Boys Festival (tango)

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Boys' Festival (tango no sekku　端午の節句)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

The Boy's Festival takes place on the
day with the double odd number five
the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
now celebrated usually on May 5


Satsuki is the name for the fifth month of the lunar calendar.
Now 6 Jun – 6 Jul.
The change from the lunar to the solar calendar brought some difficulties in keeping the season. Some of the kigo are placed in EARLY SUMMER, some in MID-SUMMER.


tango 端午 (たんご) Tango festival
Seasonal festival in the fifth lunar month
gogatsu no sekku 五月の節句（ごがつのせっく）
seasonal festival of the iris, shoobu no sekku
菖蒲の節句（しょうぶのせっく）





Tango no sekku is a traditional Japanese event observed on May 5th as a celebration for boys' talisman and health. Families including boys observe it, displaying yoroikabuto (an armor), gogatsuninngyou (dolls for the Boys' Festival), or koinobori (carp-shaped streamers). Although this tradition has continued to this day, after World War May 5th started to be called "children's day". It is observed as a holiday recognizing children's (boys and girls) happiness.

Tango no sekku was originally a custom brought from ancient China. In China, May has long been regarded as a month of evil spirits. So events for driving them away were widespread in May. At first, this special day was not always on May 5th, but eventually it settled on the day. As for Japan, during the Nara period (710-794) five seasonal events (jinjitsu, joushi, tanogo, tanabata, chouyou) were introduced. At that time, the five seasonal events were observed by aristocrats as important events to ward off one's own sins during the turning point of each season. And then, they spread to the samurai (warrior) families. During the Edo period, since the feudal government designated May 5th as an important day, it also became popular among common people, and it came to be observed widely in Japan.

Read more here:
source : www.jpn-miyabi.com


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Related kigo:

Seasonal festival in May, gogatsu no sekku
五月の節句（ごがつのせっく）
gogatsu no setchi-e 五日の節会 (いつかのせちえ)
ritual at the Imperial court

seasonal festival of the iris, shoobu no sekku
菖蒲の節句（しょうぶのせっく）
ayame no sechi-e 菖蒲の節会（あやめのせちえ）
ayame no makura 菖蒲の枕 (あやめのまくら) "iris pillow"
at the imperial court, iris were put into the pillow to ward off evil influence.

"double five", fifth month fifth day, choogo 重五（ちょうご）
day of the iris, ayame no hi 菖蒲の日（あやめのひ）

first seasonal festival, hatsu sekku
初節句（はつせっく）
First for a boy just born the year before.


The long leaves of the iris (shoobu)
reminded the samurai of their swords.
The word SHOOBU　勝負 also means a fight,
usually to the death.

The iris flower is seen in present-day July, and many related kigo are placed in "mid-summer", see below.


The flower Iris and Haiku


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musha ningyoo 武者人形 むしゃにんぎょう warriour dolls
kabuto ningyoo かぶと人形（かぶとにんぎょう）dolls with helmets
gogatsu ningyoo 五月人形（ごがつにんぎょう）"May Dolls"

ayame ningyoo あやめ人形（あやめにんぎょう）iris dolls
..... shoobu ningyoo 菖蒲人形 (しょうぶにんぎょう)

bugu kazaru 武具飾る（ぶぐかざる）
decorating the warriou's armour

These dolls and warriour helmets are decorated for the Boys Festival. They are a precious family treasure, often given by the grandparents when a boy is born.


. Musha ningyoo 武者人形 Samurai Dolls .


. Dolls and Haiku .


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Carp Streamers (koinobori 鯉幟 (こいのぼり)
. . . . . and
chimaki 茅巻（ちまき）Chimaki ritual rice cakes



. Medicine and May the Fifth
kusudama 薬玉 (くすだま) "medicine ball"
choomeiru, choomei ru 長命縷（ちょうめいる）/ 続命縷（しょくめいる）
"threads of long life"
"water of God", shinzui, shinsui
神水 (しんずい, しんすい)


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observance kigo for mid-summer

The long leaves of the iris (shoobu) reminded the samurai of their swords.
The word SHOOBU　勝負 also means a fight, usually to the death.

kigo related to SHOOBU

. shoobu ningyoo 菖蒲人形 (しょうぶにんぎょう)
Iris dolls .
... hojin 蒲人（ほじん）

gaijin 艾人（がいじん）"mugwort dolls"
Yomogi mugwort (and ayame iris) were known to ward off evil and protect from disease, and placed at the gate of homes for protection.


shoobu hiku 菖蒲引く (しょうぶひく)
pulling out iris (to make the iris dolls)
..... ayame hiku あやめ引く（あやめひく）
shoobu karu 菖蒲刈る（しょうぶかる）cutting iris



Street vendors of Edo
source :　bastille
shoobu uri 菖蒲売（しょうぶうり）vendor of cut iris



shoobu fuku 菖蒲葺く (しょうぶふく) thatching with iris

..... shoobu sasu 菖蒲挿す（しょうぶさす）sticking up iris decorations
..... noki shoobu 軒菖蒲（のきしょうぶ）shoobu under the eaves
..... yomogi fuku 蓬葺く（よもぎふく）thatching with mugwort
..... ouchi fuku 樗葺く（おうちふく）thatching with chinaberry
ouchi (Melia azedarach) is an old name for sendan, chinaberry 栴檀

To thatch the eaves or hang up protective plants under the eaves has been a custom since the Heian period, done on the night before the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It later spread among the samurai and then townspeople. Adding mugwort or chinaberries or wild water oats (makomo) is especially effective in warding off the diseases of the coming summer.



. shoobuyu, shoobu-yu 菖蒲湯 (しょうぶゆ) "iris bath" 　
..... shoobuburo 菖蒲風呂（しょうぶぶろ) rantoo、蘭湯（らんとう）




source :　ningyodo.library
shoobugatana, shoobu gatana 菖蒲刀 (しょうぶがたな) "iris sword"
a small wooden sword for boys to war on the festival day.
Sometimes leaves of the iris flower were used.
shoobu dachi 菖蒲太刀（しょうぶだち）big iris sword
...... ayame katana あやめ刀（あやめがたな）
shoobu kabuto 菖蒲冑（しょうぶかぶと）armour with iris
shoobu hachimaki 菖蒲鉢巻（しょうぶはちまき）headband from iris
kazari kabuto 飾り冑（かざりかぶと）decorating armour
ayame no katabira 菖蒲の帷子（あやめのかたびら）hat with iris
ayame no yukata 菖蒲浴衣（あやめゆかた）yukata robe with iris
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




shoobu uchi 菖蒲打 (しょうぶうち) hitting with iris
..... shoobu tataki 菖蒲敲き（しょうぶたたき）
shoobu nawa 菖蒲縄（しょうぶなわ）iris rope

A game for children on the festival day. The leaves of iris are woven to a rope which is then hit on the ground. The boy who produces the loudest sound wins the bout. This is also done to prevent evil influence and disease to befall the children.




shoobu no ne-awase 菖蒲の根合 (あやめのねあわせ)
iris root match
..... ayame awase 菖蒲合せ（あやめあわせ）
ne awase 根合（ねあわせ）root match
..... ayame no ura 菖蒲の占 (あやめのうら)
A game enjoyed by the aristocracy since the Heian period. The person with the longest and thickest roots of an iris is the winner. During the ceremony poetry was recited, sometimes with two groups rivalling for the win.
. . . . . also
hyakusoo o tatakawasu 百草を闘わす (ひゃくそうをたたかわす)
match of 100 plants
kusa awase 草合せ（くさあわせ）
toosoo 闘草（とうそう）

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inji uchi 印地打 (いんじうち) throwing stones at each other
inji いんじ stone slinging
ayame inji 菖蒲印地（あやめいんじ）throwing iris at each other
inji kiri 印地切（いんじきり）
ishiuchi, ishi-uchi 石打ち（いしうち）

Children made two groups down by the riverbank (the Kamo river in Kyoto) and started throwing small stones at each other in a mock battle, sometimes iris flowers in some kind of exorcism ritual.
It was also performed at the Heian court, but grown-ups got really serious and hurt each other, so it was ablished soon.


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kezurikake no kabuto 削掛の甲 (けずりかけのかぶと)
armour decorated with shavings
..... kezuri kabuto けずり甲（けずりかぶと）
The shavings from willow branches are added to the armour of the warriour decoration.
They are supposed to ward off evil


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muika no ayame 六日の菖蒲 (むいかのあやめ)
iris on May 6
..... muika soobu 六日そうぶ（むいかそうぶ）
Iris on the morning of the day after May 5 had been soaked in dew, the "water of gods" (神水), and these flowers were especially powerful to protect the humans from evil influence.


ouchi o obu 樗を佩ぶ (おうちをおぶ) wearing chinaberries
yomogi o abu 艾を佩ぶ（よもぎをおぶ）wearing mugwort
..... 蓬を佩ぶ（よもぎをおぶ）
ouchi (Melia azedarach) is an old name for sendan, chinaberry 栴檀
These auspicious plants were not only put on roofs and under the eaves, they were also word around the waist to protect the people.



tooinfu, too-in fu 桃引符 (とういんふ) "preach board"
A board made from peach wood with an inscription to ward off evil influence. It was hung up ath the entrance to a home.


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kigo for mid-summer

fukuro no atsumono 梟の羹 (ふくろうのあつもの)
"hot soup with owl meat"
..... fukuro no aburimono 梟の灸（ふくろうのあぶりもの）
There is an old Chinese saying, that when an owl grows up, it will eventually eat the mother bird and then fly off. The owl was disliked because of this behaviour and in some area an owl was nailed to a tree to die on the day of the summer equinox.
This is a symbol for unfilial behaviour.
In China, on May 5, the meat of an owl was put into hot soup and given to the young boys. In Japan this kind of soup was also given to warriours in a battle.
The owl is also called "bird that eats its mother" 母食鳥.(hahakuidori).

. Qwl (fukuro, fukuroo, fukurō 梟


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shinkiku seisu 神麯製す (しんきくせいす)
making shinkiku rice cakes
This is a Chinese custom, making them on the 5th day of the 5th month or the 6th day of the 6th month or the "sanpuku days".
They are made from rice yeast (kome kooji, kiku 麯), wheat flour, liquid from a special plant of the chrysanthemum family, which has leaves looking like carrot leaves (kawara ninjin　河原人参).
This mix is supposed to bring good health in the hot summer months.
They are also called shingiku しんぎく。

. sanpuku 三伏 (さんぷく) three hottest ka-no-e "metal" days of summer



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


. Kato Kiyomasa 加藤清正 .

This famous samurai from Kumamoto was often decorated in paintings or as dolls during the Boy's Festival.


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HAIKU

. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .

それでこそ古き夕べぞ葺菖蒲
sore de koso furuki yûbe zo fuki ayame

the perfect thing
for an old-time evening...
thatch of irises


鳴さうな虫のあれあれ葺あやめ
naki-soo na mushi no are-are fuki ayame

an insect singing?
look! look!
thatch of irises

Tr. David Lanoue

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菖草巣に引たがる雀哉
ayame-gusa su ni hikitagaru suzume kana

sparrow's determined
to pull a sweet flag
to its nest
Tr. Chris Drake

This is hokku is from the 4th month (May) of 1811, when Issa was in the area just east of Edo, a week or two before the Tango or children's day festival on 5/4 and 5/5. The plant the sparrow is trying to pull to its nest is a sweet flag, also called calamus. Its long, bright green leaves resemble iris leaves, causing the plants to be easily confused, although sweet flag flowers are much more modest than iris flowers. In fact, in modern Japanese ayame means iris, although in Basho's and Issa's time it meant sweet flag. The leaves of the sweet flag were once consumed in many areas of the world as an herb that was believed to help protect against disease, and in Japan sake with stalks and leaves of sweet flag soaking in it was drunk at the festival. On 5/4 people would take hot baths in water with sweet flag soaking in it in order to increase resistance to the plague and other summer epidemics.

In this hokku it is a sparrow which wants very much to pull a sweet flag to its nest, as if it wished to protect its nest from disease. It might be a small sweet flag that is still growing. On the other hand, Issa may be imagining a scene from 5/5 based on a memory from the past. If so, then the swallow has its nest in the eaves of a house, and now, on 5/4, stalks and leaves of sweet flag have been placed here and there on the edge of the roof so that the plants stick out over the eaves, thus symbolically protecting the house from disease.
Seeing the sweet flag plants, the sparrow tries hard to pull a leaf or the whole plant (or perhaps several plants) to its nearby nest. The plants are not part of the roof but are generally placed on top of the tiles, board shingles, or thatch. In the case of a thatch roof, the stalk might sometimes be stuck into the bottom edge of the straw thatch. A diligent sparrow, however, might be able to move a sweet flag a short distance. Issa seems impressed by the parent bird's energetic efforts to use the herb as part of its nest, as if it could sense the herb's protective powers.

The Japanese government calls 5/5 Children's Day, correctly reflecting Japanese history, although the 5/5 festival is often referred to somewhat incorrectly as the Boy's Festival, a concept that took root within the patriarchal warrior class headed by the shogunate in the 17th-19th centuries. Warrior families displayed life-sized and doll-sized swords and other weapons as well as suits of armor, and the warrior class looked on 5/5 as the day as the day to celebrate future warriors and to hold contests that would display feats of skill by adult warriors. This became the prevailing style in Edo, but in many parts of Japan the festival was a day to fete all children.

The other part of the festival, which began on 5/4, was for adults, especially women, as well as for children. It was the day of purification with sweet flag in many forms, and it was often called "Women's House," since in many areas women were regarded as the owners of the house on 5/4, and men stayed outside while women purified themselves and their houses. In Issa's time the festival took place about a week before the summer solstice and soon before rice planting, so it is believed by many scholars that earlier in history women engaged in many shamanic practices, including singing sacred songs in seclusion from men, in order to protect the village against disease and help the village's rice to grow vigorously. This seclusion and purification period was also the time when women prepared for the rice-planting festivals that would soon take place in the new paddies. In Issa's time shamanism had become less important in village life and was largely a matter of custom, but many people still continued to believe in the power of sweet flag and other herbs to purify and protect themselves and their houses.

Chris Drake


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Related words

further kigo for customs and rituals of the fifth lunar month

kigo for mid-summer

***** . gihoo o kaku 儀方を書く (ぎほうをかく)
writing a spell
against mosquitoes and flies



***** . satsuki imi 五月忌 さつきいみ Abstinence in Satsuki 　



*****: . yamori o tsuku 守宮を搗く (やもりをつく)
pounding a gecko


***** . Iris, the flower (ayame 菖蒲 shoobu)

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Obara Shrine Festival

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Obara Festival (Obarazashi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Obarazashi 大原志 (おばらざし)
Obara shrine festival
. . . . . amazake matsuri 甘酒祭（あまざけまつり）
sweet ricewine festival
haruzashi 春志（はるざし）"spring resulution"
akizashi 秋志（あきざし）"autumn resolution"


On May 2 or 3, people would come to the Obara shrine 大原神社 in the Tanba 丹波 region of Kyoto to pay a regular visit and pray. On this day, the shrine made an offering of sweet ricewine to the deities and then offered this drink to the visitors with the prayer for good health.

In spring, a shrine visit was done on March 23,
in autumn the visit was on September 23.

The main deity of the shrine, Izanami no Mikoto, is believed to be a protector of the silk worms.
During the spring visit, people would pick up a stone from the shrine grounds, take it home and place on the shelf where they kept the silk worms. The stone looked like a cat and chased away the mice that would threaten the silk worms.
During the autumn visit, they brought the stones back and made a "thank you" donation.


not to mix with

Ohara, Oohara おおはら【大原】, a place in Kyoto.


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大原神社（おおばらじんじゃ）
Obara Shrine, Oobara Jinja
〒620-1301　京都府福知山市三和町大原
191-1 Obara, Miwa-cho, Fukuchiyama-city, Kyoto

deities in residence
伊弉冉尊（いざなみのみこと）　Izanami no Mikoto
天照大神（あまてらすおおみかみ）　Amaterasu Omikami
月読尊／月夜見尊（つきよみのみこと）Tsukiyomi no Mikoto

Nowadays it is also famous as a place to pray for an easy childbirth (anzan).


quote
A shrine for pregnant women

Obara Shrine was built in 852 in the area of Kyoto Prefecture known as Miyama today. The shrine was moved to Miwa Town in 1279. The main hall of the shrine, built in 1796, is decorated with magnificent carvings of stylized lions and phoenixes. The hall used to be a stage for Bunraku and Kyogen plays. In the hall, ema, votive picture tablets on which people write their prayers or to expressions of gratitude after their wishes came true, are on display. These colorful pictures are an interesting form of art.

Every year on May 2nd and 3rd, the shrine holds a special festival.
On the first day, sacred drums are played and ema pictures painted by local children are displayed. When the hall is lighted up, the atmosphere is beautiful. On the second day, the Nerikomi Gyoretsu ( nerikomi means parade) procession takes place. In the procession people wear traditional costumes and play instruments. They pull a mikoshi, portable shrine, on a cart. There are food stalls along the street and the atmosphere is quite festive.

It is home to a female deity, and it extremely well known for helping pregnant women safely deliver their children and for ensuring good harvests. Since ancient times, many people, including high-ranking nobles, came to the shrine to pray for the safe delivery of their babies. Some even came to the shrine to delivery their children in a special hut called the ubuya.

When an expecting mother finally gives birth to her baby, she stays in this small hut for 7 days and 7 nights to recover. Being in the hut is said to help the mother feel free from housework or family stress. The hut was believed to be very sacred, and that the deity actually descended from heaven into the hut when the child was born.
This custom was held until early the Taisho period (1912-1926).
Now the hut is preserved as a valuable heritage of the local traditions.
source : www.kyoto-kankou.or.jp




ubuya 大原の産屋 hut for giving birth

source :　k_saito_site
(Legends of the Tango region)


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It's believed the earliest style of ubuya was a house built mainly with straw which was burned (i.e., returned to the gods) later. And the location was usually near the sea or at the foot of a mountain -- a place where the sea or mountain god could visit the hut easily. Inside the birthing hut the floor was covered with sand, just as sacred sites in Shinto are still covered with pure sand in preparation for the appearance of a god.

Ubuya customs were very close to the way shamanic huts in general were built and then burned after the trance-ceremonies were finished, so, as your article mentions, the birth hut doubled as a temporary shrine in which the god -- or the soul of an ancestor -- protected and entered the baby. Before organized Shinto arose in response to Buddhism and Chinese religions, this kind of straw hut (of various sizes) may have been one of the main forms of shamanic shrine in Japan, and the birth huts basically seem to be one sub-type of shamanic (as opposed to Shinto) shrine.

In Shinto most of the main priests are male, but in pre-Shinto shamanism and local shamanism that still remains to a certain extent in northern Japan and in Okinawa, the shamans were almost all women, though some musicians were male. Women were considered closer to the gods (or maybe better at trances?), so it was taboo for men to visit the huts in which the women learned sacred songs and did trances, and the taboo originally(?) came not because women's blood was "polluted," as some Buddhists believed (including the male authors of the various versions of the Menstruation Sutra), but because women were believed to be closer to the gods and so only they were allowed to pass on the shamanic songs and trance techniques.

In fact, in Okinawa, which didn't have Shinto, the word kami means both female shaman and god. Since men in Japan have been excluded from the shamanic huts by tradition, perhaps they built up their own esteem by devaluing women's blood and by turning shamanism into a more static religion -- Shinto --with male priests at the top of the hierarchy, with solid architecture, and with norito intoned prayers replacing singing and dancing during trances. At the Ise Shrine they still maintain shamanic tradition slightly, moving the most sacred building from one site to another every few years, though the old buildings are not burned, as was the case with birth and trance huts.

Christopher Drake


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'Menstruation Sutra' Belief in Japan
Momoko Takemi
Bussetsu Daizoo Shookyoo Ketsubon Kyoo
仏説大蔵血盆経
source : menstration-sutra


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

During the festivals there is a box for people to contribute their haiku about.
よみがえれ大原志俳句
where they collected more than 350 haiku in 2008.

Ohara ubuya no sato hyakkei
大原うぶやの里八景

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卯の花の垣根に犬の産屋哉
u no hana no kakine ni inu no ubuya kana

in the hedge of
deutzia blossoms is the dog's
hut for giving birth . . .

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 - Introduction .



hedge of deutzia blossoms, unohana gaki
卯の花垣（うのはながき）
This kind of hedge is quite popular in Japan.

. Deutzia blossom (u no hana, unohana 卯の花) .


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Related words

***** . Anzan o-Mamori, 安産お守り
Talismans for Safe Delivery 　　
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Sentei Festival

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Sentei Festival (senteisai)

***** Location: Shimonoseki, Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Sentei sai 先帝祭 (せんていさい) Sentei Festival
..... Sentei-e, Sentei e 先帝会（せんていえ）
sentei literally means "the former emperor"

Held at shrine Akama Jingu in Shimonoseki on May 2 to 4

In memory of a visit of Emperor Go-Toba to pray for the soul of Antoku Tenno at the temple Amida-Ji, on march 24 of the lunar calendar.

Also in rememberance of the ladies of the Heike clan who had to work as prostitutes to pay for the funerals of their family members.



During the procession, ladies dressed in robes of the Heian court parade through the city.

山口県下関市の赤間神宮
後鳥羽天皇 Gotoba Tenno
安徳天皇 Antoku Tenno


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Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇 Antoku-tennō)
(December 22, 1178 – April 24, 1185, age 16)



was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185.

During this time, the imperial family was involved in a bitter struggle between warring clans. Yoritomo, with his cousin Yoshinaka, led a force from the Minamoto clan against the Taira, who controlled the emperor. During a sea battle in April 1185, a member of the royal household took Antoku and plunged with him into the water in the Shimonoseki Straits, drowning the child emperor rather than allowing him to be captured by the opposing forces.

The conflict between the clans led to numerous legends and tales. Antoku's tomb is said to be located in a number of places around western Japan, including the island of Iwo Jima, a result of the spreading of legends about the emperor and the battle.

1183 (Juei 2, 20th day of the 8th month):
Go-Toba is proclaimed emperor by the Genji; and consequently, there were two proclaimed emperors.

1185 (Genryaku 2, 24th day of the 3rd month):
The Taira (Heike) and the Minamoto clashed in the Battle of Dan-no-ura.

The Taira were defeated. Antoku's grandmother, Taira no Tokiko, the widow of Taira no Kiyomori, drowned herself along with the young emperor Antoku.

Memorial site
After his drowning, in order to mourn the body and placate any restless spirits, the Amidaji Goeidō 御影堂 was built. Later, Antoku was enshrined at the Kurume-Suitengū in Kurume, Fukuoka, and he came to be worshipped as Mizu-no-kami (水の神, lit. "water-god" or "god of water"), the god of easy delivery at Suitengū (水天宮, lit. "water-heaven/emperor-shrine") everywhere.

With the establishment of Shintō as the state religion of Japan, the Amidaji Temple was abandoned and the Akama Shrine was established in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi to celebrate Antoku.

The Imperial Household Agency designates Amida-ji no misasagi (阿彌陀寺陵) near Akama Shrine in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi as Antoku's tomb.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Akama Shrine (赤間神宮, Akama Jingū)
is a Shinto shrine in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is dedicated to Antoku, a Japanese emperor who died young in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura (aka Dannoura), which occurred nearby in 1185.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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ema 絵馬 votive tablet


. denden daiko omamori でんでん太鼓 small drum.

kani dorei カニ土鈴 clay bell like a crab
fugu dorei フク土鈴 clay bell like a pufferfish

fuusui omikuji 風水おみくじ feng shui amulets

Homepage of the shrine
source : jinja/xakama.htm


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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. Suitengu 水天宮 Shrine for the Water God .
Deity in residence is Antoku Tenno 安徳天皇 .


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In the “Tales of Heike”the Kumano Betto Tanzo 熊野別当湛増 (or steward of the Kumano shrines, who is said to be the father of Benkei) turned to the gods to decide which side to join forces with during the historic sea battle of “Dan-no-ura” (1185) between the Heike and Genji clans by holding a divinatory cockfight here with a white and a red cock.
The white cock, representing the Genji, won the fight.

. Benkei Matsuri 弁慶まつり Benkei Festival 　



. WASHOKU : Food from Shimonoseki 　


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春の潮先帝祭も近づきぬ
haru no shio sentei sai mo chikazukinu

spring tide -
the Sentei festival too
is coming closer

. Takahama Kyoshi高浜 虚子 　


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Related words

***** . Taira no Tadanori 平忠度


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Mikurumayama Festival

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Mikurumayama Festival (Mikurumayama matsuri)

***** Location: Toyama, Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Mikurumayama matsuri 御車山祭 (みくるまやままつり)
"honorable float festival"



At Sekino Shrine, Takaoka 高岡関野神社
May 1 and 2

It dates back to the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Maeda Toshiie received the imperial carriage dating from the time Toyotomi Hideyoshi welcomed the emperor. The second feudal lord Maeda Toshinaga gave it to 10 towns that had been newly formed.
The carriage was reportedly rebuilt as a wheeled float like those used in the Gion festival, and was first used in the procession of the spring festival of Sekino Shrine. It is the biggest float festival in the Hokuriku region.

During this festival seven wheeled floats (mikurumayama) parade through the streets of the city.
These precious floats are nationally designated important tangible and intangible cultural assets.
If it rains, the parade and illuminations are postponed.



The family crest of the Maeda clan is shown.


- quote -
Takaoka Mikuruma-yama Festival
The Takaoka mikuruma-yamas (wheeled float) carried in this festival are apparently based on the court carriage used by Hideyoshi Toyotomi to welcome Emperor Go-Yozei and Retired Emperor Ogimachi to Jurakudai in 1588.
After Toshie Maeda received it as a gift, Toshinaga Maeda gave it to the townspeople in 1609 when he was building Takaoka Castle. A barrel roof was added to the carriage to make the current mikurama-yama.
Supported by the spirit and wealth of the Takaoka townspeople, this is one of Japan’s most gorgeous hikiyama festival floats, with wheels decorated using superb local craft techniques, such as metalwork, lacquer ware and dyeing.
- source : foreign.info-toyama.com/en... -



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Other festivals of Takaoka




Akai no Oyako Shishi 赤井の親子獅子
Lion dance, when the mother lion gives birth to a lion, which is a seldom feature in Japanese lion dance. The lion stamps and jumps, summersaults and jumps again. It is quite a humorous performance and has been handed down from parent to children.
Summer festival at the shrine Kaguraoka Jinja 神楽岡神社.



Ayame Festival (Iris festival) 菖蒲まつり
June
120,000 iris plants (the city flower of Oyabe) in 212 varieties are shown.



Buriwake Shinto Ritual 鰤分け神事
January 1, Shimomura Kamo Shrine
Called "reading the buri" (amberjack) in the village, this event begins with the reciting of a Shinto ritual prayer. The "reader" then offers up the fish, one by one, as he recites the names of the different districts of the community. After this, slices of fish and mirror-shaped rice cakes are distributed to each of the shrine's parishioners. The rite is intended to ward off misfortune throughout the year.

. WKD : Yellowtail, buri 鰤 (ぶり) 　




Chigo Dance (Dance of the children) 稚児舞
September 4, Shimomura Kamo Shrine
This dance is performed as a religious offering to give thanks for a good harvest. It is said to have originated at the Kamomioya Shrine in Shimogamo, Kyoto. Designated an intangible cultural asset by Toyama Prefecture in 1965, the Chigo Dance of Etchu was designated an important intangible folk culture asset by the Japanese government in 1981.




Daimon Hikiyama Festival 大門曳山祭り
second sunday in October
It originally featured five wheeled floats. The number was reduced to four in 1942 when Rengeji was incorporated into the city of Takaoka and Rengeji's wheeled float was withdrawn from the event. After passing in front of the Daimon Shrine, the floats are towed through the various districts and throughout the town.


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Etchu Daimon Kite Festival 越中大門凧祭り



With many kites of the face of Daruma.

Third saturday and sunday of May, since 1979.
The wind is brisk on the banks of the Shogawa River, and the sky is filled with color as the kites ascend.





. Kite 凧 tako . . . and Daruma 　


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Fushiki Hikiyama Festival ("fighting wheeled floats")
伏木曳山祭 May 15
At Fukushi Shrine, for the god of safety at sea.



Genpei Kagyu Festival (Genpei Bull Festival)
源平火牛祭り
July
In memory of the Genpei war between the Heike and the Genji.
kagyu (flaming bull dolls) are carried around the city of Obabe.
In memory of Kiso Yoshinaka, who bound flaming torches to the horns of bulls and drove them into the Taira army, causing its defeat.



Gongon Festival ごんごん祭り
17th and 18th of April
Jonichiji Temple, in Himi
The bells are rung 108 times, as is usually done on the night of the New Year.



Hikiyama Festival 曳山まつり（新湊・海老江）
October 1, Hojozu Hachiman Shrine
13 wheeled floats are towed around the town. During the day hanayama floats decorated with flowers are featured, and at night chochinyama floats decorated with paper lanterns. The overall effect is quite magnificent. Written records indicate that the festival dates back some 350 years.
. . . . . and
Ebiekamo Shrine is called the Ebie Hikiyama Festival.
Each September 23 three wheeled floats make their way in a magnificent procession, accompanied by a group of musicians playing solemn music. Written records indicate that the festival dates back some 150 years. A special feature of this hikiyama festival is the mechanical dolls.




Kosugi Mikoshi Festival 小杉みこし祭り
summer
a competition of handmade mikoshi portable shrines, was initiated to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of Kosugi. Created to encourage regional exchange, visitors are welcomed from all over Japan.



Marumage Festival まるまげ祭り
April 17
Ooriginates in the custom among geiko maidens of dressing their hair in the marumage style (a hairstyle for married women). More than 100 ladies visit the tempoe Senjuji to pray to the goddess Kannon.



Nakada Kakashi Festival (scarecrow festival)
中田かかし祭 . September
the streets are lined with more than 100 scarecrows.



Riverside Festival リバーサイドフェスタ
first sunday in August along the Oyabe river in the shinsui park in Tsuchiya.
A contest for catching carp for children is the main attraction.



Takaoka Manyo Festival
高岡万葉まつり「万葉集全２０巻朗唱の会」
October
In Takaoka Kojo Park.
All the 4.516 poems of the Manyoshu poetry collection are read in a relay, lastting three nights and days.




Takaoka Nabe Festival (Cooking pot festival)
高岡なべ祭り January
Maeda Toshinaga, second lord of the Kaga clan, encouraged metal casting in an effort to develop the town. This eventually evolved into Takaoka's famous copperware tradition and, later, into an aluminum industry.



Takaoka Star Festival (Tanabata) 高岡七夕まつり
August 1 to 7

Toide Star Festival (Tanabata) 戸出七夕まつり
July 3 to 7
In Toide town



Tonami Yotaka Festival となみ夜高祭
second friday and saturday in June
Kabuki performances put on by children are a popular highlight among the city's residents. Approximately 20 yotaka lanterns, large and small, vie for supremacy in a lively display.



Tsukurimon Festival つくりもんまつり
September 23 and 24, Fukuoka
Harvest festival in honour of Jizo Bosatsu.
Fruit and vegetables are piled up in decoratve mountains (tsukurimon)



Tsuzawa Yotaka Festival 津沢夜高祭り
Friday and saturday in June
Tsuzawa city, Oyabe.
Lantern floats decorated with pictures of samurai are violently crashed into each other at the fighting festival, Kenka Yotaka Festival.



Yansanma Festival 流鏑馬祭り
May 4, Kamo Shrine, Shimomura
The festival ends with an exhibition of yabusame, or horseback archery, conducted as a Shinto ritual. The word yansanma derives from yabusame.


source : www.manabi-takaoka.jp


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***** WKD Reference


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Cow nose ring festival

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Nose ring festival (hanaguri matsuri )

***** Location:
***** Season: Mid-spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

cow nose ring ceremony はなぐり　供養)

memorial ceremony for the cows 牛魂供養
third saturday in April

hanagurizuka 鼻輪塚 / 鼻ぐり塚 "nose-ring mound"
hanaguri zuka



Farmers send the nose rings of their cows, which come in all sorts of material, from plastic to metal.

Fukudenkai Temple 福田海本部のはなぐり塚
This temple is close to Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama prefecture.

There is now also a statue of a large pig and the memorial service covers all kinds of livestock, bred for human consumption.

Memorial services with fire rituals (goma) are held every month on the third saturday, but the mid-spring and autumn ceremonies are the most popular, because they can be combined with cherry-blossom viewing or red maple leaves.

. . . . .


quote
"hanagurizuka" is decorated with more than 6.8 million nose rings of cows.



The Fukudenkai cult, established in 1901 by Tsuyu Nakayama, taught that in order to accumulate positive karma one should pray for the souls of cows, as
"the animal spends all its life for the people; it not only works in the fields but, after death, its flesh is then eaten and its skin is used for leather."

Since the early Showa period (1926-1989), the nose rings of cows have been put on the burial mound and twice a year—once in spring, and again in autumn—special ceremonies known as Chikukonsai are held to mourn the spirit of this beast.
source : japanonfoot.blogspot.com


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source : gigazine.net

cow ring ritual -
I thank for the steak
of last night

Nakayama Ishino


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Related words

***** . Cow, Bull, Ox (ushi　牛) 　


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Furukawa Drums

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Furukawa Drum Festival

***** Location: Gifu, Japan
***** Season: Late spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Furukawa no okoshi daiko
古川の起し太鼓 (ふるかわのおこしだいこ)
"wake-up drums from Furukawa"
Furukawa "drum" festival
Rousing Drum
Wakening Drum
okoshidaiko, okoshitaiko, okoshi taiko

April 19th and 20th, Hida Furukawa town
Kita-Wakamiya shrine

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© PHOTO :　mineo 20

quote
“Okoshi Daiko (Wakening Drum)” known in Japan as the most eccentric festival. This festival can be described as a combination of naked and fighting festival. Only this day, this quiet little town becomes tumult with the intense fights among naked men.

Then, on the following day, April 20, the atmosphere changes completely and graceful stalls parade around the town of Furukawa. Harmony of “Movement and Quietness”, this is the Furukawa Festival.

All of a sudden, you hear, “Boom! Thud! Boom!” You can feel the succession of pounding sounds of drums vibrating your body. Simultaneously, the large chorus of “Zenzenoko” celebratory song begins.




“Zenze no ko” song: 古川ぜんぜの子

Medeta Medeta no Wakamatsu Sama yo
(Let’s celebrate the young pine buds coming out)
Eda mo Sakaeru Ha mo Shigeru
(Its branches and leaves will grow)
Sore Tsuita tote Nanto sezu
(If everything is gone, it’s OK.)
Zenzenoko Sorya Manma no ko
(No money, nothing to eat)

They wear white headband, white “tabi (Japanese socks)” and stomach band made from bleached cotton. Hida in mid April is still chilly and blows cold wind at night, but it has no effect to their body heated with sake and high spirits. It is their proudest moment at the year of "Furukawa Yancha (Adventure)."


“Parade of Festival Floats” April 20
nine stalls that Furukawa people are proud of are lined up.

People in Furukawa often say, “Don’t say you saw the Furukawa Festival just by seeing the wakening drum.” Certainly, you cannot say you’ve seen the Furukawa Festival without experiencing the glorious stalls, Honraku Festival 本楽祭 （and “Mikoshi (portable shrine)” parade.

Hiding the remaining pain after the intense battle from previous night, the young men of Furukawa parade around the town pull these “Movable Youmei-Mon (gate)”.

The stall made by “Takumi (the Master)” of Hida from his heart and soul represents the traditional beauty and craft beauty, while magnificence and glorious, and profoundness and melancholy fuse at just right level.



At the night of Honraku Festival, the gloriously stalls decorated with gorgeous lanterns parade within the town showing the fantasy world.

MORE
source : www.city.hida.gifu.jp



There is a museum with the drums on display in Furukawa.

. Reference


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HAIKU


Furukawa drums -
rhythms from the heart
of old Japan

Nakayama Ishino


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Related words

***** . Furukawa Matsuri 古川祭（ふるかわまつり）
Naked Festivals of Japan 　


***** . Big Drums of Japan



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Kurama Festivals

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Kurama Festivals

***** Location: Mt. Kurama, Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Mount Kurama
(鞍馬山, Kurama-yama)
is a mountain to the north-west of the city of Kyoto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu, who taught swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Kurama is also the location of the annual Kurama Fire Festival (鞍馬の火祭り, Kurama no Hi-matsuri), which takes place every October. Kurama Temple (鞍馬寺, Kuramadera) is now designated as a national treasure of Japan.

Kurama-dera, a Buddhist temple, is located in the wooded slopes above Kurama town. From its main gate in the town's center, the main buildings can be reached in a 30-45minute climb up the mountain. A cablecar leads halfway up.

Along the ascent to Kurama-dera stands Yuki Jinja 由岐神社, a shrine famous for its Fire Festival held annually on October 22. Kurama-dera's main buildings stand on a terrace on the mountain's slope, overlooking the wooded valley.

The philosopher Hayashi Razan lists one of the three greatest of the daitengu as Sōjōbō 僧正坊 of Mount Kurama. The tengu goblins of Kurama and Atago are among the most famous tengu of Japan.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


- - - - - Tengupedia - - - - -
. 四十八天狗 48 Tengu of Japan .

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Three are three main deities venerated at the temple



sonten 尊天 symbolizing all things

千手観世音菩薩 Senju Kannon
毘沙門天王 Bishamonten (in the center)
護法魔王尊 Gohoo Maoo Son

Bishamonten symbolizes light and the sun
Kannon symabolizes love and the moon
Goho Mao Son symbolizes power and the earth.



Goho Mao Son, the great King of the conquerors of evil and the spirit of the earth, looks almost like a tengu himself.
Legend says he came to earth from Venus more than 6500000 years ago.
He is shown as a male of the age 16 and remains young for ever.
He is a special secret Buddha of Kurama temple.

quote
Mao-son, Bishamon-ten, and Senju-kannon are the symbols of the universal soul, forming a Trinity known as "Sonten" or the "Supreme Deity". Sonten is the "Living Soul", the "Supreme Soul of the universe", the "Glorious Light", and the "Activity of the Soul".
These three are the symbols of power, light, and love. We worship Sonten as the composite of all three.
"We trust in Sonten for all things." Sonten is the creator of the universe, and cultivates the development of everything all over the earth. He rests deeps in our individual minds, and causes the "Great Self" or "Atman" to wake up within our hearts. He gives us new power and glorious light.

More than six million years ago, Mao-son (the great king of the conquerors of evil and the spirit of the earth) descended upon Mt. Kurama from Venus, with the great mission of the salvation of mankind. Since then, Mao-son's powerful spirit governing the development and the evolution not only of mankind but of all living things on Earth has been emanating from Mt. Kurama, and a priest named Gantei received the spiritual transmission.
source : www.ihreiki.com

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kigo for late spring



Kurama no Hana Kuyoo 鞍馬の花供養
Flower Ceremony at Kurama
hana kuyoo 花供養（はなくよう）Flower Ceremony
flower dedication
hana gu senboo 花供懺法（はなぐせんぽう）

It used to be for five days from April 18 till 22, but now it is for seven days till 24.

At the temple Kuramadera flowers are offered and prayers of repentance (senboo) are spoken.
During this period,the main deity, Tamonten (Bishamonten), which is usually hidden (hibutsu), is shown to the public.

Small children in court robes form a procession and throw artificial blossoms for the visitors.
There are performances of dance, kyogen, songs, tea ceremonies and more by the believers of Bishamonten. Every day there is something else to enjoy.



午の鐘響き渡るや花供養
uma no kane hibiki-wataru ya hana kuyoo

the mid-day bell
reverberates far and wide -
flower ceremony

. Takahama Kyoshi 高浜虚子 　

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kigo for mid-summer



Kurama no take kiri 鞍馬の竹伐 (くらまのたけきり)
cutting bamboo at Kurama
takekiri 竹筏（たけきり）
Kurama no renge e 鞍馬の蓮華会（くらまのれんげえ）
Kurama Lotus Ceremony

Kurama no take kiri eshiki
鞍馬の竹伐会式（くらまのたけきりえしき）
ceremony of cutting bamboo at Kurama


On June 20 at temple Kuramadera.

Four bamboo poles in front of the main temple hall are cut by two groups of people clad in formal robes, the east and west group. They use special woodman's hatchets (山刀) and fight for speed. The group which finishes first will be used to divine the harvest of the coming autumn.

quote
Takekiri-eshiki is a bamboo-cutting ceremony based on a story about the monk Buen　（峯延）. The legend is that one day while Buen was undertaking austerities in the mountains monstrous male and female serpents attacked him. After the monk cut and killed the male serpent by chanting a powerful mantra the female serpent pleaded for mercy and promised to help people to make a stream from the mountain. The serpent kept her word and since then the villagers could enjoy affluent water and worshiped the serpent by creating a little shrine.

In the annual ceremony eight male parishioners clad in costumes of warrior monks form two teams. Upon a signal the teams rush out to cut 4m long and 10cm thick green bamboo poles with strokes of mountain hatchets (山刀) into eight pieces. The poles symbolise the serpents, which are incarnations of evil. The ceremony is performed to pray for a bountiful harvest. The area represented by the winning team will enjoy rich harvests that year.
The teams of Omi and Tanba represent the eastern and western sides of Mt Kurama. In ancient times the area around Lake Biwa was called Omi and parts of Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures Tanba.

The pieces of cut bamboo are believed to guard homes against misfortune. At the end of the ritual, a female bamboo, roots intact, is returned and replanted in the grove from which the male trees were taken.


Monk Gantei （鑑禎）
Kurama temple has its origin in the monk Gantei who had a dream about being guided to a sacred place on the saddle of a white horse. He followed this spiritual transmission and the horse brought him to the foot of the mountain, where he built a small thatched temple to Bishamonten. Years later, Isendo Fujiwara was also guided on horseback to the mountain with the intent of building a temple to the Thousand-armed Kannon Bodhisattva. Gantei’s temple became known as Kurama-dera (Horse-saddle temple) due to Gantei and Fujiwara both being guided there on saddle-back.


Tagyuraku 打毬楽
Tagyuraku is a kind of polo dance in which the dancers are dressed as courtiers of the Heian period. Polo was an ancient Persian sport known in China of the Tang dynasty and thence introduced into Nara of the Heian period. It is said that 88 or 40 persons played this polo like game on horseback. What is now left from the game is the music accompanying traditional court dance.
source : photojapan.karigrohn.com
Look at the photos of this link !


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kigo for late autumn

. Kurama no hi matsuri 鞍馬の火祭
Kurama Fire Festival 　
October 22


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kigo for the New Year

. Kurama mairi 鞍馬詣（くらままいり)
first visit to temple Kuramadera 　
Kurama hatsu tora mairi 鞍馬初寅詣（くらまはつとらまいり）
visit to Kurama Temple on the first day of the tiger
"Kurama Gold Coin", Kurama koban 鞍馬小判（くらまこばん）
. . . . . and more kigo about this ceremony

The Tiger hour is about 3-5am. Tiger Month is January and the Tiger day comes up every 12 days.


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Kurama stone Daruma

. Kurama Ishi 鞍馬石 Kurama Stone 　


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Ushiwakamaru 牛若丸

. Ushiwaka mochi 牛若餅 Ushiwaka rice cakes 　
Named after Minamoto no Yoshitsune in his boyhood (Ushiwaka, the one as strong as a bull), when he was trained at the Kurama Mountain Temple by the Forest Goblins (tengu).


. Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源の義経 (1159 - 1189) .
- Introduction -
Shanaoo, Shanaō 遮那王　Shanao (his boyhood name at Kurama)
牛若丸　Ushiwakamaru // Hoogan 判官 Hogan (his court title)


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Goma sen, gomasen 護摩扇 ritual fan from Kurama

. ha-uchiwa 天狗の羽団扇 "feather fan of a Tengu" .

This is the fan of the great tengu from Kurama mountain, used to ward off all evil during the goma fire rituals.

quote
Sōjōbō - Sojobo
Sōjōbō (僧正坊, lit. "high Buddhist priest")
is the mythical king of the tengu, minor deities who inhabit the mountains of forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is an ancient yamabushi (mountain hermit) tengu with long, white hair and an unnaturally long nose. He carries a fan made from seven feathers as a sign of his position at the top of tengu society. He is extremely powerful, and one legend says he has the strength of 1,000 normal tengu. Sōjōbō lives on Mount Kurama (north of Kyoto).

Sōjōbō is perhaps best known for teaching the warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune (then known by his childhood name Ushiwaka-maru or Shanao) the arts of swordsmanship, tactics, and magic in the 12th century. In fact, the name "Sōjōbō" originates from Sōjōgatani, the valley at Mount Kurama near Kibune Shrine associated with the Shugenja. It is in this valley that Ushiwaka trained with Sōjōbō in legend. This relationship serves as the basis of many Japanese woodblock prints, including one by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
Also in some Japanese villages, parents spread the myth that he eats little boys to stop them going into the forests at night.
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a kind of fly swatter : Tengu no uchiwa
. Swatter of a Forest Goblin
Tengu no uchiwa　天狗のうちわ .

. Fan (oogi 扇　- uchiwa　団扇）.


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　



source : hayato on facebook

"Tengu Monsters and Ushiwakamaru"
c. 1760, by Shunsho Katsukawa (1726-1792).


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HAIKU




月ぞしるべこなたへ入せ旅の宿
tsuki zo shirube konata e irase tabi no yado

moon! guide
this-way to please-enter
journey's lodging

Matsuo Basho, 1663

Basho alludes to a line from the No play Tengu on Mount Kurama, in which the blossoms are the guides.

Tr. David Landis Barnhill


奥は鞍馬の山道の花ぞしるべなる へ入らせ給へや

oku wa Kurama no yamamichi no
hana zo shirube naru konata e irase tamae ya


Kurama no Tengu 鞍馬天狗 Noh Performance


tsuki zo shirube konata e irase tabi no yado


the moon will guide you . . .
this way, traveler; please come
into the inn here
Tr. Ueda


The moon is your guide;
Come to my house, says the host
Of a wayside inn.
Tr. Yuasa

Written in 寛文4年, Basho age 21
During that time the Teimon school was in full swing and it was popular to make an allusion to poems and songs of old.

. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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道標は蝸牛遊ばせ右鞍馬
doohyoo wa kagyuu asobase migi Kurama

the guidepost
is a resting post for the snail -
turn right for Mount Kurama

Minamisawa Kiriko 南澤霧子


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Related words

***** . Bishamonten 毘沙門天 　


***** . Ushiwaka-maru and Benkei 　

***** . Kurama gannin 鞍馬願人 Gannin from Kurama .
gannin boozu 願人坊主 mendicant monks



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Kurama karakuri gangu　鞍馬のからくり玩具 mechanical dolls from Kurama
They are about 30 to 40 cm high. The deities of Wind and Thunder 風神雷神. Made from bamboo with a string to pull for moving the fan and arms.

. Kyoto Folk Art - 京都（府） .
Kuramadera no koi ningyoo 鞍馬寺 鯉の人形 Kurama carp dolls
Kurama yama no a-un-tora 鞍馬山のあうん虎 tiger dolls
Kurama kubi ningyoo くらま首人形 head dolls


. karakuri ningyoo からくり人形 mechanical dolls .

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Mino Drum Festival

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Mino Festival (Mino matsuri)

***** Location: Gifu, Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Mino matsuri 美濃祭 (みのまつり) Mino festival

On April 14 and 15. Mino town, Gifu prefecture
八幡神社 岐阜県美濃. 美濃祭り




Town festival of the 'Hachiman' Shrine of Mino.
On the first day, over 30 portable shrines are decorated as 'Hana-mikoshi 花みこし' (flower-palanquins); more than 200 branches of attached flowers for 'hana-mikoshi' are made of 'washi' (Japanese paper) dyed a cherry colour and carried to the central shrine of the town by a joyful procession of young men gathered from several districts.

A parade of six gorgeous 'Yama 山車' (wheeled floats) with open-air stand of wind-up dolls takes place on the following day. 'Niwaka　流しにわか' (street comedy with teams of amateur comedians) entertains audience the evening of both days.
The floats date back to the Edo period, some have mechanical dolls on them 'karakuri ningyo からくり人形".
source : www.infomapjapan.com


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


. Washi paper from Mino


. WASHOKU - regional dishes from Mino and Gifu 　


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HAIKU




朧夜の町かどに聞く美濃仁輪加
oboro ya no machikado ni kiku Mino niwaka

on a hazy spring night
in all corners of Mino you hear
the festival songs

. Inahata Teiko　稲畑汀子



hazy spring night
every corner of Mino
floats the comedy skit
Tr. Makiko


. Discussing NIWAKA .
Translating Haiku Forum


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Related words



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Seimei and Kanshoku Okinawa

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Seimei festival (seimeisai)

***** Location: Okinawa, Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

seimeisai 清明祭 (せいめいさい) Seimei festival
..... seimei mairi 清明参（せいめいまいり) "visiting graves at Seimei"
ushiimii （ウシーミー）, shiimii



This is a celebration in Okainawa, on the beginning of the period

Seimei (清明): Start on April 5 — Clear and bright
It used to be in the third lunar month.

The relatives gather in front of the graves, say prayers and then have a feast, including traditional dishes and the loved "awamori" liquor. After the feast it is time for shamisen music and dance.
The relatives have two weeks to perform the rituals. Sometimes the bones are taken out of the graves and washed.
Washing the bones is a custom of China, see below.

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observance kigo for mid-spring

kanshoku 寒食 (かんしょく) "cold food"
kanshoku setsu 寒食節（かんしょくせつ）
ritual of eating cold food

hyakugo setsu 百五節（ひゃくごせつ）
ritual on day 105 (after the winter solstice)

reien setsu 冷烟節（れいえんせつ）"cold smoke" ritual

anzu no kayu 杏の粥 apricot rice gruel
momobana kayu 桃花粥 peach blossom rice gruel
yookagayu 楊花粥 willow blossom rice gruel

kinka 禁火 no fire

jukushoku setsu 熟食節 ritual of hot food

. . . . .


寒食や饐になれたるひとり住み
kanshoku ya su ni naretaru hitori sumi

cold food -
I live alone and am used
to things tasting sour

Kuroyanagi Shooha 黒柳召波


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寒食や竃をめぐるあぶら虫
kanshoku ya kamado o meguru aburamushi

cold food -
cockroaches search
around the hearth

Tan Taigi 炭太祇


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The six seasonal segments of spring
asian lunar calendar

Risshun (立春): February 4—Beginning of spring
Usui (雨水): February 19—Rain water
Keichitsu (啓蟄): March 5—awakening of hibernated (insects)
Shunbun (春分): March 20—Vernal equinox, middle of spring
Seimei (清明): April 5—Clear and bright
Kokuu (穀雨): April 20—Grain rain


. WKD : The 24 solar sections 　　


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


cold food (hiyashi mono) eaten after a banquet

Matsuo Basho
'At Kyokusui's House' 曲水亭
A party of 5, with Basho, Kyokusui, Kagami Shikoo 各務支考, Hirose Izen Sogyuu 広瀬維然（素牛） and Gakoo 臥高 from Iga.
The cold food was often sooomen そうめん　素麺　thin noodles and fruit.


夏の夜や崩て明し冷し物
natsu no yo ya kuzurete akeshi hiyashi mono

summer night--
at dawn, scattered leftovers
of chilled food
Tr. Barnhill

An excerpt from Barnhill's comment:
"Cool food such as melon and eggplant was served at the conclusion of a banquet."


summer night
broken up at dawn
chilled food
Tr. Reichhold

Reichhold's comment:
"This verse was Basho's greeting and beginning link for a renga done with Kyokusui, Gakoo, Izen, and Shikioo at the home of Kyokusui in Zeze. It is thought to be funny that Basho begins a renga with a verse that describes the end of a party. The word 'broken' ['kuzurete'] refers to the night [because of the dawn], the food [leftovers], and the party."]


MORE - hokku about food by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. hiya soomen 冷索麺 cold Somen noodles .

. Hiyashi Chuuka　冷やし中華 cold Chinese noodles .

cold tofu
. hiyayakko, hiya yakko 冷奴 "cold guy" .


. WASHOKU - Japanese Food Culture .


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HAIKU


what was my face
before my forefathers were born?
Seimei Festival

Note:
Ls 1&2 allude to the Zen Buddhist concept of the original face.

. WKD : Koan and Haiku 　




Seimei Festival
rain on the grave site I visit
for the first time

faintly alluding to Ching-ming (or Qing-Ming, 清明 Seimei), a poem by the famous Late Tang poet, Du Mu 杜牧.
The festival originated from the Day with Cold Food, a memorial day for Jie Zhitui (介子推 Kai Shisui), who died in 636 BC in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Chen-Ou Liu
Canada

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quote
The 1st day of the 5th solar term is the Qingming.
Qingming Festival is the 15th day after the Spring Equinox occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar.

The Qingming Festival is commonly translated as the Clear Bright Festival or the Tomb Sweeping Day.

During the Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋战国时期), the Duke Wen of Jin (Chinese: 晋文公) created the Hanshi Cold Food Festival (Chinese: 寒食节) to commemorate the loyalty of his friend and servant Jie Zhitui (Chinese: 介之推).

On Hanshi Festival, the day before the solar term Qingming (Chinese: 清明), people were not allowed to use fires to cook or heat up food (eat cold food only), and hang willow branches on doors to show respect to Jie Zhitui, because he was killed with his mother by a fire next to a willow tree. The fire was actually set up by Duke Wen hoping to force Jie Zhitui to come out of his hiding place in the mountains.

The Qingming Festival itself was created by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong in 732. It is said that because the wealthy held too many expensive, elaborate ancestor-worshipping ceremonies, in a needed effort to lower this expense, Emperor Xuanzong declared that respects could be formally paid at ancestor's graves only on Qingming.

Gradually, people combined traditions of the Hanshi Festival into the Qingming Festival and kept as a one-day festival.



Qingming Poem by Du Mu



A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;
The mourner's heart is breaking on his way.
Where can a hostel be found to drown his sadness?
A cowherd points to Xing Hua village in the distance.

source : chinese/festivals



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Related words

***** . WKD : The Season of Spring 　


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