Festivals

Last night Tetsu asked me to come to the festival that they were having at the convalescent home where he works. This is a joint community/convalescent home festival and quite a popular attraction. The convalescent home offers its parking area and sets up sections for the residents to sit and watch, (and probably donates a lot of money to the cause) and the community invites different groups to perform and provides for edibles. I know no one in the community nor too many people in the convalescent home (and they were all too busy. I only saw Tetsu once!) But I wandered around the outskirts taking a few pictures until it got too dark.

You can attend one of these mini festivals in any town or community all over Japan. They are sort of associated with the Obon holidays (which will be in two weeks) but anywhere during the summer a neighborhood will have a festival and there will be drums and folksinging and everyone circles round and round dancing to the rhythm.

Not a whole lot of action in the dances. A waving of arms. A step forward then backward and some rhythmic clapping of hands. Some people will use a straw hat to wave in a certain pattern, some people will use fans. The same steps go on for 15 or 20 minutes so it is easy enough to watch the person in front of you and then join in even though you've never danced before in your life.

Little babies hardly old enough to walk are carried into the circle to wave their chubby arms and as you can see older people are even pushed around in wheelchairs "dancing" the dances of their younger days.

Some "funny" characters were in costume last night too. A few ladies dressed up with wigs and leggings trying to look like samurai I think.

I have no idea who this lady this lady was supposed to be and I thought she was quite daring to have her shoulder exposed and sticker "tattoos". The mask is one commonly seen in plays... maybe a fisherman? Or a drunk fisherman? I should have asked someone. Anyway this dancer was really having fun but she was not about to take off her mask and show her real face!

Many of the younger girls will have a chance to get dressed up in these summer kimono called yukata and they are colorful and relatively cool. None of the underclothing that regular kimonos call for. You can buy a yukata set (including sandals and a pre folded belt called an obi) for about $40 dollars which I consider a bargain though I don't have one myself. I took one to Leiya in America last year but I guess there isn't any place to wear one in the States except on Halloween. (My niece did that with hers!) Probably these Japanese girls will only wear their yukata once in the summer too...

I enjoyed eating yaki soba, fried noodles and kara age, fried chicken but I passed on ika yaki, grilled squid (whole!) and ayu no shio yaki, whole grilled fish skewered through the eye!

The night ended with sparklers and fireworks for one and all!