Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku was holding a large festival, Hanazono Jinja Reitaisai. It is held every year at the end of May. People come to enjoy food and games from the over 100 stalls set up around the shrine grounds. However, the main attraction is the procession of mikoshi (portable shrines) through the neighborhood.
Hundreds of men and women carry the shrines on their shoulders as they lightly step to the same rhythm. The whole area is filled with sounds of clapping wooden blocks and people chanting as they keep time. It is quite noisy and I found myself bending at the knees along with the beat.
I appreciated seeing the matching hapi (hap-pea) coats worn by each group of mikoshi carriers. Of course, I don't think I've ever seen someone carrying or pulling a mikoshi without one of these lightweight coats with loose sleeves, but they still bring a smile to my face every time I see them.
At today's festival, we were joined by one of my husband's coworkers. She was visiting from Singapore and had never been to a Japanese festival before. From the food booths to the mikoshi, she was mesmerized. And she really cracked up when my son wanted to eat all the healthier foods like cold, salted cucumbers and chocolate covered bananas (and not all the fried noodles and sugar laden goodies).
We made sure to teach her the proper way to pray at the shrine (money, ring bell, bow twice, clap twice, pray, and finish with a single bow) and explained about each mikoshi being unique. It was so fun to share her first festival experience, as they are really energetic and entertaining events.
Despite the heat, we had a great time celebrating along with the residents of Tokyo. I think it was a great way to prepare us for the intense heat and humidity to come in the next couple months.
No comments:
Post a Comment