The centerpiece of many Japanese festivals is the mikoshi, a traveling shrine which is meant to be carried from a main shrine into the surrounding neighborhood. Though there are religious aspects of the mikoshi, many simply view it as a cultural icon around which community is built and fostered. Carrying the mikoshi is considered an…
Tag: festival
Matsuri Goldfish
Goldfish are one of the symbols of Japanese summer and one of the reasons this is probably so is because of the ubiquitous goldfish booths at local matsuri (festivals). The participant is given a cup and a small “scoop” made rice paper and is allowed to scoop as many goldfish from the trough as they…
Ebisu Bon Odori
As July comes to a close, the bon odori season is just starting in Japan. Bon odori are festivals where entire communities come together to socialize and dance in honor of the dead. In Tokyo, the neighborhood of Ebisu seems to have made the perfect transition of bon odori from the rural village to the…
Torigoe Matsuri
Torigoe Shrine would probably be just another obscure little shrine in Tokyo’s shitamachi (“low town” loosely interpreted as the working-class district) if not for one feature: its huge four ton mikoshi (portable shrine). Once a year, the people living around the shrine literally fight for the right to carry the shrine in a procession on…
Tanabata
Tanabata is the celebration of the myth of the two lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi, two stars separated by the Milky Way. Once each year on the 7th of July or August, they are allowed to meet. While their story represents the basis of Tanabata, the day is celebrated in many different ways. Most common is…
Shibuya Ohara Festival
The annual Ohara Festival in Shibuya in June demonstrates how important festivals are in Japan; a section of a major street right in front of Shibuya Station is closed to vehicles to allow hours of dance performances for a large audience gathered on the sidewalks. The festival celebrates Shibuya’s ties to the southern region of Kagoshima….
Festival Masks
Attend any summer festival in Japan and within the stalls selling delicious yakisoba (fried noodles), kakigori (flavored shaved ice) and yakitori (various meats on skewers), you’ll find a booth selling children’s masks. These masks are available in various characters from Disney to popular Japanese cartoons to traditional (Hyottoko, the funny-faced mythical spirit). Like a Disneyland…
Sanno Matsuri Parade
Sanno Matsuri is one of the three major festivals of Tokyo, but don’t expect the millions of spectators that festivals like Sanja Matsuri have. What Sanno Matsuri lacks in attendance it makes up for in stature; it is one of the few festivals that is attended by the Emperor…sort of. In truth, the festival comes…
Setsubun
Setsubun is a festival celebrating the beginning of Spring and is observed on February 3rd in Japan. The festival is based on the Lunar calendar and Setsubun is considered to be a type of “new year” festivity and focuses on welcoming “good luck” while getting rid of “bad luck”. Setsubun is neither wholly Buddhist or…
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a food that defies definition in Western culinary terms. Not quite a crepe, pancake or omelette, okonomiyaki is a meal rolled into one big package. Cabbage, eggs, pork and a batter made with flour and yam are the basic ingredients, but there are many optional ones including cheese or noodles. One of the quintessential…
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