam ni sickbay dia sir,
tiap-tiap hari kita nak jatuh sakit.” How typical!
The principal’s office door was decorated with cute
stickers, so that students would not feel intimidated to see him for any
reason. There were also notice boards with charts showing how much each class
scored on display of manners like saying ohio
gozaimasu, to encourage children to be courteous so it becomes second
nature to them. One can see that the education system prepares them for life
and to be good citizens who care for the environment since it is a shared space
and for others in the community.
After a complete tour of most of the school, we went back to
the meeting room for some closing remarks by the deputy principal and exchange
of gifts, proceeded by for Zuhr and Asr prayer. Dr MAZA lead the prayer and
after the prayer gave a short explanation about the permissibility of wiping
over the sock instead of washing the feet for wudhu, especially since the
Japanese are quite particular about keeping their bathrooms dry.
Nemunoki Gakuen
The drive through the Shizuoka’s mountainous suburbs was
very pleasant because of the scenery along the way. Trees with various shades
of red, yellow and brown leaves decorated the terrain like a collage.
Traditional looking houses with plots of land where tea plants and vegetables
could be seen flourishing, dotted the landscape. It was so peaceful to just
look out the window. It was fascinating and relieving at the same time to see
how development in the suburbs preserved the natural landscape as much as
possible. From what was observed, there is good connectivity through most of
the area via roads, but to avoid too much destruction, tunnels have been built
through the mountains rather than having roads go around them. And I suspect,
to preserve precious land space, much of the motorways are built as flyovers
rather than on the ground.
After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at the centre. It
was a modest single-storey bungalow perched on top of a hill surrounded by lush
forests. We were escorted by one of the staff to a big hall where Mariko Miyagi
was waiting with us along with the occupants of the centre. They were all
dressed in a white jumper and jeans seated in 2 rows with Mariko Miyagi sitting
in front of them on a wheel chair, dressed in a clean white kimono with a black
sash. They were expecting us. Mariko Miyagi is an actress. She built the home
50 years ago with her own money for children and adults who had nobody to care
for them because of their disabilities, both physical and mental. Even though
she is now 90 years old, she still plays an active in the care of the children.
She teaches them choir and they have travelled Japan to sing in charity
concerts. She was very happy to see us all and expressed her deep gratitude to
us for visiting. She said the she wore the kimono – despite the difficulty to
dress up because she was wheel-chair bound – to welcome us and showcase a part
of Japanese culture. And you could feel how sincere she was in her gratitude as
she beheld each and every one of our faces one by one, smiling affectionately.
They had prepared two songs for us too. And so after some conversation with
sister Miwa as our translator, they sang for us accompanied by one of the
workers who played the piano. I was utterly amazed at how well they could sing
with terrific harmony. The first song was a choir piece by Mozart, the title of
which I have forgotten. The second was Amazing Grace. It was really
heart-warming to see them perform, so much so that a few members from our group
cried. Not just because of the amazing performance, but also because of the
effort they put in to welcome us. After their performance, Mariko asked us to
teach them a simple Malaysian song so they could learn and sing right away with
us. After some thought, we decided that the easiest song to teach them would be
Rasa Sayang. And so Kak Shaz sang it for them a few times, until they could
follow. It was all very impressive because they could learn it so fast despite
their disabilities. We sang the song together, and after a group photo, it was
time to bid farewell. They walked us all the way to the door while singing a
farewell song, which made the atmosphere even more melancholic. We wanted to
buy some of the merchandise made by the residents of the centre themselves, but
there was no time as we had to rush back to Shizuoka City for our meeting with
the Education Director.
 |
Mariko Miyagi and the residents of the centre
|
 |
All of us singing Rasa Sayang led by Kak Shaz. Mariko asked
Omar to sit on her lap and help on to him tightly!
|
All of us got onto the bus with heavy hearts and we bid
farewell as the driver drove us down the hill, until they we could not see them
anymore. I really wanted to buy the merchandise, as a form of support to the
centre. Just as I was about to despair due to the lost opportunity, the bus
driver stopped for a short visit of the Nemunomi Gakuen Musuem which is not far
from the centre. The museum showcases artwork by the residents and also sold
merchandise. So we quickly got off the bus to take a very brief tour of the
museum and buy some merchandise. It was a nice felling to have been able to buy
something as a show of support for Mariko Miyagi and her centre.
 |
| Young Mariko Miyagi |
 |
Some artwork displayed in the musuem
|
 |
A bridge with bamboo trees near the centre
|
Shizuoka City Council
I think the trip to Nemunoki Gakuen was the most
heart-warming and possibly the most meaningful of all the visits we had in
Japan. It is always nice to listen about kind people who have contributed much
to society, but it is even more fulfilling to see them in person, and Mariko
Miyagi was such a person. It felt special to see someone with such a big heart
still doing as much as she could at the age of 90 years. She will be someone
whom I, and the rest of the members, will remember for a long time as a source
of inspiration and an icon of kindness.
Our next stop was Shizuoka City Council to meet with the Council
Director Mr Shiratori and the director of education for Shizuoka prefecture who
authorized our visits to the schools earlier in the day. They were kind enough
to agree to meet with us after office hours. When we arrived at the council
office, we saw a group of man dressed in suits waiting for us. They were all staff
working at the council, waiting to welcome us. They took us into the council
building which featured a grand stairway in the middle leading to the first
floor. Some of us took the lift up. I took the stairs instead. We were then led
into a small but magnificent room with grand chandeliers hanging above a long
table surrounded by low but comfortable sofas. We sat around the table with Dr
MAZA sitting opposite the council director. The other staff sat on chairs
against the walls. Everyone one of us was served a small cup of green tea.
Dr MAZA took on the role of head of delegation, and
delivered a thank you speech. He cheekily said that apart from Ultraman and
Doraemon which are famous in Malaysia, there was a lot Malaysians could learn
from the Japanese because the values they practice are very close to Islamic
values. He also mentioned how ties between Malaysia and Japan were strengthened
greatly when Dr Mahathir introduced the Look East Policy when he was Prime
Minister. After Dr MAZA spoke, the education director of Shizuoka prefecture
delivered his address about the education policies of Shizuoka in specific and
Japan in general. Some questions were asked about those policies. Kak Shaz
picked up on one of the policies about creating awareness and appreciation of
other cultures around the globe amongst Japanese students, and asked about what
Japan is doing to make sure that policy is achieved. The response was that
students will be taught English at an earlier stage in schools so that they can
communicate more effectively with people they meet from other countries.
Although this is a good step, I think Japan needs to think of more approaches
to expose their students to other cultures, given how homogenous the society
is. We did not see a single non-Japanese child during the school visit. I know
that Japan has a very strict immigration policy. Even though they gave a lot of
financial aid to help refugees overseas, they are quite reluctant to accept
refugees into the country. And this is not limited to refugees. It is generally
quite difficult for non-Japanese to get citizenship in the country. I can
perhaps understand their reluctance to allow foreigners to live amongst them
for any extended period of time, given how strictly to adhere to cultural
norms. Perhaps they view other cultures as a threat to their way of life. Very
few cultures, around the world, if any, can match the Japanese in their
politeness, time-keeping and cleanliness. If I ruled Japan, I think I would
have such strict immigration policies in place too. I wouldn’t mind if people
wanted to come and visit, but I would certainly be reluctant to allow strangers
in great numbers to come and live among us lest they disrupt our impeccable
cultural norms. Admittedly, it is not easy to strike a balance in this matter.
I too asked a question. Mine was about suicide among
students in Japan and what the Japanese government is doing to address the
issue. The response was brief. The government realizes that suicide is a
problem, usually as a result of bullying via SNS (social networking sites) and
that steps are being taken to address the problem. No further elaboration was
given about what those steps are. It was getting late so I think the education
director wanted to keep his responses as brief as possible. After a few more
questions, we all took a group photo and made our way back to the bus. Council
Director Mr Shiratori said he would meet us tomorrow again at Nishigaya Waste
Management Plant.
To Nihon Kaku
It was dark by the time we arrived at Nihon Kaku (Japanese
Inn), our lodging for the next 2 nights. It was an inn that was famous amongst
students travelling for sports. Even during the two nights we were there, there
were a group of students attending a baseball championship staying at the inn.
It had a nice setup, like a typical Japanese house with sliding doors. There
were no beds, as people usually sleep on the floor in these inns. There were
comfortable mattresses though. Despite the traditional setup, it was well
equipped with USB ports to charge our phones. One thing I noticed throughout my
stay in Japan was that toothbrushes are provided along with a small toothpaste
packet at all lodgings, a relief for people who might’ve forgotten to bring
their own. They had onsen type
bathrooms (shared bathrooms with units for shower and a shallow pool to soak
in) as well as separate bathrooms.
I shared a room with Muhaimin, Afiq and Encik Rozali. We put
our bags in our rooms and then went for dinner. Dinner too was served in a
typical Japanese style. Everyone sat on the floor around short tables and the
main dishes were then laid out. Rice and miso soup were served on a separate
table so we could take how much we wanted. It was a sumptuous meal. It was
after the meal that we had our first official taaruf where everyone
introduced themselves. It was nice to get to know everyone properly. The taaruf session took almost an hour,
after which it was time for bed. We Muhaimin and I helped carry Kak Yanti’s
heavy bag upstairs. It was really very heavy because she had brought lots of
food for everyone and medicine too. I decided to take a late-night shower so I
didn’t have to take a bath in the morning. There was nobody in the shower room
so I had the whole room to myself. I showered, soaked myself in the warm onsen
bath for about 10 minutes, and then went up to bed feeling quite rejuvenated.
No comments:
Post a Comment