My son is not impressed. He begs me, "momma, let's go outside and play!" I just don't want to. It is so miserable out there right now. We will have a day here or there where the weather isn't too extreme every once in a while. We live it up on those days, taking full advantage of the break. Yesterday's high was 31°C/88°F, which was actually a really nice break. But today we were back up to 35°C/95°F, which was just miserable.
But today was a Saturday. The pressure from both my husband and son to venture out into the heat won me over. I know I've been missing too much fun while staying indoors. There was a community sponsored matsuri in a small park near our home. Matsuri are Shinto events according to my husband and therefore are always held at the shrine. A community sponsored matsuri was something different for him and he wanted to see if it really was different. After a short discussion, we decided to attend.
As we walked out of the house, I felt like I was smacked in the face with the heat and humidity. But we continued on, destined for some family entertainment. A short bike ride later, and we arrived at the park. We wandered through the booths to see the children's games (mostly scooping fish or toys out of water using rice paper wands) and all the food (yakitori, yakisoba, hard candy with fruit inside, and hot dogs on a stick covered in ketchup). It was all pretty standard fare, but fun nonetheless.
At the end of the row of booths, we happened upon some children carrying a mikoshi (a portable shrine). Mikoshi are usually pretty large and carried around the festival area by grown men and women. But this one was quite small for the kids to haul. I loved seeing their cute hapi (happy with a skip sound in the middle) and hearing them shout "Wa-shoy! Wa-shoy!" as they walked along.
Once the mikoshi had passed by, we spotted a friend that explained our son could also help carry the mikoshi. She told us where to sign up and that they had the hapi for him to wear. We went over to the blue tent and my husband filled out the form with our name and address. He was then given a bag with the hapi, a long piece of fabric to tie around his waist, and a headband.
My heart melts and I get all mushy whenever I see my son dressed up in traditional outfits. I tried not to fuss too much, but he was so cute dressed in the traditional matsuri garb. Plus, I'm totally bias in my appreciation of traditional Japanese outfits and my opinion that my son is the cutest kid ever.
Soon, they called my son and other kids up to carry the mikoshi through the festival. He excitedly grabbed hold and listened to instructions. As soon as they started walking, I could hear his eager calls "Wa-shoy! Wa-shoy!" They carried it through the festival, with adults leading the way. There was one adult clapping wooden blocks together to keep time that also added to the fun of the mikoshi.
Afterwards, my son told us how fun it was to carry the mikoshi. It was a really big deal for him. He felt so strong being able to help carry it down the street.
I was so glad they convinced me to leave the air conditioning. Although it was hot and humid and gross, we had so much fun celebrating and enjoying the summer festival. And my husband found out that not all matsuri's are held in association with a shrine, yet they are exactly the same regardless of location.
No comments:
Post a Comment