Visiting an intangible folk cultural asset

We had so much fun at the daikon pulling event put on by the Nerima City Regional Promotion Section, that we signed up for their next tour - visiting Boro-ichi market in Seki.

The tour began at the Sekimachi Recycle Center, almost an hour bicycle ride from our house.  I was confused as to why we would be meeting at a recycling center, thinking that it was a place that recycled items like plastic bottles.  It turns out that the recycle center offers many things to the community - a resell shop and classrooms.  It isn't what I thought of when I heard "recycle center!" 

We met in one of the classrooms on the third floor for a furoshiki lesson.  Since I basically learned furoshiki techniques from a book, it was nice to have a hands on lesson.  A woman explained that furoshiki actually comes from two words - "furo" meaning bath, and "shiki" meaning to lay on or spread.  Originally furoshiki was a cloth used to carry one's clothing to and from steam baths.  The cloth doubled as a something to sit on while changing.  This little tidbit of information made my husband's eyebrows raise, as it made total sense but we both had no clue about the origin of the word.

Each table of students had a volunteer or two to help us manage tying the cloth and make sure we were following along.  I was a bit distracted since our son was with us and he needed a lot of help, but our volunteer helped us keep up.  They taught us to make three different types of bags and two versions of bottle carriers - one for two bottles, and a second version for a single bottle. 

They then gifted us 2 furoshikis!  One of them was a very pretty design and the other had instructions for 30 different ways to fold it and the basic knots.  What a wonderful gift.  I know I will use both of them often.

When we were done folding our furoshiki, a man gave a history lesson on the area.  He told us about the farming history of the area and the rich families who lived there.  We watched an interesting video on how they used to harvest barley and made sure nothing went to waste.  While we weren't surprised to hear that they often made brooms out of the barley straw, we were amazed to see that they made storage bags (they looked almost like casks) of the straw as well to store the grains in. 

I was impressed with how interested our 5 year old was in the presentation.  He watched and absorbed so much.  I think with our family's interest in gardening, he was interested to learn about the agricultural information.  He quickly compared our rice harvesting experience with the video of the barley harvest.  He was especially interested in the different ways the grains were removed from the straw.

After the presentation, we departed the recycle center and walked over to Boro-ichi market.  Around 1760 (that is not a typo, it really did start in 1760!), the area started to hold a market for the agricultural community next to Honryuuji Temple.  Each December 9 and 10 the temple held Kai-shiki, celebrating the anniversary of the death of Nichiren, a monk that developed the teachings that are now called Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism.  This year is the 737th anniversary of his death. 

258 years ago, community members realized that since people were already coming to the temple for Kai-shiki, it was a great time to hold a market.  The purpose of the market was to sell farming equipment and other important items for farmers.  About 100 years after the market started, it became known as Boro-ichi (boro means "old clothes" and ichi means "market"), after many merchants also started selling secondhand clothes.  Later, the market transitioned into more of a festival as it added more vendors and eventually exhibitions, including things like sumo.

As we walked through the market, I felt a connection with the past.  Even though it isn't the same market as originally created, it was neat knowing the tradition continues today.  The modern market is probably 80% food and 15% children's games, with only 5% selling the original fare of farming supplies or used clothes.

The crowded market

Sweet potatoes - a very popular treat.  This stand had steamed and fried options.

Karaage!

My son's favorite chocolate bananas.  He wants one at every festival.

As soon as I saw a vendor selling gardening supplies, I quickly went and checked it out.  I ended up buying a gardening claw that I am looking forward to using in the spring.  I'm so glad I purchased it, because it was the only booth I saw selling traditional agricultural products.  I'm disappointed that I didn't see anyone selling baskets or wooden buckets, as I would have loved to pick up something like that.

There was one other vendor selling the same products as found in the market long ago - shrines for inside your house.  We didn't purchase one of these, as we're all set in the home shrine department.  But it was still interesting to see.

At the end of our time with the group, we sat down with some of the organizers of the market.  They reiterated many of the details about the history of Boro-ichi, and informed us that over 50,000 people would come to the market over the two day celebration.  We also learned it was one of the 2 largest matsuri (festivals) in Nerima - the other being Teruhime, which we attended in the spring.

Right before we left the temple, we were able to see a demonstration of the Mantougyouretsu Parade, where people took turns twirling the matori (Edo period fire fighting "flags" used to notify people of a fire).

A day spent learning about traditions, history, and culture is a day well spent in my book.  We learned so much and had a great time in the process.  I'm so glad we were able to have this experience!