Sanja Matsuri 2006
The Sanja Matsuri takes place during the third weekend in May every year, just so you have an idea about how far behind I am on posting pictures to the blog. This year, the event occurred right at the end of our big trip down to Hiroshima and Kyoto, which is why we headed back on a Friday instead of staying in Kyoto throughout the weekend.
The Sanja Matsuri dates back to the Edo Period (1603 - 1867) and is held at one of Tokyo's most famous shrines, Asakusa Jinja, and at Asakusa Temple which is immediately next-door. This year, the matsuri (or "festival") , fell on May 20-22. Knowing that over 1,000,000 people have been known to attend during the three day festival, we decided that it would be best to leave Josh at home. So on Saturday, May 21, my dad and I braved the crowds on our own while Nicki and my mom did their own thing with Josh.
Things got underway around 11:00 am or so, which was conveniently right around the time that we made it up to Tokyo.
Multiple portable shrines, called "mikoshi", were being carried by the festival participants for distances exceeding one kilometer. The mikoshi are attached to long wooden poles that the participants carry on their shoulders, which looks like it could be extremely painful after going a great distance. One of the mikoshi was actually a solid wood structure set up like a carriage, which six people inside beating on large drums, not exactly something I would be excited about carrying. However, the Japanese have come up with a wonderful tradition for a smooth procession - they down as much sake as possible before they get started to help numb the pain.
One of the fascinating things about traditional Japanese festivals such as this one is the sheer number of people in traditional costume, including men with nearly full-body tattoos wearing little more than a thong. I've been told that full-body tattoos are one sign of the yakuza, or Japanese mafia, and that many yakuza members like to get involved in these events to carry on the Japanese tradition. But there were also a lot of men and women wearing a robe-type outfit that typically covered down to just above the knee. But for the most part, many of them didn't seem to be wearing much in the way of pants, which also made for some interesting shapshots.
Finally, the highlight of the experience was all of the different food vendors that set up stations throughout the matsuri pathway. I'd say there were over 100 different vendors there, selling everything from octopus balls to Asahi beer to fish sticks (which definitely aren't just like mom used to make, picture on left).
The event was capped off with a children's matsuri through the streets of Asakusa. The children's matsuri is a miniature version of the real thing, when neighborhood children dressed up in traditional Japanese attire carry an extra-small sized shrine through the streets - don't worry, the streets have been closed to vehicle traffic. The mini-matsuri was just as entertaining as the full-sized event, but much less crowded.
Needless to say, my dad and I had a great time throughout the day and we got some great pictures, which I've added to the Gallery, dated 06/18/2006, to match up with the date of this post.
As a side note, today also happens to be Father's Day. I'd like to say a special "Happy Father's Day" to all the dads out there, but especially to my Dad. This post, about our father/son trip up to Asakusa, is my reminder of the many cool adventures that we've had together. Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father's Day!
The Sanja Matsuri dates back to the Edo Period (1603 - 1867) and is held at one of Tokyo's most famous shrines, Asakusa Jinja, and at Asakusa Temple which is immediately next-door. This year, the matsuri (or "festival") , fell on May 20-22. Knowing that over 1,000,000 people have been known to attend during the three day festival, we decided that it would be best to leave Josh at home. So on Saturday, May 21, my dad and I braved the crowds on our own while Nicki and my mom did their own thing with Josh.
Things got underway around 11:00 am or so, which was conveniently right around the time that we made it up to Tokyo.
Multiple portable shrines, called "mikoshi", were being carried by the festival participants for distances exceeding one kilometer. The mikoshi are attached to long wooden poles that the participants carry on their shoulders, which looks like it could be extremely painful after going a great distance. One of the mikoshi was actually a solid wood structure set up like a carriage, which six people inside beating on large drums, not exactly something I would be excited about carrying. However, the Japanese have come up with a wonderful tradition for a smooth procession - they down as much sake as possible before they get started to help numb the pain.
One of the fascinating things about traditional Japanese festivals such as this one is the sheer number of people in traditional costume, including men with nearly full-body tattoos wearing little more than a thong. I've been told that full-body tattoos are one sign of the yakuza, or Japanese mafia, and that many yakuza members like to get involved in these events to carry on the Japanese tradition. But there were also a lot of men and women wearing a robe-type outfit that typically covered down to just above the knee. But for the most part, many of them didn't seem to be wearing much in the way of pants, which also made for some interesting shapshots.
Finally, the highlight of the experience was all of the different food vendors that set up stations throughout the matsuri pathway. I'd say there were over 100 different vendors there, selling everything from octopus balls to Asahi beer to fish sticks (which definitely aren't just like mom used to make, picture on left).The event was capped off with a children's matsuri through the streets of Asakusa. The children's matsuri is a miniature version of the real thing, when neighborhood children dressed up in traditional Japanese attire carry an extra-small sized shrine through the streets - don't worry, the streets have been closed to vehicle traffic. The mini-matsuri was just as entertaining as the full-sized event, but much less crowded.
Needless to say, my dad and I had a great time throughout the day and we got some great pictures, which I've added to the Gallery, dated 06/18/2006, to match up with the date of this post.
As a side note, today also happens to be Father's Day. I'd like to say a special "Happy Father's Day" to all the dads out there, but especially to my Dad. This post, about our father/son trip up to Asakusa, is my reminder of the many cool adventures that we've had together. Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father's Day!
posted by Unknown | 3:37 PM
1 Comments:
You guys look so cute!
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