Aki Matsuri/Autumn Festival Photos and Videos -- Part 1 (Patreon)

Hey~oh~!

Okay, so from last February, I'm back not far from my old house and in the general area of my old neighborhood. So I was totally thrilled three months ago when I could hear (as I was falling asleep) the neighborhood kids practicing taiko and flutes off in the distance. I know these songs by heart. Back when Julyan was small, he participated in the yearly Aki Matsuri and he also spent months going to practices from 8 to 10pm most nights of the week.

At the house in Fujieda, I was really sad because we moved in right at the start of the pandemic and all the festivals were of course canceled, but then after things opened up again, they never started back up. The gossip I gleaned was that the younger parents felt it was too much trouble to prepare for them. It is a LOT of work. But...traditions 😭 . The older generation are in their 80s and really just want to hand everything down. They're tired. They don't want this to die out. But...there is no one to hand the festivals and rituals down to. Breaks my heart still to think of this.

I assumed it was the same here as well. But alas, no! They still gather all the kids and teens and have them practice these songs for months on end all for the two-day long Aki Matsuri. And that made my heart happy. It was like falling to sleep with a hug. And then waking up: They're still practicing?! And falling asleep again.

The whole festival goes something like this: The yatai (below) is the big-wheeled float that is pulled through all the streets all day and into the night. You can see it here leaving the shrine grounds. It's pulled by the kids who also play the taiko and flutes, but also their moms (mostly), some grandmas, grandpas, dads. Dads are usually directing traffic and loading the drums on and off the truck.

One change I noticed in the ten years since I've participates/seen the festival is there are no kids inside the yatai. Before they would rotate and kids were allowed to sit inside and drum or play the flute, just be pulled through the streets. It looked like fun.

Another difference is usually there is at least one man on top dancing around, waving fans.

These yatai processions are held all over Japan. Many (most) are calm with people gently pulling the yatai along. Some are extremely high energy and can be quite dangerous. Note: below. There was just a terrible accident at the Danjiri Matsuri (not this photo) because they are pulled at great speeds and take corners very sharply.

In our local matsuri, things are much calmer. Below is the yatai coming in to its last stop for that first night. So not only is there no one on top, there aren't any children inside. Instead they placed a Winnie the Pooh stuff animal in the seat. Cute.

Strapped in.

They're chanting something like "Heave ho, heave ho! Come on, pull harder!"

Let's back one second. BEFORE the yatai leaves the shrine and also what stays just ahead on the route is the mikoshi (お神輿). Omikoshis are so freaking cool.

Tadah! Portable shrine. There is a god or goddess in there. So basically this is a temporary place for the shrine's kami (deity) to reside, giving it the chance to leave and travel around for awhile, visit the neighborhood so to speak, pass out some good luck, too.

The omikoshi is carried by the strapping young men..or not so young. Actually, it doesn't really matter, I suppose. But it is heavy and wooden and surely painful. Because it's not just carried, it's also ran through the streets, bounced rocked, ... it's WILD!

hang on...

Okay, I did find a short video I took as they head out before the yatai after one of the stops.

Where was I?

Oh, the omikoshi leaves first. It is taken along the route and if you're lucky (and if you have donated a certain amount of money), the omikoshi will stop in front of your house and do the bucking, rocking, chanting and that is very lucky indeed. It's like dispensing a bunch of luck on your family and household.

Way back when we lived closer to the ocean in an old neighborhood they had two HUGE omikoshi (actually one male and one female). Invariably they'd meet up in the streets of the city and FIGHT! Or...not fight. Maybe something a little more intimate. I don't know. But it was so cool. That was the city's summer festival and the parade route ran right in front of our house, so sometimes they'd do the little rocking, chanting, giving out luck in our driveway. Enormous honor as we hadn't donated any money.

Anyway, there are men with flashlights and maps (now phones) to make sure they stay on route and stop at the proper houses. You DON'T want to mess that up. And...there is always drinking involved during these festivals. So careful careful.

[OH! Remind me in part 2 to tell you a story I heard this time that might explain why no one is on top!]

In the video above, can you see the guy in yellow's forearms? The knots and bruises...ow! I've heard the shoulders are even worse.

So the omikoshi heads out, very energetically! and then they all rest at certain designated spots along the way, waiting for the yatai and others to finally show up. These guys are also treated like kings. When I showed up this day (right before the above video) they had just been waited on hand and foot, served sushi and very nice sake.

The kids for their part are also treated wonderfully. I remember how much I loved that all along the route people would greet them with snacks, candy, ice creams, drinks. On hot days they're fanned and cooled down. The whole neighborhood showing up for the festival and make everyone have a lovely time.

Now. The omikoshi is resting. The yatai shows up and stops. A truck has already arrived and set up all the taiko drums and the lights, so the kids can then go over and perform their songs. The pullers listens, neighbors come outside and gather to listen. It's all really fun. I think there are probably like eight songs in all. Okay, I'll do the next post on those. This Part 1 already has several videos in it and might be too heavy to load. All right, now I must pack! Only two more days!! Still so much to do ヾ(๑╹◡╹)ﾉ"

XO,

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