Ah, yes. I know you thought I'd be stopping writing this blog. But I'm not. The last few weeks have been rather 'busy'. The next view entries will put some light on these things.
Well, one little trip I was invited to by my friend Azusa was a festival in Kawagoe (川越市) - some weekends ago. The city is located about 30-40 mins outside Tokyo and is famous for a lot of things (sweet potatoes among them) but for one thing in particular. Here, one can get a little bit of a better idea how Tokyo looked like, before we was wiped out by the fire bombs of the US Army in WWII.
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The festival we went to see though was a gathering by representatives of a number of temples. Each of them had richly decorated wooden carriages. With these they were parading up and down one of the major streets of the town - in both directions.
Each time two of them would meet they would 'greet' each other by playing specific tunes by flute, drums and other instruments.
Some of them would disguise themselves as animals, again being associated with the temple and it's symbolic world. For instance, one had a white fox. I will do some more research on this mystic world once I have a little more time.Needless to say that - like any festival in the world - there is a lot of playing and eating around it. In this case the main shopping streets are - of course - open.
Some other streets have little food stands with sweet, sour, and other tastes, next to shooting galleries or little tubs with goldfish or turtles in them for (old and young) kids to try to catch some. This is particularly difficult as the means you get to catch them are usually made out of thin paper that brakes if the object is too heavy or handles in the wrong way.
It was a fantastic evening with many different sights and sounds - from a (sometimes) very different country...
1 comment:
I've been there a long time ago - I remember it as a place which is often over-looked by tourists but full of historic charm.
The photos are great, Oliver. I do miss Japanese festivals. The sound of drums and traditional Japanese musical instruments like shamisen and yokobue, the passion and sheer energy of the people carrying the heavy Mikoshi or pulling the Dashi calling out "Wasshoi!", the mixed smell of all kinds of food from the food stalls - it is so true that you see a different side to the Japanese people at these festivals.
I used to always feel an amazing sensation of blood racing through my veins as the Mikoshi or Dashi got closer. I especially love the festivals at night, there is something very magical/mystical about them. I think you must have felt this at the Kawagoe festival, too. I think it used to be more so, but it probably still is a great treat for kids and also an occasion where the people carrying the Mikoshi are allowed to go wild, all be it in a controlled fashion!
Sounds like you are living the life out there and enjoying it. Look forward to your next blog!
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