Madam Butterfly - Family Guide

Madama Butterfly

By Giacomo Puccini

Sorrow’s Story

Hi my name is Sorrow and it’s wonderful to meet you! I love my new home in Washington, D.C. especially in the spring time when the air is sweetened by the beautiful cherry blossoms throughout the city. Like you, I go to elementary school and enjoy playing games and meeting new friends. However, I didn’t always live in Washington, D.C. Before I moved here, I was born in Nagasaki, Japan. I was just a baby when I left Japan so I’m always asking my father about my early life. Today, I’m going to share with you my parents’ story and my journey to the United States where I can embrace both my Japanese and American heritage.

My father, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and was stationed in Nagasaki, Japan. While in Nagasaki, my father and his good friend Sharpless met my mother named Cio-Cio San who was also known as Madama Butterfly. She was a beautiful geisha who practiced the customary Japanese tea ceremony, showed her artistic skills with calligraphy, and was a talented musician. My parents immediately fell in love with each other and planned to marry very quickly. However, my mother’s family was not very happy with this decision. They were afraid that my mother would forget her Japanese culture and only embrace American traditions. My parents ignored these wishes and decided to marry in a Japanese ceremony.

My parents were only together for a few years before the Navy told my father that he had to return to the United States. For three years, my mother didn’t hear from my father. As you can imagine, she was extremely sad, but her servant and good friend Suzuki was always by her side to help make her smile. Then one day, Sharpless visited my mother with a note from my father which mentioned that he would be returning to Japan. My mother was so excited to hear this news; Sharpless was unable to get to the part of the letter that explained my father’s new life in the America. That evening, Suzuki and my mother stayed up late into the night spreading hundreds of flower petals around the house to welcome my father back to Japan.

Being exhausted from decorating the house all night, Suzuki tells my mother to get some rest. When she’s asleep, my father and Sharpless arrive at the house, but with someone new. You see, when my father retuned to the United States, he began a new life and married an American name Kate. Suzuki greeted everyone,

Sorrow’s Story

continued

but knew that my father wanted to be alone with my mother to tell her about his new life in the United States. Kate and Sharpless were away in the Japanese garden as my father explained everything to her. My mother, who waited patiently for three years, was crushed by the news. However, my mother smiled and told me that I will have new opportunities in the United States if I went with my father. We were both very sad to leave each other and hugged for the very last time. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that my father told me that she died from a broken heart soon after we departed.

Fun Fact: Star Spangled Banner was not the original American anthem, but really the Navy anthem. We meet Lt. Pinkerton in the opera of Madama Butterfly and we know that he’s American because we hear the Star Spangled Banner. However the Star Spangled Banner was not the original anthem of America, but the United States Navy. On July 26, 1889, the Secretary of the Navy made the Star Spangled Banner the official song to be played during the raising of the flag. The Star Spangled Banner was always considered a patriotic song, but it wasn’t until 1931 that President Herbert Hoover officially made it our national anthem.

Today, I miss my mother very much I and wish we could embrace again. However, my father told me that I can always make her smile by living out her memory and honoring my Japanese culture in the United States. In school, I love to share my heritage with my classmates and now I look forward to doing that with you in the next few pages. Thank you for letting me share my story with you and I hope to hear about your story, too!

Cherry Blossom Festival D.C.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is held each year in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the friendship between the United States and Japan. In 1912, 3,000 cherry trees were given to the United States from the Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki. In 1915, the United States returned the sign of friendship with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. Then, in 1965 Japan sent 3,800 more cherry blossom trees to First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson which were planted around the Tidal Basin. During the annual two week Festival, visitors can not only see the beautiful cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin, but they can watch the parade, see fireworks, go to sushi tastings, and learn about Japanese culture. Over a million people visit the nation’s capital each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and participate in the Festival.

Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festival

The cherry blossom is Japan’s national flower and Japanese people have treasured and admired cherry blossoms for centuries. There are Cherry Blossom Festivals all over Japan when the trees are in full bloom. The Japanese Cherry Blossom Queen reigns for two years and attends many Cherry Blossom Festivals throughout Japan and the world. In addition to the Queen attending the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. she also visits several countries for international friendship exchanges. The Japanese Cherry Blossom Queen spreads the spirit of volunteerism and the importance of cultural exchanges.

ColormyKimono

Sorrow interviews

Washington, D.C. Cherry Blossom Princess, Jen Corey

What is a Cherry Blossom Princess?

• The Cherry Blossom Princess Program started 60 years ago. Young ladies from every U.S. state, territory, and the District are represented as well as a few embassies are invited to participate. All of the princesses come to Washington D.C. for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in April where they take part in the festival and ride in the parade!

Where do you reign as Cherry Blossom Princess?

• I am the Cherry Blossom Princess for all of Washington, D.C.

What fun activities did you attend during the Cherry Blossom Festival in April?

Word Search

M E C A O D N K U Y X I N N K

Q O N H V Z I N J L C A O B B

G B S E A M G O B F O T S Y D

P R N S O N R J F R R R O J E

P M G N O U O G I E O Q R S B

• I met a lot of very important people including Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Mayor Adrian Fenty, as well as many ambassadors and congressmen. My favorite event from that week was when we had a sushi dinner with the Japanese Ambassador, Ichiro Fujisaki, at his Residence. On the last night we had a grand ball and all of the princesses wore white ball gowns and long white gloves. By the spin of a big wheel, the U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen was selected.

Z O O H M L N Y K T Y R R B A

Z A V R J E B N U T R E O X J

P U C C I N I Y S U N X W T A

T E L A O P D V R B A N S B R

O S F J E Q N Z M R X X H J B

I V S N O T F I L R E L F L C

H T X Z H G J X Q T I H W S A

B C P U A W T G B U I X C G W

H N N A P A J W Q F L P N V Z

V L K J O V W Q G O K X A P J

WORDS:

BUTTERFLY

CHANOYU

CHERRYBLOSSOM

JAPAN

KIMONO

PINKERTON

PUCCINI

SORROW TEA

Did you get to wear a tiara and sash?

• Yes! I was crowned by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton with a rhinestone crown and I have a pink sash that says “District of Columbia.”

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Drinking tea is a long tradition in Japan, but on important occasions or with honored guests, a special ceremony is performed. The Japanese Tea Ceremony or chanoyu is a custom performed by a male or female host who traditionally wears a kimono during the ceremony. The ritual takes place inside a small tea house or room which has mats on the floor and very little decoration. The guests take off their shoes and enter the tea room where they first wash their hands. Once everyone is kneeled in position, the host enters the room carrying the tea bowl with a whisk, a tea cloth, and the tea scoop. The host then leaves and returns to the room with another bowl and water ladle. Before the tea is prepared, a small sweet treat is passed around for all the guests to enjoy.

Fun Fact: The person who finishes the bowl normally slurps it loudly to show the host that it was very good.

The host cleans the tea container and tea scoop with a cloth and hot water. After cleaning, the host places three scoops of tea per guest into the tea bowl. Then the bowl is filled with hot water and is whisked until it is like a paste. More water is slowly added to make the tea more like a soup. Finally the host is ready to serve the tea by passing the bowl to the main guest who accepts the tea with their right hand. This guest will bow and take a few sips from the bowl before passing it to the next person who also bows before taking a sip. When the bowl gets back to the host it is rinsed and cleaned. Very formal ceremonies can last up to 4 hours!

Washington National Opera

Founded in 1956, Washington National Opera is recognized today as one of the leading opera companies in the United States. Under the leadership of General Director Plácido Domingo, Washington National Opera continues to build on its rich history by offering productions of consistently high artistic standards and balancing popular grand opera with new or less frequently performed works.

As part of the Center for Education and Training at Washington National Opera, Education and Community Programs provides a wide array of programs to serve a diverse local and national audience of all ages. Our school-based programs offer students the opportunity to experience opera first hand—through in-depth yearlong school partnerships, the acclaimed Opera Look-In, the District of Columbia Public Schools Partnership, and the Kids Create Opera Partners (for elementary schools), and the Student Dress Rehearsal (for high schools) programs. Opera novices and aficionados alike have the opportunity to learn about the season through the Opera Insights series, presented throughout the season on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. All Insights are free, open to the pubic, and archived on the Kennedy Center website. Outreach to the greater Washington D.C. community is achieved through our numerous public Library Programs, the Family Look-In, and the Girl Scout Programs.

For more information on the programs offered by Washington National Opera, please visit our website at www.dc-opera.org or contact Education and Community Programs at 202.448.3465 or education@dc-opera.org

Some students at today’s event are participating in the Arts for Every Student Program, an initiative of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative.

as of October 29, 2008

$100,000 and above

Mars Incorporated

D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts

$50,000 and above

Mr. and Mrs. John Pohanka

$20,000 and above

John and Cora H. Davis Foundation

Friedman Billings Ramsey

The Morningstar Foundation

The PNC Foundation

Philip L. Graham Fund

Prince Charitable Trusts

$10,000 and above

Bank of America/US Trust Foundation

Clark-Winchcole Foundation

Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation

The Washington Post Company

$5,000 and above

Bonnie and Louis Cohen

Mary and Daniel Loughran Foundation, Inc.

The Moriah Fund

Theodore H. Barth Foundation

$2,500 and above

Mr. Walter Arnheim

The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation

Industrial Bank

The K.P. and Phoebe Tsolainos Foundation

Wachovia Foundation

$1,000 and above

Bob Craft

CareFirst BlueShield

Dr. and Mrs. Ricardo Ernst

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Professor Martin Ginsburg

Horwitz Family Fund

Humanities Council of Washington, DC

Credits

Author credits:

Jennifer Corey, Education Intern

Stephanie Wright,