matsuri (episode 1)

matsuri【祭り】

hiroshima has a good number of matsuri throughout the year. these lively events have less to do with the god or godlike being that the festival is held for, and more to do with the gathering of the community and having a good time, eating yatai food and wearing yukata or dancing the bon dance.

here are some local and prefectual-wide festivals in hiroshima city:

ebisu-kou 【えびす講】

touka-san 【とうかさん】

flower festival 【フラワーフェスティバル】

zenzai matsuri 【ぜんざい祭り】

sorasaya-inari jinja matsuri 【空鞘稲荷神社祭り】

kawahara-machi jizou-son【河原町地蔵尊】

there are likely more, and i also don't have all the proper names, but these are the main matsuri going down in hiroshima city and in the dobashi/tokaichi area (where i happen to be centered).

today we'll be looking at the kawahara-machi jizou-son matsuri, held in late august.

summer festivals are great -- bon dancing and yatai under the chouchin (paper lantern) light.

we were apparently too late for the bon dance -- which is a simple dance that involves moving around in a circle around a large tower-thing where taiko drums are being played. was looking forward to getting some pictures, but alas. summer festivals are also great places to wear yukata (light summer kimono), and i did see some people dressed in them here. but then again, this is a really small festival, taking up maybe 3 blocks of the street for the weekend. here's a look at the main road:

lots of yatai, which are street vendors that sell everything from food to toys to goldfish. we got some takoyaki (octopus dumplings?) and some taiyaki (fish shaped cakes with anko in the middle), which are standard fare for any matsuri. the place is milling with locals enjoying a beer and chatting with neighbors and friends.

mmm...octopus.

there's an altar with candles and incense surrounding a jizou statue. often translated as the "guardian deity of children", these jizou statues are often built at the site of tragic accidents or for stillborn children. they are also placed at city or village limits to protect the land and its inhabitants. 

since i wasn't sure the implications of taking a picture of a jizou statue while a festival was being held in its honour, i didn't take a picture, but here's one i found on the web of a typical jizou statue.

(they almost always have red bibs around their necks)

next to the jizou statue was a stage where lots of different events were being held. high school bands, bingo games, and kagura, which is a type of "shinto theatrical dance" (thanks wiki!). basically, ancient myths and folklore are acted out using song, dance, and dialogue with ridiculously elaborate costumes and flashy movement. the music is all traditional japanese instruments -- high pitched flutes and drums of all ranges, working together at fever pitch during the intense fight scenes, or quietly giving rhythm to the performers' speech...not like i could understand the bulk of what was being said since it's in like old-school japanese, but that's beside the point. the point is, it's hella entertaining -- this was actually my first time seeing live kagura and i have to say, i was enchanted. there are still lots of kagura-dan or kagura groups that are active in northern hiroshima and shimane prefecture (just north of hiroshima prefecture), and if given the chance, i would LOVE to see another performance.

what struck me most about this festival was the sheer locality of it. kawahara-machi is by no means a huge part of the city. there were likely 50 people there, at best, and all of them residents of the area. parents talking to parents while kids run about with plastic masks or glow sticks, elderly residents watching kagura with their grandkids, middle school girls moving in herds while snacking on kara-age (fried chicken)... it's just a great way to unite the community, if only for two days, and a great excuse to go outside and enjoy the (relative) cool of summer nights in hiroshima.