Mikoshi Festival

The Mikoshi Festival

We got together with Grahaeme's painting teacher and his family near their home to watch the perform this mad-as-a-hatter festival. It meant getting up early in the morning and riding the bus out. Lamps hung, lining the street up to the temple. People assemble in the street and walk en-masse to the temple at the top of the street. The me, all decked out in white, walked together and the children, dressed up like ice cream venders, darted about together in a group as well. Foreigners and wives stood at the side taking pictures. First there is a confusing dance that puts choreographed hip-hoppers to shame. The men, dressed in their best white underwear and bed gowns, dance to the beat of the drums and the singer of the caller. Kind of like a ho-down, but more japanese. There's clapping and kicking and skipping all to the rhythm of drum. When they're done dancing two groups of men pick up a shrine on their shoulders then chase each other around in circles with it. Next they triumphantly carry their learder down fifty stone steps. Once there, they once again chase each other around with the shrine. It's actually less of a chasing motion and more of a cornering and cicling motion. Once trapped by the encicling shrine, the men have to try to dart past it to safety. At one point the shrine fell on an old man. He was fine. After carrying the shrine for an hour or so, the men take a break to drink sake and dance again. Then they carry the shrine to another designated dancing and drinking area and start all over. Apparently this happens rain or shine. The day we saw it, it rained. There was rain and slippery steps everywhere. One certainly has to be tenacious to hold onto the traditions of the past. Grahaeme's painting teacher, Mr. Sugihara, says that people are letting the customs of the past slip away. It's more important than ever to continue practicing them, even if it means teaching them to foreigners. He often laments the youth not taking interest in their own festivals and dances. But he delights in teaching it to any who would learn. There are somethings in Japan that are very similar to Canada. There are others that are so different that it's so difficult to understand what you are seeing. The mikoshi festival is to celebrate the harvest and to give thanks. This giving of thanks is not totally different than our own customs, but the way in which it is celebrated seems almost mad.

	Mikoshi Festival

The Mikoshi Festival We got together with Grahaeme's painting teacher and his family near their home to watch the perform this mad-as-a-hatter festival. It meant getting up early in the morning and riding the bus out. Lamps hung, lining the street up to the temple. People assemble in the street and walk en-masse to the temple at the top of the street. The me, all decked out in white, walked together and the children, dressed up like ice cream venders, darted about together in a group as well. Foreigners and wives stood at the side taking pictures. First there is a confusing dance that puts choreographed hip-hoppers to shame. The men, dressed in their best white underwear and bed gowns, dance to the beat of the drums and the singer of the caller. Kind of like a ho-down, but more japanese. There's clapping and kicking and skipping all to the rhythm of drum. When they're done dancing two groups of men pick up a shrine on their shoulders then chase each other around in circles with it. Next they triumphantly carry their learder down fifty stone steps. Once there, they once again chase each other around with the shrine. It's actually less of a chasing motion and more of a cornering and cicling motion. Once trapped by the encicling shrine, the men have to try to dart past it to safety. At one point the shrine fell on an old man. He was fine. After carrying the shrine for an hour or so, the men take a break to drink sake and dance again. Then they carry the shrine to another designated dancing and drinking area and start all over. Apparently this happens rain or shine. The day we saw it, it rained. There was rain and slippery steps everywhere. One certainly has to be tenacious to hold onto the traditions of the past. Grahaeme's painting teacher, Mr. Sugihara, says that people are letting the customs of the past slip away. It's more important than ever to continue practicing them, even if it means teaching them to foreigners. He often laments the youth not taking interest in their own festivals and dances. But he delights in teaching it to any who would learn. There are somethings in Japan that are very similar to Canada. There are others that are so different that it's so difficult to understand what you are seeing. The mikoshi festival is to celebrate the harvest and to give thanks. This giving of thanks is not totally different than our own customs, but the way in which it is celebrated seems almost mad.