Neighborhood Pagentry
On a rainy but otherwise totally fun Sunday afternoon in September we joined our friends Makiko and Akio
Ogawa for their town's matsuri, or festival. The occasion was the parade connected with returning
the portable shrines (mikoshi) to the temple. Occasionally throughout the year the portable shrines are
placed in the community so everyone can view them. Food stalls, games, music and partying go along with
the parade and make for a very enjoyable time!
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| Happy Coats |
Here we are standing next to one of the mikoshi in its temporary home along main street. Notice the
thick beams it is sitting on. In the parade, volunteers will heft these beams to their shoulders to carry the
heavy mikoshi back to the temple. Akio arranged for us to borrow "hapi coats", the official uniform for
carrying the mikoshi. We enjoyed the fashion without doing any of the heavy work.
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| Team Work |
Yakumo, the Ogawa's town, had three mikoshi in the community, and three different teams of men
and women carried them to the temple. Some teams seemed very disciplined ...
and others were a little more chaotic!
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All the teams chanted and were full of energy ... and that energy was infectious! The bystanders
enthusiastically cheered them on.
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| Fun And Games |
The streets were lined with food booths and games. One of the biggest hits was the
fish trays, a standard game at matsuris. All children in Japan "fish" for goldfish in these shallow trays. The
game is to catch a goldfish by using a round ring with a sheet of rice paper glued to it. Lift the fish into your
bowl, it's yours.
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Children of all ages enjoy the sport!
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Now, you're probably thinking, "This is hardly fair. It's a children's game. Adults should have no
problem with it." But, you have forgotten the main property of rice paper when it is in water ... it dissolves.
Unless you're quick and coordinated, the fish will swim right through your ring! Then it's GAME OVER!
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Notice Akio's bowl there to the right with three fish in it!
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| Fun For All! |
The matsuri was tremendous fun. Everyone we met was in a party mood and very welcoming. As
we walked down the street at one point a group of people were giving out popcorn as part of the celebration.
Of course, we had to have some -- corn is a food from the Americas. And this man was happy to show off his hapi coat,
proud to be one of the team that carried the mikoshi.
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