Every time the mikoshi was scheduled to stop somewhere, a guy would appear on a box and begin directing it in to its parking space like someone helping an airplane into the proper gate.

At the end of the day a speech was made which included the admonition to continue these traditions by including the ever-shrinking population of Japanese children in them.

At the first rest spot a Shinto ceremony took place. I wasn’t quite close enough to hear what was said.

I’ll leave you with a video I took from the first night’s festival. This was my first real video with my TZ7. I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by the quality of photos the TZ7 has been taking, but this video came out much better than I was anticipating. Not only were the lighting conditions horrible, but I was far from the stage. However, the sound and video are both very good.

Posted on September 18th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: matsuri, nishi-waseda, shinto, video. Comments: 1

Ever since the aforementioned Bon Odori, signs have been going up, and we have observed preparations, for our local shrine’s omikoshi matsuri. Saturday, the 5th, featured the children’s version (kodomomikoshi). While we watched the procession, the man directing the kids struck up a conversation with me and invited us to participate in the following day’s event. He told us to borrow some Happi Coats from the local sake dealer which we did.

At 9 o’clock on the morning of the 6th we arrived at 天祖神社 (our local shrine) decked out in our new Happi Coats and all ready to lift the mikoshi, bounce it up and down, and wave it back and forth through town. I wasn’t so sure we would get the chance given that there were hundreds of people looking to do the same and only space for a couple dozen lifters at a time.

The local elders (to the right of the above photo) gave speeches before we began, telling us to be safe, enjoy the great weather, and continue the tradition that had been happening for hundreds of years. They only take this mikoshi around town once every three years so we were lucky to be here at the right time.

The procession included not only the mikoshi but also boys dressed like Shinto priests, someone in a Tengu mask, a lady dressed in a traditional Shinto outfit with the above wagasa over her, and others.

I got my chance to carry the mikoshi at one point (that’s me on the far left) and quickly discovered that it doesn’t work so well when one person is more than half a foot taller than everyone else. Not only do the tall get stuck with far more weight, but they also tip the shrine a bit. This was a great experience, though, and I’ll post some more pictures soon…

Posted on September 17th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: festivals, japan pictures, matsuri, shinto. Comments Off on 天祖神社の御神輿　2009年9月6日　Part 1