Mikoshi 2.0

Last weekend I had the opportunity to get up-close and personal with the matsuri (festival) of a quiet Tokyo neighborhood, thanks to one of my lovely colleagues, Kyoko,  who extended an invitation to her home and a chance to be involved in carrying the mikoshi through the streets to the local temple.

Having seen the physical exertion involved with this particular ritual, I opted for the shutter-bug route, but two of our new-to-Tokyo friends were brave enough to give it a try. Lindsey and Brendan got garbed up in their linen clothes and donned their borrowed happi coats. The coats are particular to each neighborhood, so Kyoko's husband, no stranger to the annual event, had borrowed some extras. The carriers also traditionally wear soft white boots that have a split toe.

We wove through the neighborhood and popped out rather suddenly onto the main shopping street, where shoppers intent on their tasks tried to dodge the mikoshi crowds. As 'our' mikoshi was getting ready to go, we wandered down the road and met another procession coming towards us, chanting and bobbing and weaving past shops and restaurants and bars.

This yearly festival is a chance for the neighborhood to come together and honor the god of the area shrine, so the 'portable' shrines are carried from their usual resting places to the larger shrine in the area. Along the way, they pause to show respect to shrines or businesses that have been generous donors through the years.

It is not merely a straightforward march - the three large poles are shouldered by three lines of happi-coat-wearing people, who begin to chant and dance in place before starting off down the street in a bouncing gait.  The person with the whistle is clearly in charge, giving long blasts to start moving and shorter ones to keep everyone on the beat, while the chanting grows in intensity... I"m still not sure exactly what they are saying, but it's repetitive and almost hypnotic. (And then, suddenly, after about an hour, rather irritating).

People change places as they get tired, and a small entourage follows the process. There are a few rest stops along the way, where saw-horses appear from nowhere to hold the mikoshi's weight for awhile as the tired, sweaty carriers grab a drink from the trays that also appear as if by magic. When ready to move again, the guy with the wooden blocks is hoisted up and gives a few sharp, ringing claps to alert everyone that it's time to carry on.

Upon reaching the shrine, the team is blessed and takes a rest break under the beautiful trees as families meander through the stalls set up with games to play and food for sale. Then, rest break over, they retrace their steps back through the streets.

You can check out the complete gallery here!