This event I went to is quite a while back, June 16-17th. I have some catching up to do for my blogging to be where I am now. 😮
So I’d best get started. 🙂
It’s Urayasu’s Mikoshi Festival. Held every four years, the people of Urayasu all come out to parade the mikoshi around Urayasu and into the Shinto shrine.
神輿, みこし, Mikoshi
So what is this mikoshi? It’s pronounced ‘mee-koh-shee’, written 神輿, and it is a vehicle to a deity in Japan. Here’s the wiki on it if you’re interested. I didn’t know this until someone explained it to me at the festival. Sometimes I wonder why I travel when everything’s already written down on wikipedia… No not really. 😛
People Around the Canal
First we have a barbeque at my ‘party boss’s’ house. Then head out to the mikoshi event. There’s a canal where the mikoshi are being paraded along. The streets are bustling with people from all over Chiba to come and witness the event. The smells of barbeques and the sounds of flutes blown, drums drummed, and chants chanted fill the air. The weather is fine and the mood is lively.
The people of Urayasu have been looking forward to this day for a long time, and you can really tell they’re pumped to take their mikoshi through the streets. The amount of people is huge. There’s also lots of traffic. However it doesn’t take away from the cheerful and energetic atmosphere. One thing I notice this day is the high tension (in a good way) the people have as the mikoshi passes by. It’s really cool.
On the Way to the Shrine
Good Food and Drinks
There are food stalls out, as with any festival, and the people are drinking and eating merrily as the day progresses.
Towards the end of the day the mikoshi makes it to the end of its journey. It is to be put into the Shinto shrine so the god can live there. Here the people were chanting “mae da! mae da!” which means “in front! in front!” Here the crowds are most densely packed eager to see it get to the shrine.
In Front of the Shrine “前だ！”
After a fun day at the festival I get back in the train to Kamagaya.
Much faster than by mikoshi. 😉
I’ve made a video of this event that you can see on youtube. 😀
For more pictures, these are available in my album on facebook.
If you have any comments/questions/ etc. Feel free to leave them in the responses below. 🙂
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