Festival of the Gods (Sho-o Cho Matsuri) – 天神祭

My little town had a big festival last week. We'd just returned from our travels around Kobe, Nagoya and Osaka and found our small paved street decorated with lanterns and stalls being set up along its length. I was asked to help with part of the Shinto festival by assisting in the carrying of the 神輿 (Mikoshi or portable shrine). I didn't really know what I was doing and before I know it I was getting changed in the local 神社 (Jinja or shrine) into a traditional costume and being plastered with beer! We then carried the shrine into the main street, chanting and marching as we went. It seemed all the town's folk were out, from the youngest to the oldest, to see the event and feast on the food stalls selling squid, fried chicken, yakitori, pineapple and various other Japanese tip-bits. I understood we would be taking the Mikoshi to the station (About a 15 minute walk) and returning to the Jinja; however, it was much more involved than that. We would 'battle' with other people carrying other Mikoshi. The shrines were slotted together and we would push as hard as we could like a reverse version of tug-of-war. After, not really knowing if there was a winner or not, we would fling the shrine around like it was a twig and chant some more. More beer was consumed and we would march back and forth looking for another fight. This ensued for about 3 hours and although my arms and shoulders ached it was actually great fun. I felt proud to be asked to do this in the first place and be so welcomed as part of the community. I got a lot of encouragement from my fellow Mikoshi carriers and they let me to lead their chants which they were very impressed with. I think a lot of people were also surprised to see me chanting and partaking so much.  

The festival continued for a the next night and although I enjoyed the shrine carrying, I wanted to spend more time to enjoy the festivities. Makiko and I dressed up in traditional 浴衣 (Yukata, a light summer version of a Kimono), as did a lot of other people. I had a lot of very shocked looks from my students as they saw me all dressed up. It was quite funny to see people expressions and looks of surprise. On this last night a tunnel of lanterns was also carried through the streets and they Mikoshi were paraded underneath. We also spent some time with a friend and his niece and nephew. They were very young, but it was interesting to see the festival from a childrens point-of -view and they looked so cute dressed up in their own little Yukata's. It was great to see all the people come together and enjoy this event.