In early July, David and I ventured out to try and experience a Japanese Festival. Summer is full of them, but they’re spread-out throughout Japan, and our itinerary is not the most linear, appearing to be something a toddler might have scribbled at high velocity.
We went to the Tanabata Festival at two major shrines. The Tanabata Festival, or the Star Festival as it’s otherwise known, originates from the Asian folklore of two deities, Orihime and Hikoboshi, being allowed to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Festivities are not always held on the seventh of the lunar month and might instead be held on the seventh of the Gregorian month depending on the temple and location.
Orihime was a deity and seamstress, weaving the Milky Way, and Hikoboshi was a deity and cow herder (celestial cows, perhaps?). Orihime was introduced to Hikoboshi by her dad after being depressed about finding a partner, then REALLY hit it off, so much so that both of them quit working completely. Her dad got angry and forbid them from meeting, except for the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, because Orihime had begged so much. The two found the Milky Way too difficult to cross, so magpies formed a bridge to unite them. If it rains on Tanabata, the bridge cannot be formed and the two must wait another year to reunite. Otherworldly magpies must really dislike rain. Reference: http://www.japan-suite.com/blog/2014/7/6/tanabata-story-of-two-star-crossed-lovers
On Saturday, we went to the Tanabata Festival near Asakusa Shrine along Kappabashi kitchen street. If you’re unfamiliar with Asakusa Shrine, that would be because it sits in the shadow of Sensoji Temple, Tokyo’s oldest established temple. The street is lined with food vendors, colorful stalls, little carnival games, and bamboo trees for writing wishes on. I’m not entirely sure where the tradition of writing wishes on colorful paper and trying them to bamboo trees for Tanabata comes from, but it’s very festive to see.
We walked all the way down the street, tried several different fried food and wonderful icy fruit drinks, and watched the first day parade. There were people everywhere. The parade included several local schools, from the high school bands that sounds amazing and performed without skipping a beat in the hundred degree weather, to the elementary school bands that had several attendants to help keep things aligned and keep the children cool with misting backpacks. Honestly, I would have envied the kids being kept cool, except I would have likely been even hotter under all the attention from the wonderful sound, I mean music, they were making. They were very cute. The whole parade was led by two female officers from Tokyo’s female only police motorcycle brigade.
After following the parade and wondering the whole street, we visited Sensoji Temple and Asakusa Shrine. Unlike the last time I visited Sensoji, all of the stalls in front of the temple were open, selling wishes, charms, and keychains. Asakusa’s gochuin, or stamp, was embellished for the holiday with bamboo and colorful wishes. It was an amazing festival and really reflected Japan’s street festival culture.
We had intended to go to the other shrine that night since it was famous for its candles, but it rained. If we had, we likely would have gone back to Sensoji for the second day of festivities and listened to the taiko drums. However, we headed to Zojoji Temple on Sunday. As one of the other “big” festivals in the area, I was surprised just how much it paled in comparison to Asakusa’s Tanabata Festival. There were a handful of stalls and a row of food trucks, but not several blocks lined back to back with food, drink, and game stalls. The milky way candle display was indeed very neat, as a river of candles descended from the shrine steps down to the concrete below, but the grandeur maybe did not live up to expectation. I would, however, highly recommend doing what we did – in reverse. There’s a wonderful park behind Zojoji Temple that’s very peaceful in the bustling of Tokyo; I would get food, picnic there until sunset, view the candles, and leave for the first day of Tanabata. Then, on the second day, I’d eat my way across Asakusa to the sound of drums.
All in all, I really enjoy Japanese festivals. It’s been a very hot summer, with most days averaging in the mid-90s F, which has made it difficult to enjoy being outside for long stretches. The food, though… there aren’t words for how much I love street food.
7/10 – Orihime should set appropriate boundaries with her parents. Hope her and her boo can see each other next year. :’(
Yes, we had Denny's for lunch with Alfred, who joined us for Day 2...
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