This fall at PCV, we watched Chicken Run, the Claymation film that presents chickens as clever captives who hilariously escape the farmer’s hatchet. What other blockbuster portrays chickens as freedom fighters? After all, for most of us, chickens are simply food. We here are lucky, because we get to enjoy chickens as lively, curious fellow creatures while eating their eggs and, now and then, the birds themselves.

I was gone from PCV when the first chickens arrived, so the pungent odor wafting from the garage that greeted my return surprised me. I saw straw mats covering a large mound on the cold concrete and went in to touch the top—warm! Who wouldn’t be curious about a mysterious pile agitating in the garage? I already knew that PCV was making our own feed because 90% of the market feed available includes U.S. imports of genetically modified corn and often, growth hormones. It was time to study what a sumptuous feast our birds dine on. The bulk of their diet is rice. Should it surprise that Japanese chickens like what Japanese people like? They get rice in the form of flour, bran, hulls, and hull charcoal.

A few weeks ago was the local 秋祭り”akimatsuri”, fall festival, here in Fukuda. It was a long and exhausting, yet beautiful and exhilarating experience.

It is common all over the world to have some sort of celebration to mark the autumn season. Japan is no different. The country side in particular, still lives and breaths farm life and so the pattern of the year centers around the growing and harvesting seasons. There are all sorts of different ways that Japan marks autumn, there are national celebrations, regional celebrations, and community celebrations. Our local community’s celebration is visiting the local shrine, Fukudahachiman.

Last week, PCV staff hosted a setsumeikai (explanatory meeting) for our upcoming community-based program, “PCV Hangouts,” which blends English conversation class with international exchange party. Composing of two one-hour blocks, the class begins with a somewhat formal lesson or review, before matriculating into loose “free conversation” in English and Japanese. The idea is to provide an open space for local residents to be able to practice their English (but also feel comfortable speaking Japanese—which is a chance for the staff to practice their own Japanese after all), and well, hang out.

On Tuesday night, PCV staff held our first circle discussion. The topic: video games, violence in video games, and those games being played in our public space. You see, here at Peace Culture Village, we have a Play Station 4 with games like Assassin's Creed: Origins, NBA 2k19, God of War, Jack Box Games, and Marvel’s The Amazing Spider Man. For some of our staff members, video games are a method of self-care, a chance to relax, and even bond and interact with one another. However, there were some concerns over a) the hypocrisy in playing violent video games at a place espousing Peace Culture b) the issue of playing those games in a public space.

Earlier this week, PCV staff (along with Basil Schur, our latest guest from Australia) took a trip down to Hiroshima City. There, along with our Hiroshima-based staff, we got to meet with Mr. Tsuboi Sunao, a Hibakusha who, at the age of 20, survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima City. 

Hello everyone! My name is Lucas Carmichael-Tanaka, I’m an intern at PCV, and I'll be a temporary contributor to the PCV blog.

From May 21 through 23, Peace Culture Village staff aided 8 students and 4 faculty members from Moravian College as they held their May term study abroad seminar entitled "Japan: Legacies of WWII". 

Here at Peace Culture Village, Spring has finally arrived! The weather is becoming warmer, and the frog's chirping can be heard from the rice paddies. Small flowers are beginning to bloom, and seedlings have burst forth from the ground in full force. Even the chickens are enjoying the beautiful weather in their new, outdoor playpen! 

Even in the cold and snowy winter, Peace Culture Village English classes continue in the mountains near Konu and Joge! Of the six classes that PCV currently offers, 2 are for elementary school children, 1 for high school students, and 3 for adults.