Seminar with Yoshigasaki Sensei
From August 25 to 31, 2013, the Associazione Ticinese Ki Aikido Balerna hosted its traditional summer seminar in Bosco Gurin.
This year's participants came from Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, and Belgium.
Michele, Olmo, and Veronica from the Balerna Dojo were invited to participate as "uchideshi."
At the request of the organizers, Japanese songs were to form the cultural part of the program this time. Yoshigasaki Sensei suggested performing the famous drinking song "Kuroda Bushi."
Ingo also traveled from Heidelberg to record the melody and accompany the songs on the guitar.
For the first time, three Danish aikidoka, Michael, Anders, and Helena, were also present at Bosco Gurin, and their cheerfulness contributed greatly to the success of the seminar.
To celebrate the fifth seminar with Yoshigasaki Sensei at Bosco Gurin, the organizers decided to have T-shirts produced for the event.
A total of 50 T-shirts in various sizes were available for the participants. They were distributed free of charge.
Yoshigasaki Sensei taught mainly
Kuroda Bushi (黒田節, literally "Kuroda's Melody") is a folk song from the city of Fukuoka. This song has been popular throughout Japan since its creation in the 1590s and is now often sung at nomikai (drinking parties) or karaoke.
The song most likely originated at the Gokō-gū Shrine (御香宮神社) in Kyoto. The music was taken from Chikuzen Imayō (筑前今様), a style of singing sung by the bushi of Fukuoka Domain during the Edo period. The song subsequently spread throughout Japan.
Wednesday's excursion was on foot to Capanna Grossalp at 1,907 m. The ascent began from Bosco Gurin, taking the footpath along the torrent, then through the forest and further across the alpine pastures. We fortified ourselves at the hut. We then continued up to at least 2,000 m. There was even a steep section where we had to use a ladder.
Afterward, the descent was quite long, following a stream through the forest until we reached the paved section of the farm road before Bosco again. We had truly earned our dinner.
