Teruhime Matsuri

Part of immersing oneself into their new community, in my opinion, is to delve into the history of the area.  Today I got to celebrate a bit of Nerima lore by attending Teruhime Matsuri - a festival commemorating the story of Toshima Yasutsume and his second daughter, Teruhime.  According to the story, in 1477 Yasutsume was at war with his rival Ota Dokan.  He lost a major battle and was forced to retreat to Shakujii Castle (which was located in what is now Nerima Ward). When Ota Dokan attacked again and it became clear he was going to win, Yasutsume put the family fortune on a white horse and jumped off the castle walls into lake. Teruhime saw her father jump and followed in his footsteps, jumping off the castle in sorrow.

Honestly, I don't see how this story developed into a festival (matsuri), but it did.  And we celebrated along with our friends (who are visiting from the US) and many other people at Shukujii Park. 

We started our day by attending the parade.  I loved seeing all the people walk down the street (or ride) wearing traditional clothing.  There were samurai, taiko drummers, dancers, and even people dressed up like Yasutsume and Teruhime (as well as another woman, who I am not sure who she was supposed to be). 

While enjoying the procession from our shady spot, I suddenly realized the participants were walking in 29.5°C (85°F) while wearing very thick (although beautiful) costumes!  I would have melted.  Yet they all looked so composed and lovely.

After the parade (which had around 100 participants all in elaborate period wear), we wandered around the lake to the rest of the festival.  Our friends were super excited to eat all the festival foods they could, as were we!  Japanese festivals have really fun food.  We dined on specialties like grilled squid, konnyaku (devil's tongue), yakisoba, and grilled fish on a stick, to name a few items.  We really enjoyed the steamed uni (sea urchin) in a shell.  It was so creative and different, yet creamy and salty.  Everything we ate was fun and, with the exception of yakisoba, not found in the US. 

There were lots of people milling around, enjoying the nice weather and festival fun.  There were long lines for the shave ice and other cool treats.  The weather isn't typically this hot this early in the year, so we are enjoying the nice weather as it granted to us.

After eating lots of yummy things, we sat and watched some dancers on the main stage.  It was really fun to watch these enthusiastic dancers.  Once again, we were impressed with their stamina, as it was so hot and the stage was in the direct sunlight.

It was a fun day of celebration, even if the origins were depressing.  I love seeing all the historical costumes.  They were so incredible.  While the story of Yasutsume and Teruhime were sad, they are remembered through this festival.  And they are remembered with joy.