It’s fall festival time in Japan! These are shots from the Mozu Hachiman Futon Daiko Matsuri last weekend. Yes, that’s right…futons… I had to double check and make sure I was hearing right when one of the teachers at school told me about it. A festival with giant mattresses? I couldn’t miss it.
A bit about the festival from the City of Sakai’s website:
It is said that prayers for good harvest, combined with the customs of celebrating the full moon, made the shrine’s “Tsukimi” festival. The record says it has a long history of more than 300 years. About four meters high and weighting about three tons, the Futon Daiko consists of a platform with a taiko drum, on top of which are five overlapping layers of vermillion cushions. About 70 people carry the Futon Daiko, with their unique shouts of “bera-bera-bera-sho-shoi” mixing with the sound of the drum as they proceed through towns. Afterward, the drum is dedicated to the shrine. During the two-day festa, 150,000 visitors in total come to see the stirring spectacle.
It really was amazing to watch. And I wish I had these gigantic red futons to sleep on… The festival was complete with traditional rituals, delicious food, lots of fun things for kids to do, and pre-typhoon rain! I’ve been bummed that I missed out on the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima this year (Get me a CORN DOG!!), so it was nice to have an Asian version as a replacement.
Yes, I mentioned there was a typhoon. I survived it! It was really rainy and windy, and I holed myself up in my tiny apartment and basically napped through most of it. At one point it was so windy, I tried to open my front door to check the conditions….and couldn’t get it open.
Anyway, more posts to come…I promise!
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