Figure 1.--A reader tells us that this is a Japanese Summer festival. It is indexed haku mitsuwa. I'm not sure what that means. A reader writes, "It could mean White Pavillion. My guess is that this is some sort of special pavillion set up near a beach; it's not a traditional Japanese festival or "Matsuri" where everyone would be in happi coats, thronged together, and probably carrying some sort of portable shrine. The people depicted are not a crowd come together for a purpose, they're just strollers. If I had to guess, I would say the photo dates from the early 1920s before the great earthquake of 1923; a fairly prosperous (and liberated) time." Note that everyon seems to be wearing traditional clothes. The men have umbrellas and boaters. The boys wear their school caps with traditional clothes. I'm not sure about the date. A reader tells us, "The photograph probably dates from the 1920s or even before. Those summer hats (boaters) the men are wearing went out of fashion by the 1930s. I'm not even sure it's a festival."

An especially interesting activity in Japan is a wide range of traditional festivals. We note many festivals in Japan. These festivals are regional in nature. Every city and town as well as small villages appear to have festivals, often more than one. Some are seasonal in nature. Others are more religious in nature. Many festivals have religious origins. Many festivals have Shinto elements, but Budhism seemsly blended into Japanese society so both religions are important. Often there are both seasonal and religious themes combined. There are some activities in which traditional dress is worn. Here we mean actual participants in the festivals. We do not have details on the these traditional costumes and how accurately the replicate actual historical dress. Nor do we know how they vary at the different festivals around Japan. We also note people who came to enjoy, but not actually participate in the festivals wearing traditional dress. This seems to have been particularly the case before World War II. We note both boys and men as well as the girls and women attending the festivals wearing traditional clothes. The boys commonly wore their school caps with traditional clothes. We do not, however, have much information on Japanese festivals at this time.

Individual Festivals

An especially interesting activity in Japan is a wide range of traditional festivals. We note many festivals in Japan. These festivals are regional in nature. Every city and town as well as small villages appear to have festivals, often more than one. Some are seasonal in nature. Others are more religious in nature. Many festivals have religious origins. Many festivals have Shinto elements, but Budhism seemsly blended into Japanese society so both religions are important. Often there are both seasonal and religious themes combined. One festival we note is the Miyajima festival near Hiroshima. It appears to be one of the best known festivals in Japan. There must be gundreds of different festivals in Jpaan. Some of course are much better known than others.

Festival Costumes

There are some activities in which traditional dress is worn. Here we mean actual participants in the festivals. We do not have details on the these traditional costumes and how accurately the replicate actual historical dress. Nor do we know how they vary at the different festivals around Japan. We note boys and men at the Miyajima festival wearing short jackets and loin cloths. This seems to be an outfit also worn at some other festivals. We do not yet know the significance and derivation of these costumes. They were worn by both boys and men. There does not seem to be a specifically boy costume. Some of these festivals date to medieval eras. We do not know, however, just how historicaly accurate these costumes are. The participants in these festivals seem to be mostly boys and men. We also note children in some festivals or celebrations wearing modern-looking band outfits.

Festival Observers

We also note people who came to enjoy, but not actually participate in the festivals wearing traditional dress. This seems to have been particularly the case before World War II. We note both boys and men as well as the girls and women attending the festivals wearing traditional clothes. The boys commonly wore their school caps with traditional clothes. We do not, however, have much information on Japanese festivals at this time.

Chronology

The chronomlogy of the various festivals held throughout Japan varies widely. Some of these festivals date from medieval times. Others are of more modern origins. We do not yet have any images of the early festivls. Presumably there are some paintings depicting these early festivals. With the invention of photography we have some images dating from the late 19th century. At the time the early photographs were taken, most Japanese boys still wore traditional clothing. The early images we have found show that the modern festivals have preserved some of the same costumes. We are not yet sure, however, as to what extent the modern costumes are accurate rebditions of the festival costumes worn in the middle ages.

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Created: 12:27 AM 12/24/2005
Last updated: 7:03 PM 1/22/2007