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An especially interesting activity in Japan is a wide range of traditional festivals or matsuri.
There are a vast number of local festivals in Japan. These festivals are local in nature. Every city and town as well as small villages appear to have festivals, often more than one. Some are seasonal in nature. Virtually every shrine celebrates its own festival. Others are more religious in nature. Many festivals have religious origins. Many festivals have Shinto elements, but Buddhism seemsly blended into Japanese society so both religions are important. Most festivals are held annually and celebrate the local shrine's deity or an event ofvsome importance. Many festival have celebrations thst are held over several days.
An important part of these festivals are processions with costumed participants. Commonly the local shrine's kami (Shinto deity) is carried through the town in mikoshi (palanquins). The festivala are the only time each year that the kami is taken out of the shrine and carried around town. Many festivals have elaborately decorated floats (dashi). The celebrants pull the floats through the town. Drum and flute music madeby people on the flast provide acconpanent. The festivals vary greatly in nature and orientation. There are relatively calm and meditative festivals. Others are loud and energetic. 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 hundreds of different festivals in Japan, thousands if you count small village festivals. Some of course are much better known than others.
A festival is held here at the Aoshima Shrine in Miyzaki City during January. It is said that when Yamasachi suddenly returned from the Dragon Palace in the Sea Country, delighted, naked people met him in the sea. On the day of the festival December 17th, according to the lunar calendar, people go into the sea naked in spite of the cold.
The cherry blossom is very important in Japanese society. It is Japan's most beloved flower and has the virtual status of the national flower. (The chrysanthemum represents the emperor.) There is no one single festival, but a huge number of loval events. And given the north/south orintation of the Home Islands, the local festivals are set at slightly different dates from late-March to early-April cherry blossoms herald the the arrival of spring. Both the school academic year and corporate fiscal years begin with spring (April). Cherry treems bloom in Japan around the beginning of April (late March and early April). There is huge media attention and weather reporting thoughout Japan on just when the trees burst into bloom. The trees bloom for about 7-10 day and then they are gone. The delicate beauty and transience of the blossoms have poignant appeal and have been trated endlessly in Japanese poetry. The Japanese people come out in mass to enjoy the spring weather and gaze up at the beauty of the bloosoms. People bring food and drink to the prks and other places with cherry trees and spread out their picnics beneath the trees. Schools hold commencement ceremonies for the entering first-year students. The first-graders receive a brand-new school satchel (randoseru) from their parents or grandparents. Festivals occur throughout the country. We believe that the Shinto festivals are particularly important.
A Japanese reader has forwarded some photographs of the Shiten-noji-no-Doya Doya Festival, but doesn't tell us much about it. Hopefully we can learn more about it. The festival is held on
January 14. It is held in Osaka. It occurs at Rokugatsu-do in Shiten-noji shrine. People struggle for talismans of Gyu-o-Hoin. Then they shout Doya Doya. That may mean "many feet". That is the origin of the festival's name. The children dress up in red shorts which must be a little chilly as it is in the middle of Winter.
We are not sure just what the Fuka festival was or where it was held. Hopefully our Japanese readers can tell us more. We do know that part of the celebration was throwing water on each other. This reminds me of carnival in Ecuador where the water pressure drops because so many people are filling up water baloonms and pails of water.
Gion festivals are held all over Japan, culminating on July 17. The best knowm Gion Festival is celebrated at the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, It is one of Japan's best known festivals feature towering, highl decorated floats. Smaller Gion festivals are held in many other Japanese cities on the same days. We note the celebrations at a small village on an Island off Nagasaki--Ogushi. The boys are involved with the processions and floats and play on the beach after the parade. We are not sure that the beach activities are connected with the festival. It is interesting seeing the children playing like regular boys would be.
The Miyajima Festival takes place at the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine at Miyajima near Hiroshima. It replicates the court customs of medieval Japan. The date varies according to the vagaries of the lunar calandar. but occurs from late July to early August. The entertaiment of medieval nobles are reproduced at the Itsukushima Shrine, which the Japanese see as one of the most renounded scenic beauties of the country. Ths includes kangen music produced by playing the flute, drums and Japanese string instruments. This was Japanese court music. Mobles enjoy orchestrasplaying these kangen instruments on boats floated on ponds and rivers. The warlord Taira-no-Kiyomori (1118-81) during the Heian Period built the Itsukishima-Shrine and and introduced the customs that are still celevrated to dedicat the shrine to the gods. The modern Shinto ritual is staged on the Seto Inland Sea. It is one of Japam's best known festivals recreating the customs of the Heian Period. Some rank it as the one of finest float festivals in Japan. Itsukushima Shrine is a World Heritage Site, The Shrine is best known for the large O-torii gate standing at the entrance of shrines located on sea waters. The principal building at full tide seems to almost float on the sea. This Shrine ats as a kind of stage for the festival. The cerenonies are accompanied by kangen performance. The gozabune vessel actually carries the divine spirits. As dusk approasches, fires are lit to illuminate the surroundings for patrolling and fishing. Three tugboats lead the gozabune boat which is decorated with lighted lampstands. Paper lanterns are sent sailing towards the Jigozen Shrine on the other bank. After the ceremonial ritual at the Jigozen Shrine, the gozabune is towed to several smaller affiliated shrines and is then returned to the Itsukushima Shrine some time after midnight. Many believe that the greatest attraction of the festival is the haunting kangen music. The participants wear destinctive costumes reproducing medieval styles. We are not sure how accurate they are. Nor are we sure just what class of people would have worn them.
Many Japanese festivals are of historic origins. Some date back to the medieval era. We believe that that there are also festivals of modern origins, although we have very limited information. We note one festival called the "Sea Festival". This seems to be a modern festival. The festival seems in part to showcase foisheries technology. I am not sure just where this one is hekd. There are aot of coastal villages where the people have traditionally made thei living from the sea. Since World war II Japan has built one of the world's most modern fishing industries, including both aquaculture and highly industrialized distant-water fishies. A very substantial portion of the animal protein in the Japanese diet is seafood.
A HBC contributor has sent us images from the Syunka Matsuri. Unfortunately she know nothing about the festival. We are not sure what Synuka means. Persumably it is a town or village with a shrine or temple. Hoefull our Japanese readers will be able to provide us some information on this festival. It seems to involve horses. One costumed boy even wears blinkers.
The Wakamiya Festival is an annual festival in Japan held at the Wakamiya Shrine which is the branch of Kasuga Grand Shrine. By tradition the festival was founded September 17 by Tadamichi Fujiwara, Kampaku who was the Chief Advisor of the Emperor. This was the second year of Hoen (1136)
in the late Heian era. He sought to pray for a bumper crop. For many years it was the Budhist monk soldiers of the Kofuku-ji Temple that oversaw the festival. Over the years in Japan the Shinto and Budhist religions coexisted with people often adopting beliefs and celebratiing holidays from both.
During the Meiji era, the decesion was taken to separate Shintoism and Buddhism. The Wakamiya Festival changed into a festival for the whole Nara. The date of the festival changed to December 17.
The center piece of the festival is transferring the Divine Spirit of Wakamiya to Otabisho, which is located close to the approach to the Kasuga Grand Shrine. A daytime parade of people wearing costumes of entertainers, martial arts practioners, and feudal lords. There are many night time a range of dedicatory entertainments, especially Shinto music and dancing (Kagura), court dance and music (Bugaku), ritual music and dancing (Dengaku) and Seinoo. Finally the Divine Spirit is returned to the Wakamiya Shrine.
The Yamagasa Festival ia a popular festival held annually at Tobata, a ward of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture on Kyushu. It is a 3-day festival held over a weekend at the end of July. The festival focuses on the parading of the Yamagasa. These are large floats. The yamagasa festival is of fairly recent origins. The people of Tobata were hit by an epidemic (1802). They prayed to Suga-taijin to end the plague. Accorfing to folk lore all of the striken villagers were cured. Thus the villagers held the first Yamagasa Festival to tham the gods. Four regions of Tobata participate in the festival: Higashi, Nishi, Tenraiji and Nakabaru. Each region produces two Yamagasa, a large one for the men and a small one for the boys. The Yamagasa are carried through the streets during the day. The yamagasa are are decorated at night with twelve layers of 309 lanterns, 10 meters high, and 1.5 tons in weight The mem's yamagasa are then moved around the town by about 100 carriers. The yamagasa are very heavy and carrying them requires a coorinated effort. The carriers shout "yoitosa, yoitosa" in a rhythmic chant accompanied by drums and cymbals. There were nighttime races, but these have been abandoned for safety reasons. Also reflecting chanhing social attitudes there is now a womens Yamagasa festival. The costumes the participants wear seem similar to those worn in festivals of much more ancient origins. I'm not sure why this must may eflect the fact that Japanese traditional dress may not have changed over long periods. Hopefully our Japanese readers will know more about this.
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