Japanese festivals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions. Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals but have undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs.
Some are so different that they do not even remotely resemble the original festival despite sharing the same name and date. There are also various local festivals (e.g. Tobata Gion) that are mostly unknown outside a given prefecture. It is commonly said that you will always find a festival somewhere in Japan.
Unlike most people of East Asian descent, Japanese people generally do not celebrate Chinese New Year (it having been supplanted by the Western New Year's Day in the late 19th century); although Chinese residents in Japan still do. In Yokohama Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the festival. And similarly the Nagasaki Lantern Festival is based in Nagasaki's China town. See: Japanese New Year.
[edit] Events within Festivals
Festivals are often based around one or two main events, with food stalls, entertainment, and carnival games to keep people entertained. Some are based around temples or shrines, others hana-bi (Fireworks), and still others around contests where the participants sport loin cloths (see: Hadaka Matsuri).
[edit] Local Festivals (Matsuri)
Matsuri (祭?) is the Japanese word for a festival or holiday. In Japan, festivals are usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple, though they can be secular.
There is no specific matsuri days for all of Japan; dates vary from area to area, and even within a specific area, but festival days do tend to cluster around traditional holidays such as Setsubun or Obon. Almost every locale has at least one matsuri in late summer/early autumn, usually related to the rice harvest.
Notable matsuri often feature processions which may include elaborate floats. Preparation for these processions is usually organized at the level of neighborhoods, or machi. Prior to these, the local kami may be ritually installed in mikoshi and paraded through the streets.
One can always find in the vicinity of a matsuri booths selling souvenirs and food such as takoyaki, and games, such as Goldfish scooping. Karaoke contests, sumo matches, and other forms of entertainment are often organized in conjunction with matsuri. If the festival is next to a lake, renting a boat is also an attraction.
Favorite elements of the most popular matsuri, such as the Nada Kenka Matsuri of Himeji or the Neputa Matsuri of Hirosaki, are often broadcast on television for the entire nation to enjoy.
Some examples of famous matsuri are the Jidai, Aoi and Gion Matsuri held in Kyoto; Tenjin Matsuri in Osaka; and the Kanda Matsuri, Sannō and Sanja Matsuri of Tokyo. Especially, Gion Matsuri, Tenjin Matsuri, and Kanda Matsuri are the three most famous Matsuri in Japan.
[edit] Nationwide Festivals
[edit] Fixed days
- Seijin Shiki : Coming of Age Day (second Monday of January)
- Hinamatsuri : Doll Festival (3 March)
- Hanami : Flower Viewing (late March to early April)
- Tanabata : star festival (7 July)
- Shichi-Go-San: festival day for children aged three, five and seven (15 November)
- Ōmisoka : New Year's Eve (31 December)
[edit] Multiple days
- Setsubun : division of season (beginning of each season (spring, summer, autumn, winter)
- Ennichi : temple fair (holy days related to Kami and/or Buddha)
[edit] Bunkasai
[edit] New Year (正月 Shōgatsu)?)
Date: 1st-3rd of January (though related celebrations take place throughout January)
Other Names: Oshōgatsu (O is an honorific prefix)
Information: New Year observances are the most important and elaborate of Japan's annual events. Before the New Year, homes are cleaned, debts are paid off, and osechi (food in lacquered trays for the New Year) is prepared or bought. Osechi foods are traditional foods which are chosen for their lucky colors, shapes, or lucky-sounding names in hopes of obtaining good luck in various areas of life during the new year. Homes are decorated and the holidays are celebrated by family gatherings, visits to temples or shrines, and formal calls on relatives and friends. The first day of the year (ganjitsu) is usually spent with members of the family.
People also visit Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Traditionally three shrines or temples are visited. This is called sansha-mairi. In the Imperial Palace at dawn on the 1st of January, the emperor performs the rite of shihōhai(worship of the four quarters),in which he does reverence in the direction of various shrines and imperial tombs and offers prayers for the well-being of the nation. On January 2nd the public is allowed to enter the inner palace grounds; the only other day this is possible is the emperor's birthday (December 23). On the 2nd and 3rd days acquaintances visit one another to extend greetings (nenshi) and sip otoso (a spiced rice wine). Some games played at New Year's are karuta (a card game) and hanetsuki (similar to badminton). Exchanging New Year's greeting cards (similar to Christmas Cards in Western countries) is another important Japanese custom.
A later New Year's celebration, Koshōgatsu, literally means "Small New Year" and starts with the first full moon of the year (around January 15th). The main events of Koshōgatsu are rites and practices praying for a bountiful harvest.
[edit] Doll Festival ( Hina Matsuri?)
Date: 3rd of March
Other Names: Sangatsu Sekku (3rd month Festival), Momo Sekku (Peach Festival), Joshi no Sekku (Girls' Festival)
Information: This holiday is also known as the Peach Festival because peach blossoms herald the coming of spring and are the symbol of courage and feminine beauty. Young girls put on their best kimonos and visit their friends' homes. Tiered platforms for hina ningyō (hina dolls; a set of dolls representing the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians in ancient court dress) are set up in the home, and the family celebrates with a special meal of hishimochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes) and shirozake (rice malt with sake).
[edit] Hanami (花見?)
Date: April
Other Names: Hanami (flower viewing), Cherry Blossom Festival
Information: Various flower festivals are held at Shinto shrines during the month of April. Excursions and picnics for enjoying flowers, particularly cherry blossoms are also common. In some places flower viewing parties are held on traditionally fixed dates. This is one of the most popular events during spring. The subject of flower viewing has long held an important place in literature, dance and the fine arts. Ikebana (flower arrangement) is also a popular part of Japanese culture and is still practiced by many people today. Some main things people do during this event are: games, folk songs, folk dance, flower displays, rides, parades, concerts, kimono shows, booths with food and other things, beauty pageant, and religious ceremonies.
[edit] Boy's Day (子供の日 Kodomo no hi?)
Date: 5th of May
Other Names: Iris Festival (菖蒲の節句 Shōbu no Sekku?), Tango Festival (端午の節句 Tango no Sekku?)
Information: May is the month of the Iris Festival. The tall-stemmed Japanese iris is a symbolic flower. Its long, narrow leaves resemble the sharp blades of a sword, and for many centuries it has been the custom to place iris leaves in a boy's bath to give him a martial spirit. Originally May 5th was a festival for boys corresponding to the Doll Festival, for girls, but in 1948 it was renamed Children's Day and made a national holiday. However, this might be a misnomer; the symbols of courage and strength mainly honor boys. It is customary on this day for families with male children to fly koinobori (carp streamers, a symbol of success) outside the house, display warrior dolls (musha ningyō) inside, and eat chimaki (rice cakes wrapped in cogan grass or bamboo leaves) and kashiwamochi (rice cakes filled with bean paste and wrapped in oak leaves). Also known as kodomo no hi
[edit] Tanabata (七夕?)
Date: 7th of July
Other Names: The Star Festival Information: It originated from a Chinese folk legend concerning two stars-the Weaver Star (Vega) and the Cowherd Star (Altair)-who were said to be lovers who could meet only once a year on the 7th night of the 7th month provided it didn't rain and flood the Milky Way. It was named Tanabata after a weaving maiden from a Japanese legend who was believed to make clothes for the gods. People often write wishes and romantic aspirations on long, narrow strips of coloured paper and hang them on bamboo branches along with other small ornaments.
[edit] Bon Festival (盆 bon?)
Date: 13th-15th of August
Other Names: urabon (盂蘭盆?)
Information: A Buddhist observance honoring the spirits of ancestors. Usually a "spirit altar" (shōryōdana) is set up in front of the Butsudan (buddhist family altar) to welcome the ancestors' souls. A priest is usually asked to come and read a sutra (tanagyō). Among the traditional preparations for the ancestors' return are the cleaning of grave sites and preparing a path from them to the house and the provision of straw horses or oxen for the ancestors' transportation. The welcoming fire (mukaebi) built on the 13th and the send-off fire (okuribi) built on the 16th are intended to light the path.
[edit] Lantern Floating (灯篭流し Tōrō Nagashi?)
Date: 15th or 16th of July (August)
Information: The customary practice to mark the end of the Bon Festival. Small paper lanterns containing lighted candles are floated on rivers or the sea light the way for the ancestral spirits as they depart. Usually a message is written on the outside of the paper lantern.
[edit] "7-5-3" Festival (七五三 Shichigosan?)
Date: 15th of November
Information: Five-year-old boys and seven- or three-year-old girls are taken to the local shrine to pray for their safe and healthy future. This festival started because of the belief that children of certain ages were especially prone to bad luck and hence in need of divine protection. Children are usually dressed in traditional clothing for the occasion and after visiting the shrine many people buy chitose-ame ("thousand-year candy") sold at the shrine.
[edit] Preparation for the New Year and Year-end Fair
Date: late December
Other Names: Year-end (年の瀬 toshi no se?),Year-end Fair (年の市 Toshi no Ichi?)
Information: Preparations for seeing in the new year were originally undertaken to greet the toshigami, or deity of the incoming year. These began on the 13th of December, when the house was given a thorough cleaning; the date is usually nearer the end of the month now. The house is then decorated in the traditional fashion: A sacred rope of straw (shimenawa) with dangling white paper strips (shide) is hung over the front door to prevent evil spirits from entering and to show the presence of the toshigami. It is also customary to place kadomatsu, an arrangement of tree sprigs, beside the entrance way. A special altar, known as toshidana ("year shelf"), is piled high with kagamimochi (flat, round rice cakes), sake (rice wine), persimmons, and other foods in honor of the toshigami. A fair is traditionally held in late December at shrines, temples or in local neighborhoods. This is in preparation for the new year holidays. Decorations and sundry goods are sold at the fair. Originally these year-end fairs provided opportunities for farmers, fisherfolk and mountain dwellers to exchange goods and buy clothes and other necessities for the coming year.
[edit] Ōmisoka (大晦日 Ōmisoka?)
Date: 31st December
Information: People do the general house cleaning (Ōsōji) to welcome coming year and not to keep having impure influences. Many people visit Buddhist temples to hear the temple bells rung 108 times at midnight (joya no kane). This is to announce the passing of the old year and the coming of the new. The reason they are rung 108 times is because of the Buddhist belief that human beings are plagued by 108 earthly desires or passions (bonnō). With each ring one desire is dispelled. It is also a custom to eat yakisoba in the hope that one's family fortunes will extend like the long noodles.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official sites
- Matsuri sites
- Private initiative sites/galleries
- JCITI.COM about Nagoya, see festivals section.
- Reggie.net photographs of Neputa floats in Hirosaki.
- [1] Photographs and description of the Odawara Omatsuri.
- The Digital Matsuri Project Japanese festival videos
[edit] References
- mothra.rerf.or.jp::hiroshima::about matsuri an external article covering the topic
- Matsuri Food an article about the various foods available at most matsuri
