When Life Gives You Oysters, Make Pearls
When I found out that I would be living in Toba, I began to research the city's main attractions. One of the first things that I came across was Mikimoto Pearl Island, it's an island in Toba which commemorates the accomplishments of Kokichi Mikimoto. In 1893 Mikimoto, who was a resident of the Toba area, produced the first cultivated pearl in history. Ever since then his name and the town of Toba have been associated with quality in the pearl industry.
I thought it would be great if I could bring my mother back a pearl necklace as a souvenir of my time in Toba. Shortly after settling in to my new surroundings I set to work, trying to discover where I could get a good pearl necklace. At a work party I mentioned that I was looking for a Mikimoto shop, at which point my co-workers informed me that one of the other teachers at our school could get me pearls of the same quality as Mikimoto for a greatly discounted price.
About a week later, I tracked down Uemura sensei. Uemura teaches physical education and coaches the wrestling team. He's a really interesting and down to earth guy. He's a professional wrestler (ranking number 2 in Japan in Greek-style wrestling a few years back) and has travelled the world to compete in competitions. Despite his daunting figure and the violent nature of his hobby, Uemura is one of the kindest persons I have ever met. He's ALWAYS smiling and he tries to the best of his ability to converse in English with me. When I asked him about buying pearls, he told me that his wife's family sold pearl jewelry and that they would give me a great price on Mikimoto quality necklaces. As a point of fact, I discovered that they sell the SAME pearls as Mikimoto. His wife's family and Mikimoto buy their pearls from the same harvester, but Mikimoto jacks up the prices because they are a big name now.
Uemura asked me if I was available to meet with him during exam week so that I could pick something out. My schedule was wide open, so we decided to meet on October 18th. At just before noon on the 18th, Uemura walked into the staff room and asked me if I was okay to leave. As we left the building I was greeted by a charming young Japanese woman, who Uemura introduced as his wife (I couldn't say her name, so unfortunately I can't write it). We all hopped into his car and headed towards Ise to take care of some business. At first conversation was slow because Uemura and his wife don't speak a great deal of English. But after a while we began to chat about our families and the ride seemed to fly by. After entering Ise, Uemura turned to me and said, "we will pick up my wife's older sister," and then promptly pulled over in front of a house and his wife's sister hopped in. She laughed when I said hello and introduced myself in Japanese and then proceeded to introduce herself in English. It seems that Uemura had recruited Mia (his wife's sister) to assist with the language gap. It was a really nice gesture on his part and it definitely made communication a great deal easier.
They treated me to an Italian buffet for lunch. It was kind of funny because it was basically Japanese food with spaghetti. After eating lunch we headed to the family's house. When we arrived I was introduced to Uemura's brother-in-law, the future president of the family business. He immediately placed a white cloth over the living room table, retrieved three boxes of jewelery from his office laid out a series of earrings and necklaces. They were gorgeous. It was obvious that he had taken a great deal of care in selecting the pearls to make his jewelery. There were necklaces of white pearls and black pearls. Among the white pearls there were a variety of different hues. Some were slightly pink or yellow or blue. Some of the necklaces appeared white, but when the light hit them in a certain way it revealed a pattern of pink, blue and yellow. Fascinating!
Uemura explained how to judge the quality of a pearl based on the size, shape, colour and clarity. We then proceeded as a collective to select the best necklace in my price range. After a great deal of scrutinizing I made my selection. Uemura's brother-in-law immediately stood and said something in Japanese, which Uemura translated for me, "It will be about an hour, is that okay?" I had been looking at sample necklaces. Uemura's brother-in-law was now going to specially prepare my necklace while Uemura and the ladies took me sight seeing in Ise. I picked a clasp for the necklace and then left with my hosts.
They took me to a very old neighbourhood adjacent to Ise Jingu. It was fantastic. While we were there we stopped into a Mikimoto shop, where I saw a necklace that was very similar to the one that I had just bought for my mother. It was 90,000 yen more than the one that I bought ($900 CAD). I was blown away. They had necklaces for $17,000 at this particular shop and it wasn't even one of the nicer shops! After leaving Mikimoto, my guides gave me a short history lesson about the area and then they treated me to "mochi" (rice balls with red bean paste on them) and tea. It was nice to have good company and good food while relaxing on the bank of the Isuzu river, especially since I was supposed to be at work! As long as I'm with another teacher the school doesn't seem to care too much about my absence though.
Just before an hour passed, Mia received a call from her brother, who was calling to tell us that the necklace was ready. We finished our teas and headed back to the house. I was ecstatic to see the necklace and I was endlessly pleased when I did. It is truly beautiful. After thanking everyone for their kindness, Uemura, his wife and I got back into the car and began to drive back to Toba. I was pretty quiet because I was still overwhelmed by the hospitality that Uemura and his family had shown me.
About half-way back to Toba, Uemura pulled the car off to the side of the road and turned to look at me with a beaming smile. I had no idea what was happening or what he was doing. "Chris..." he paused as his wife handed him a small blue bag, "my wife's father would like you to have this." He then handed me the bag and watched in anticipation with his wife. Inside was a jewelery box, which I carefully opened to reveal a silver tie-clip with a pearl encrusted on it. I didn't know what to do or say, but I think that my indelible smile and profuse attempts at words of thanks in English and Japanese expressed how truly appreciative I was.
My tie-clip
My mother's necklace
If you're interested in buying pearls, or you know someone who is, please let me know and I'll facilitate for you! It would be great to offer the great prices that Uemura offered to me, to my family and friends.
I thought it would be great if I could bring my mother back a pearl necklace as a souvenir of my time in Toba. Shortly after settling in to my new surroundings I set to work, trying to discover where I could get a good pearl necklace. At a work party I mentioned that I was looking for a Mikimoto shop, at which point my co-workers informed me that one of the other teachers at our school could get me pearls of the same quality as Mikimoto for a greatly discounted price.
About a week later, I tracked down Uemura sensei. Uemura teaches physical education and coaches the wrestling team. He's a really interesting and down to earth guy. He's a professional wrestler (ranking number 2 in Japan in Greek-style wrestling a few years back) and has travelled the world to compete in competitions. Despite his daunting figure and the violent nature of his hobby, Uemura is one of the kindest persons I have ever met. He's ALWAYS smiling and he tries to the best of his ability to converse in English with me. When I asked him about buying pearls, he told me that his wife's family sold pearl jewelry and that they would give me a great price on Mikimoto quality necklaces. As a point of fact, I discovered that they sell the SAME pearls as Mikimoto. His wife's family and Mikimoto buy their pearls from the same harvester, but Mikimoto jacks up the prices because they are a big name now.
Uemura asked me if I was available to meet with him during exam week so that I could pick something out. My schedule was wide open, so we decided to meet on October 18th. At just before noon on the 18th, Uemura walked into the staff room and asked me if I was okay to leave. As we left the building I was greeted by a charming young Japanese woman, who Uemura introduced as his wife (I couldn't say her name, so unfortunately I can't write it). We all hopped into his car and headed towards Ise to take care of some business. At first conversation was slow because Uemura and his wife don't speak a great deal of English. But after a while we began to chat about our families and the ride seemed to fly by. After entering Ise, Uemura turned to me and said, "we will pick up my wife's older sister," and then promptly pulled over in front of a house and his wife's sister hopped in. She laughed when I said hello and introduced myself in Japanese and then proceeded to introduce herself in English. It seems that Uemura had recruited Mia (his wife's sister) to assist with the language gap. It was a really nice gesture on his part and it definitely made communication a great deal easier.
They treated me to an Italian buffet for lunch. It was kind of funny because it was basically Japanese food with spaghetti. After eating lunch we headed to the family's house. When we arrived I was introduced to Uemura's brother-in-law, the future president of the family business. He immediately placed a white cloth over the living room table, retrieved three boxes of jewelery from his office laid out a series of earrings and necklaces. They were gorgeous. It was obvious that he had taken a great deal of care in selecting the pearls to make his jewelery. There were necklaces of white pearls and black pearls. Among the white pearls there were a variety of different hues. Some were slightly pink or yellow or blue. Some of the necklaces appeared white, but when the light hit them in a certain way it revealed a pattern of pink, blue and yellow. Fascinating!
Uemura explained how to judge the quality of a pearl based on the size, shape, colour and clarity. We then proceeded as a collective to select the best necklace in my price range. After a great deal of scrutinizing I made my selection. Uemura's brother-in-law immediately stood and said something in Japanese, which Uemura translated for me, "It will be about an hour, is that okay?" I had been looking at sample necklaces. Uemura's brother-in-law was now going to specially prepare my necklace while Uemura and the ladies took me sight seeing in Ise. I picked a clasp for the necklace and then left with my hosts.
They took me to a very old neighbourhood adjacent to Ise Jingu. It was fantastic. While we were there we stopped into a Mikimoto shop, where I saw a necklace that was very similar to the one that I had just bought for my mother. It was 90,000 yen more than the one that I bought ($900 CAD). I was blown away. They had necklaces for $17,000 at this particular shop and it wasn't even one of the nicer shops! After leaving Mikimoto, my guides gave me a short history lesson about the area and then they treated me to "mochi" (rice balls with red bean paste on them) and tea. It was nice to have good company and good food while relaxing on the bank of the Isuzu river, especially since I was supposed to be at work! As long as I'm with another teacher the school doesn't seem to care too much about my absence though.
Just before an hour passed, Mia received a call from her brother, who was calling to tell us that the necklace was ready. We finished our teas and headed back to the house. I was ecstatic to see the necklace and I was endlessly pleased when I did. It is truly beautiful. After thanking everyone for their kindness, Uemura, his wife and I got back into the car and began to drive back to Toba. I was pretty quiet because I was still overwhelmed by the hospitality that Uemura and his family had shown me.
About half-way back to Toba, Uemura pulled the car off to the side of the road and turned to look at me with a beaming smile. I had no idea what was happening or what he was doing. "Chris..." he paused as his wife handed him a small blue bag, "my wife's father would like you to have this." He then handed me the bag and watched in anticipation with his wife. Inside was a jewelery box, which I carefully opened to reveal a silver tie-clip with a pearl encrusted on it. I didn't know what to do or say, but I think that my indelible smile and profuse attempts at words of thanks in English and Japanese expressed how truly appreciative I was.
My tie-clip
My mother's necklace
If you're interested in buying pearls, or you know someone who is, please let me know and I'll facilitate for you! It would be great to offer the great prices that Uemura offered to me, to my family and friends.
posted by Christopher Janca at 9:37 a.m.
2 Comments:
I do need a pearl bracelet actually, as I have necklace & earrings already. Let me know about prices...!
Chris,
You are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people in your community. What a fantastic experience you must be having down there in Toba.
I am very interested in purchasing some Japanese pearls before I leave here. Please hook me up!
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