Tidying up the Local Shrine

 Diagonally across the very narrow street in front of our house, there is a Kamakura era shrine. That makes it about 700 years old.


One of our neighbours, the frighteningly effecient Mrs Sasaki, had organised a working bee to tidy up the grounds.

So in the light drizzle about 12 of us from the surrounding houses duly reported for duty, 9.00 am sharp Sunday morning.


Sasaki-san gave instructions and firmly but politely  quashed silly suggestions from a few old men present. No buts, we were going to tidy up the correct way, the Sasaki way.





It was all a lot of fun, branches were lopped, weeds uprooted and paths swept.

I won many local brown points that morning.

Although it may be part of larger suburbs or a city each small area in Japan in organised on a village basis. In fact we even have a village chief.

There are down sides to living in such an orderly and obedient society. But one of the big advantages is the way everyone gets involved in community activites .Even in posh areas the locals have street sweeping roster and so on.

Walking to the station in the mornings there are pensioners in uniform at each major intersection directing primary school kids in snake lines across the road. When you get to the station two or three others are sweeping out front and picking up rubbish. Someone elso is watering the station's flower pots. Marvellous really. Local important information is relayed by an interesting method. In our village house number 1 gets the notice, reads it then puts their seal on it. They then put it in the next house's letter box and the reading and sealing continues to the last house in the village.