Judgment Day, bitches

This morning instead of getting some much-needed sleep or exercise I took my ass to a mini field trip organized by my kimono school. It was quite literally down the street from where I live, at a wholesaler I have passed by many times on my way to loftier times with a Suntory highball. We listened to a very old and small man speak about a dyeing technique that has been around for hundreds of years and is now only used by four people in Japan, all of whom are also getting up there. This has nothing to do with what I'm about to tell you, but I figure a little background information never hurts.

After the lecture while women were swarming around ordering bolts of yukata fabric, I ended up talking to the shacho, who happened to mention seeing a large group of foreigners near the local station with the words "trial day, May 21" on their T-shirts. He had no idea what trial this referred to and thought I might know, because you know, whities stick together. We discussed this several minutes with one of my teachers, murmuring over what this group of whities could be going to trial for.

On our way to lunch later, who should the beau and I spot but one of these trial whities. It also turns out that the shacho can't read Japanese because the lone guy's T-shirt said "judgment day" but I had not clued into this yet so when we walked by and he looked like he might hand us a flier, I asked him what the trial day was on his T-shirt and when he looked confused (in retrospect probably because he doesn't even know what's on his T-shirt), I asked what was going down on May 21. I figured it was a labour dispute or cross-border kidnapping case but the guy looked at me and in all seriousness said, "the end of the world." I must have looked a bit confused and I honestly almost asked him if he was joking, because the next thing out of his mouth is that "it's written in the bible." Well then. My people are only down with the older version of that book. Cue me power-walking away and asking the beau why the fuck I am running into bible thumpers in my small Tokyo neighbourhood.

Thank god for iPhones, as I was able to quickly ascertain that a certain Christian group had sent people to Tokyo for a couple weeks to teach the sinning Asian masses about Judgment Day next year. I'm not a huge fan of proselytizing and even less so when they come to Japan to distribute leaflets. Why not put the money towards people who literally need saving, like those down in Haiti? I'm not sure how many fliers whitie-on-the-corner managed to beg off onto people, but I've a sneaaaking suspicion that Japanese people aren't going to be particularly receptive to a religious salesman. They weren't a couple hundred years ago and I don't think much has changed. Even I was taken completely unawares when I probably would have been more hip to the situation had we been in Canada or the States.

I'm now heading out to see the Azuma Odori geisha dances in Shinbashi, to see how they measure up to those in Kagurazaka, which I have been attending every year. I may be getting judged next year, but at least I am feeling pretty fucking cultured.