The Two Frogs: A Japanese Folktale

Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kyoto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other; but, funnily enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world, and the frog who lived at Kyoto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kyoto, where the great Mikado had his palace.

So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kyoto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling, and halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last, and what was the surprise of each to see another frog before him!

They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then fell into conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both felt the same wish–to learn a little more of their native country–and as there was no sort of hurry they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place, and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways.

“What a pity we are not bigger,” said the Osaka frog; “for then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on.”

“Oh, that is easily managed,” returned the Kyoto frog. “We have only got to stand up on our hind legs, and hold onto each other, and then we can each look at the town he is traveling to.”

This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front paws on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kyoto; but the foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes beheld the places from which they had come.

“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog, “Kyoto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home!”

“If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kyoto I should never have traveled all this way,” exclaimed the frog from Kyoto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friend’s shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again, and to the end of their lives they believed that Osaka and Kyoto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as alike as two peas.

In this story, two silly frogs are discontent with their hometowns of Osaka and Kyoto. They meet each other on mountain and decide to help each other see their destinations. Being silly little frogs, they mistakenly stood up so they can only see where they came from. The Osaka frog faced Kyoto, but he could only see Osaka. The Kyoto frog did the same. The silly frogs mistakenly believed the towns were exactly the same.

The story has several lessons. First, it is easy to be mistaken about something. What is reality isn’t always what we see or think we see. In Buddhism there is a saying about mistaking a rope for a snake. Next, it illustrates the differences between the two cities. Osaka has a long history of being a hub port for trade. It was also the capital city various times during the Asuka and Nara periods of Japanese history. Being a major port city, Osaka was an important commercial center.

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years. The city was founded as the capital during the 700s. I have to note that Tokyo (Edo) was the defacto capital of Japan during much of imperial history. Kyoto was the home of the imperial family; Edo was home of the Shogun. Japanese politics is complex.

In any case, this folktale points at how people are mistaken to think the economic center of Japan (Osaka) and the imperial/cultural center of Japan (Kyoto) are the same.

Finally, the tale speaks about our adage “the grass is not always greener.” Each frog sets off thinking their destination will be better than their hometowns. This mistaken idea leads the frogs to be disappointed when they see their “destinations” on the mountain. The story warns us about how expectations and our easily mistaken senses can lead us astray.

References

Andrew Lang, The Violet Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1901), pp. 125-126.

Kyoto. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto

Tokyo. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo

Nabawi Mosque

Nabawi mosque is one of three mosques as the most impotant mosques after Nasjidilharam.  This mosque is located  in Madinah City Saudi Arabia. This mosque built by Prophet Muhammad saw. as a narrow building. But right now this building is the most extesive m osque in the world. It’s side about  100.000 square. King Fahd was extended the mosque in 1984. He bought the ground around the mosque included hotels, market, and dwellings. It’s more large than Madinah City in Muhammad period. This mosque is the most extensive mosque in the world.

When Ramadhan and Haji Season has come, this mosque can contain more than one million people. People visits the grave of Muhammad and his friends, his friends are Abu Bakar, Umar bin Khathab, Billal bin Rabah, and Ali bin Abi Thalib. The grave is located inside the mosque. The door of the grave is made from gold. That place always crowded with people and people who visits Madinah exactly wanted to visit that place.  

The weather in Madinah is so hot and the ray of sun will make the condition worse. The giant umbrellas are needed to protect the visitors from the ray of sun. The giant umbrella is opened or closed automaticaly by computer system. In the afternoon untll twilight the giant umbrella always opened but in the night the umbrellas will be closed and the drunk of it will be shine by many lamp. To make the visitors feel comfort, there is a giant ai conditioner upon a large ground. The cold air is blowing from the air coditioner to the mosque by pipes under the ground. The length of the pipe is about 70,000 meters. The cold air flows in the pipes and blow up from the corners of the mosque, beneath the pillars, from the giant umbrella, and the other place to drive the hot weather out. The floor of the mosque is made from glittered mamer and all of sight of the mosque look so glamorous.

Nabawi mosque has 2,104 pillars inside the building. The pillars is made from gold and another materials from Italia. The copulas of the mosque is made from high temperature resistant cramics. In the basement there are eight generator to produce energy, it can produce energy up to 5 Mega Watts. Besides the generators, the basement becomes a place to control all of computer system which operated the mosque operational.The parking area can contain more than 4,500 cars. There are about 2,500 toilets in the mosquea 6,800 water works for washing our body or wudlu. Moreover there are about 560 location for drinking, so we won’t be thirsty.

Bejang

In Culture Festival of Matswapati there are many shows of the culture of West Java. Some culture shows are Jaipong, Angklung, Calung, Bejang, Kuda Lumping, Sundanese Musics, and many other. One of the Culture I want to tell you is Bejang from Bandung.

Bejang is an original culture from Indonesia. That culture is created in Bandung, West Java. In particulary it comes and developed in Ujung Berung, East Bandung about 34 (thirty four) years ago. It means, that Bejang has been existed since 1980. Bejang is a sport culture, it seems like boxing and wrestle but it has special and unique differences. Bejang is the only one which has something must be done before fighting. In fighting there is two ones minimal for fighting, but only two participants who can be duel. Fighting in Bejang needs someone to be a referee. The referee must be known all of about Bejang. Bejang is just for men, women is prohibited to join Bejang fighting.

Exactly, that the participants of Bejang have to be praying before duel. After that, somepeople behind fighting arena will play music to accompeny Bajang fighting. After the traditional music has played behind arena, the one who is ready to fight will enter the fighting arena and doing “ngibing”. Ngibing is a sundanese word and it means dancing. There’s no special dance in ngibing. The participant just has to do ngarengkenek or in English it means anymovement. The dance is not temporal and don’t need to follow the rhythm of music. We can free our movement in Bejang dancing. The one who’s brave enough to fight with the one in arena will be dancing too and enter the arena slowly. He will get his forefinger up during dancing. They will be dancing together untill the referee diects them to begin fighting.

There are two types of fighting arena of Bejang. The first arena is traditional arena which consist mood and straw. The second arena is a large thick matrass. The winner in  fighting of Bejang is the one who’s faster to turn the opponent down till his back touch the ground. One way to turn the opponent untill falling down is crossing our leg (Just one our own leg. The another leg is protecting our position) to the legs of the opponent. Bejang is different with boxing or wrestle which has three minutes in every rounds. Fighting in Bejang has no duration. The fighting is finished when the winner has defeated another one. After that the winner will be waiting for another challanger or change the fight to the new participants.

Bejang is not only developed in Bandung or West Java, but almost all of provinces in Indonesia (especially for provinces in Java Island, Sumatera Island, and Bali Island) have Bejang Community. The music which accompeny Bejang fighting is followed the culture in every provinces. Bejang becomes an extracurricular of Some Senior High School in Bandung such as SMAN 25 Bandung and SMAN 20 Bandung. Some Bejang atlets from England, Japan, and Korea always visit SMAN 25 Bandung to learn Bejang. Bejang has been a part of national sport in Indonesia even in the world. Bejang has been exist Thailand and  Bejang is resemble with Jurkane from Iran. Jurkane is a kind Bejang from Iran. On December 2015, there will be a National Bejang Contest in Denpasar, Bali. In year 2016 there will be a world Bejang Contest in Jakarta. So, we have to be proud to our culture and we have to keep our culture.

The participant from SMAN 3 Bandung is dancing together before fighting.

The participant from SMAN 3 Bandung is trying a fight in Bejang. Unfortunately, the matrass is not thick enough for Bejang fight. The referee in that fight is a national Bejang referee.

The one who wears black clothes challanges the one who wears red clothes. They dancing together befpre fighting.

The one who wears white pants is the loser. The one who wears black pants is the winner. We can see the people who’s playing musics. They are wearing red clothes.

In Matswapati Festival, I met with a student from SMAN 2 Bandung. Her name is Intan Nurlinawaty. I give her some questions about Matswapati Festival. We were watching some culture shows together. During watching the show, I asked her about Matswapati. She said that the weather is so hot. The show is so comfortable (console her self). She was very happy when she wathced a present from T’sT 3. She said the decoration is so nice and creative but the foods and the drinks are very expensive. I conclude that the festival is good enough to be watched by her and she agree with me.

 Intan Nurlinawaty from SMAN 2 Bandung is the one who wears glasses. The one beside Intan is Yasmin from SMAN 3 Bandung. Intan and Yasmin are my friends from Junior High School. I captured them when we were watching for T’sT present. The present of T’sT consoles us, made us loughing, and so sweet.

My Unforgetable Moment :

My self and my friends when I was a student of Junior High School.

The Bad Day Ever

I’m going to be telling about a moment in my experiences that I can’t forget for a long time even now I’m a student of senior high school. The experience that I want to be told when I was a student of junior high school, exactly when I was still a seventh grade studet is my bad day. Yeah, there are so many story of my life which occured while I’m study at Junior High School 1 Bandung, start from happiness experiences, the illness expriences, a matter of learning processes, a matter of friendship, a matter with some teachers, and even a matter of love. The experience that I choose among the experiences I have passed is the my bad day ever. I called that day as the bad day ever cause I was facing a lot of troubles repeatedy  in that period. But there’s nothing occured without any advantage. I got a new advantage which I want to be told in the last paragraph as a conlusion.

Once up on a time when I have done my task and ready to go home, there is an announcement which was annoucing by the leader of extracuricular that all of members have to be exercise together after schooling. The extracurricular that I got is called BRIKARA. BRIKARA is an abbreviation for Brigade of Hanging Out The Flage. I change my uniform to excercise wears. I heard from my friends that the exercise of my extracurricular is quite heavy and will be holdig for a long time. My friends guess that I will be fainth during I’m being as a member of that extracurricular. But I won’t be surrended before do the challange. I won’t be a quitter ! i have to be a brave one and enthusiastic for spirit.

I join the formation of my partner. I was surprised when I looked around that I’m the only one boy in the line formation ! I was rather feeling shame in that moment. Even they are girls, they are so tough. They will be powerful women. The main group divided to any small groups. Every groups has two or more trainers. The trainers are the fomerly members and there are four boys member only including a student of ninth grade. My senior was very vicious. They were snappig and beating our hands to check whether we are strog or weak. The exercise was holding for four hours without  any time for breathing. My knee was so stiff and I’m so tired. I was so peevish and go home after practice. I thought that that moment is my last time as a member of BRIKARA. I should choose one extacuricular which more useful and suitable for me. In my school I had to have a extracurricular or more in order ti I can be success in examination. If I didn’t have any extracurricular, I will have a matter with vice principal. I decided to choose HAMKA as my new extracurricular. HAMKA is an extracurricular for the students who want to know more and more recognized about Islam. I met with a lot of friends who I never recognized before. I learn more about Islam and threre is no vicious senior. I was happy during become a member of that extrcurricular.

One day when I have gone home after extracurricular actvity and playing with my friends in the evening I realized that there are many homeworks not yet finished. When I was accomplishing my homeworks in the mid night, the weather was so cold. I have more task than the other classes because the teachers in my class are different with else. Moreover, I always adjourn to do my homeworks cause I was a lazy student. Then, I made a cup of hot chocolate milk and I decided to watch an adventure film on television for about two hours. The film that I watched is X-Man. I’m certain that all the people have known about that film because X-Man is a famous film. That adventure film is teliing about a conflict between two groups of mutan. Mutan is a human who has an amazing power. One of them can break up anything into the peaces. The one who has that talent is called Jane. She can change anything to be the dust. I won’t permit my self to leave this film. After that, I went to my bad room and slept on my bed. I slept thigt cause the condition was so comfort for sleeping. I used a warm blanket in the cold air of the night. When I woke up about at six o’clock in the morning. But actually, I have to arrived at my school at a half past six in the morning. I was desparated. I didn’t hear the ringtone of alarm clock. Then, I Took a bath immediately in the bathroom. I was feeling cold cuse the water was quite cold like ice. I realized that in the mid night there was a frizzlig rain. I  didn’t have enough time to be boiling water  and I didn’t have time to have breakfast. I ran out from my house to a publik tarnsprtation and kicked something. I was falling down to the wet ground. I saw there were many rubbish a whole the road. Whole the traveler had been going on I looked arond through the window of public transportation that the sky become cloudy and the traffic was jam. Oh no, the frihgtness thing happened, the pouring rain was occuring a whole the traveler.

When I had go down from public tasportation the rain made me wet. I was runing as fast as possibe I can do. When I arrived at school gate, the security directed me to enter the school through the canteen. I looked that I was not the only one who came late. There were about twenty five student who came late. Suddenly there was a student who ran after me. She was trying to flee from the vice pincipal caught. But  she can’t do anything and the vice principal was angry to what she did. The vice principal was writing the student one by one and my name has written three times. This moment was my last chance to enter the classroom. I was just late for six minutes, but in the note of the principal was written that I was late for fourty minutes. I was trying to complain, but she just walked away. After I became an object of the vice principal wrath, then she permit me to make a letter to the teacher’s room. I said thank you very much to her.

When I asked a permission to enter the classroom in rhe teacher’s room with my friend, the teacher who’s being picket advise us in order to won’t be late anymore. After that, I ran through the wet stair. I almost fell while I was running. I knocked the door of classroom after reached. Oh no, the first lesson is mathematic and the teacher of that subject is famous as the most vicious teacher. She came from North Sumatera. She didn’t permit me to join te lesson, but she directed me to show my home work. I tried to find my home work, but I was realized that I left my homework on the desk in my house. She was so angry and directed me to join the class. I thought I will be safe. But I was wrong, she gave me a punishment and commanded me to get out from the classroom.

When I left school and will go home, I met with my friend from another class, she called Linda of fat. I told all of my my experiences today to her in the public transportation, but she just say “You must be more pattient cause Allah loves an endurable one. ”

After reached at home, I went to my bedroom and laying on my bed. Then  I listened a song by my phone. I realized what my fault is. I learned that I have to do something which more important and ignore something I don’t need. I must be diligent, sleep and attend the lesson on time. I hope this is the last time I come late to the school.