SEIJINSHIKI

I attended to a coming-of-age ceremony in Tamana yesterday. "Seijin-no-hi" is second Monday in January. The day of this year is 12. At the ceremony, most girls wear "furisode". It is a one of Japanese clothes and worn by unmarried women. I have received many direct mails from Japanese clothes shops. The girls who are 19 years old will be sent it from about now. Japanese clothes are very expensive. Old people had thought it's one of their properties. It's hard for parents to prepare the furisode. I wore a purple one. Japanese clothes also take much time to wear. So girls had to wake up early. My family lent some rooms for a certain Japanese clothes shop to wear, make up and set the girl's hair yesterday. 12 girls wore furisode there. First girl and women who make up girls came 5:30 a.m.!! The make up artists had to complete all12 girls until 10:30 a.m. My turn was last. I was finished before 11:00 a.m. Their feat of agility was wonderful.
After the preparation, I went to a hall held the ceremony. There were many classmates of mine. But there were also strange people because some cities, towns and villages had been united. I took many pictures with my friends I met them after a long time. Some of them have changed but most haven't. At the ceremony, we watched a musical performance and dance done by our classmates. They were nice. After some address, the ceremony finished. I changed my clothes and went to a class reunion held in a hotel. There were my friends I had gone with them to the same junior high school. They dressed up and became grown-up. We drank, talked and ate. Suddenly my class's members were called by our teacher and handed a letter. It was the letter written by me 15 years old. When we were the junior high school students, we wrote it for me living future. I released and laughed because there was a mistaken paper written only one line. I was a hasty girl. Now, I think I have become a hasty woman. I want to be a real adult. (362 words)