| Monday, October 23, 2006 |
| I'm sorry, God can't come to the festival right now... |
 In my niko-niko ("smile smile") special needs class at elementary last week, the lone student kept hiding under various pieces of furniture, shouting "Boku wa inai, yo!" ("I'm not here!") repeatedly for the whole period. The teacher was looking a bit fragile, so we put on the Monster Mash CD and chatted in English instead. This weekend's theme: "Kami-sama wa inai, yo!"
On Sunday, 9 of us went to the Yoshikawa Hachimangu festival right next to Britt's house. It's famous because it's really old (700 years) and combines every type of fall festival known to man. There were portable shrines, dragon dances, an exceedingly slow march around town, taiko drumming, some mysterious meeting of god's "helpers" inside a circular bamboo-fenced-in area, meats on sticks, and two horses. There is a race at the end between 2 boys trying to win the favor of Kami-sama (God), and then another local boy who was selected the previous year to be Kami-sama rides up to the temple on horseback and shoots some arrows. After that the guys that had previously been smoking long cigarettes (amidst inexplicable piles of omiyage) in the bamboo lounge also race up the stairs, tripping over themselves in their ninja turtle footwear. You don't know what is happening or why. It's the festival that Ritalin forgot.
 There were lots of friendly locals to chat with, but it couldn't hold a candle to Kamotaisai. For starters, there were 3 portable shrines, but only enough men to carry 2 of them, which meant one shrine sat there looking lonely while the other 2 went off parading on the streets of Yoshikawa. (And did I say streets? I meant street.) The men were all dressed in white, looking from a distance like the KKK in rope sandals, and one of the shrines nearly broke when they crashed into the big stone gate at the entrance to the temple. The big sacred rope above also nearly came crashing down at this moment, which drew a collective gasp and then applause of relief from the crowds. Bless the little neighborhood for keeping tradition alive, but one granny who had been coming for 50 years says there are less people coming every year.
 People who were in attendance: this P-I-M-P and his little ladies in kimono. Also, the Mummy came, in addition to Bruttney's HotRice/Happy Day Every Day bus stalker lady.
The festival happens next to my small junior high, so Kami-sama is one of 2nd year students. I was talking to some of my girl students, all dressed up like little tiny hookers for the occasion, and they said that the boy who was supposed to be God wasn't there. This year, there would be no God. Why wasn't he there? Because he fell off the horse during rehearsal the day before and smacked his head on the pavement. He was whisked away in an ambulance and apparently also has a broken leg. Kami-sama wa inai, yo... |
posted by Raychaa @ 5:55 PM  |
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| 1 comments: |
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Hey, that's a weird pic, an intriguing juxtaposition of culture there. I like the 50 cent P-I-M-P reference.
Have any other pictures from Halloween? Curious minds want to see costumes.
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Name: Raychaa
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About Me: “No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this - 'devoted and obedient'. This definition would do just as well for a porter. It might even do for a horse. It would not do for a policeman.” (Florence Nightingale)
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Hey, that's a weird pic, an intriguing juxtaposition of culture there. I like the 50 cent P-I-M-P reference.
Have any other pictures from Halloween? Curious minds want to see costumes.