Undokai Countdown

Sports Day or Undokai is one of the most important events in the Japanese school year – they go crazy over it and my school is no different. Classes have been skipped all over the show to make room for all the Undokai preparations. Each class designs and makes a massive banner as well as a smaller class label they wear on their PE uniforms on the day. I asked what I could do to help and it was suggested that I stay after school to help the kids with their banner preparation so I have a few times and have now slopped paint and stuck flowers on all kinds of banners – some with pictures of their homeroom teacher, some with ninja’s and one class even has the Power Rangers on theirs.

We also had a rehearsal – so the kids could practice when and where they run in, when to bow etc. It was at this that I first heard them play the Dangermouse theme tune. As you can probably understand I got very excited. ‘They’re playing Dangermouse’, I thought. “That’s Dangermouse!”, I said. “Eh!?!” (can’t convey the complex inflection they can put in this). By now I was getting very excited and had hurried over to the teacher holding the CD case (the full of himself PE teacher who has the most irritating laugh of all time) “Sumimasen, is that Dangermouse?” “Eh!?!” “Dangermouse – its Dangermouse (singing now) he’s the smartest, he’s the quickest, he’s the best … Dangermouse! Dangermouse! Dangermouse!!!” “Iie, that is Devilman” “What (crestfallen)?” “HAHAHAHAHA something incomprehensible probably about me – that is Devilman”. So it turns out that the Dangermouse music seems to be robbed from some Japanese anime that is it’s contemporary – as far as I can tell. I know Dangermouse was old when I watched it when I was a kid and it seems that this Japanese Devilman is about 30 years old. They were quite entertained when I explained that the same music was used in British cartoon that featured a James Bond-esque mouse.

But preparation for all-important Undokai had to continue so and I had to make yet another gaff. The school had borrowed several tents from other schools – steel frames with canvas covers to keep the sun off the kids and their assembled families on the day. The frames divided onto bundles and tied together and so I the builders daughter from Cavan went to help carry them to where they were being erected. I picked up one bundle of steel poles and headed over to the sports pitch – jaws dropped, “EH” was exclaimed and possibly the traffic on the street stopped moving. Then I realised, I was the only girl trying to help, the students were taking bundles four to a set and the teachers were struggling with two to a bundle. It was only me and the two teachers who are also sumo wrestlers that had taken a bundle on our own. Then the compliments started. “Rachel, you are very strong”, “Ahh, powerful” etc. To be honest what I think they were really thinking was “What the hell? Who is this freak who calls herself Rachel-sensei?”