For the ceremony itself, mostly quoted from the year 1 link:
The Mechanical Engineering staffs of both KIT and KTC have an annual ceremony where the machine shop is blessed by Shinto priests - praying for the safety of the shop and its occupants in the coming year. It was interesting, despite the fact that the audience spent a lot of time in long bows, and were therefore more able to observe their shoes than what was going on. Not necessarily optimal for our first Shinto ceremony.
First, an enormous bottle of Sake was opened to entice the protective deities to come down to hear our request that they protect the machine shop. A tree branch with white papers or something tied to it was waved over some machines and a representative from each group (KIT students, KTC students, lab workers, KIT teachers, KTC teachers, etc.) placed a small branch similar to the large one on the altar as an offering from each group to keep us safe while working on the machines in the coming year. There were also fruits and vegetables and other bottles of alcohol as offerings on the altars. A lot of clapping and wailing chanting was also involved at various points - I think the kami might have ADD or something and need loud noises to keep their attention. After the ceremony we there was a party at a restaurant serving formal Japanese food for the professors and staff.
They set up chairs and an altar in the middle of the shop floor, with a cloth with the school logo behind it
There is a lot of standing up and sitting down and looking solemnly at the floor
The elder priest with the blessing tree cutting
He doesn't bless all the machines, just a couple to represent the rest
The younger priest seemed to be doing more this year and earlier, they might be getting ready to pass the torch
The presidents of the schools, various staff, and some students all come to the front representing groups making pleas to be safe in the new year
The yellow jacket of a student machine shop worker
The actual altar with rice, fruits, and alcohol
Afterward the students get most of the goods, but I don't think they get the booze. Not sure who does.
The dinner portion will always be opened with some speeches, mercifully fairly short this time.
Then the waitresses teleport in with the beer
Everybody has to pour for everybody else, and then there is a toast to officially start the meal
On the left we have slimy seaweed and octopus salad, and in the middle some vegetables in a paste of indeterminate origin
The next offering was a big step up, pretty good sashimi
Roast fish with some lotus, potato, uzu, and ground daikon - not bad
Thick broth with chicken, mushroom, and various pressed-bean products - OK but not great
Seafood custard-y stuff, pretty tasty
Tempura plate (I forgot to take the picture before eating half of it) - well done and delicious
Once the meal is about half over people start getting up and going around to socialize with the whole room - the method is to carry beer and inject yourself into whatever conversation is ongoing by offering to pour. This is a good time for expressing things that can't be said by sober people (most anything important) and for sucking up to those above you.
And that will be the last time we do this particular engagement. No more machine shop blessings for us! We'll have at least one more big formal dinner out for our last end-of-year onsen trip, which is coming up soon, but this is one of the last enkai (dinner/party with your coworkers) we'll be going to.
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