The RowStein Compendium: Matsuri and Matsuri

Welcome back, readers!

All is well in the Rowstein household! We’re busy as can be, making progress in our Japanese / other studies, eating well, doing our best to get into better shape, and embracing adventure as it comes to us. (But more about that, next week!) In keeping with the snappy new blog format, I’m going to get right to the heart of this post: This week’s snapshot of Japan . . .

Hojouya Festival!

A view of the temple grounds.

Maybe you heard me talking about this festival last year. I went twice, with two different friends, and it made a huge impression on me. (Partly, that’s because the first trip to the festival was so epically AWESOME, and partly because on the second trip I got a cripplingly bad case of food poisoning, which nearly put me in the hospital. But, I digress….)

Hojouya is one of my absolute favorite festivals on Kyushu. Why? Well, because it boils down to the two core aspects that I like best about Japanese festivals: 1.) A central spiritual, cultural component that I can understand and support (in this case, Buddhist ceremonies where animals are released, celebrating the sanctity and preciousness of life). And, 2.) An unbelievable spread of delicious street food and raucous stall games. There’s no giant parade, no race, no competition, no teams, none of that. Just a dressed-up shrine, some Buddhist ceremonies, and at least a square-flipping-kilometer of food on sticks. This combination makes for a strange and wonderful sort of hypocrisy, doesn’t it? Spectators, a cold beer in one hand and a stick of salty yakitori in the other, cheering as the monks release the blessed birds from their cages. It’s one of the many odd combinations that make Japan such a great place to live in / visit / experience.

What we really came for.

Hojouya is a relatively long festival, and it lasts for about 6 afternoons & evenings. It isn’t a big draw from the rest of the country (people don’t come down from Honshu, as they might for some of the bigger cultural festivals), but it is very popular in the region. Maybe because of this, Hojouya feels more like an American State Fair than any other Japanese festivals I’ve been to. (Maybe that’s why I like it so much!) But the popularity within the area means it can get incredibly crowded. Lucky for DW & I, the festival takes place at Hakozaki Shrine (which is reasonably close to my school). So, it was an easy train ride to get there and a quick escape when things got too packed.

The crowds were just starting to roll in.

We went last Friday night, after my school day had ended. DW & I spent several lovely hours in the cool, almost-fall evening, wandering between the stalls, buying tasty (sometimes mysterious) food, chatting with vendors in our terrible Japanese, praying at the shrine, browsing the ikebana exhibition, and watching children catch crab and eel on tiny hooks. We too played an animal-catching game (well, sort of…), and the entire strange encounter basically went like this:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(We approach the stall, looking interested. I smile and nod at the vendor.)

MR. V: [Japanese] “Oh, you will play? Okay!”

(I pay the fee and he hands me a plastic kids’ bowl and a paper catching-screen. [Like a tiny fish net, but made with paper]. Ms. Vendor uses a large net to unceremoniously redistribute the quarry, which were hiding in the corners of the tank. I hesitate. Mr. Vendor gestures for me to stand in the center. I continue to hesitate.)

DW [English]: “I think he wants you to stand in the middle.”

WR [English]: “But everyone’s looking…”

MR. V [Japanese]: “Go ahead.”

MRS. V [Japanese]: “Do your best!”

WR [Japanese]: “Okay… I’ll do my best….”

(I move to the middle of the tank. A crowd of people is forming, watching the gaijin at the game. I fail miserably, breaking the paper screen right away. I try again, failing more and more.)

DW [English]: “Maybe, you could… you know, a little faster…?”

WR [English]: “NO. I CAN’T. I SUCK AT THIS.”

DW [English]: “You don’t—”

WR [English]: “YES, I DO… [Japanese]… I am awful at this!”

(Mr. and Mrs. Vendor try to cover their laughter as I shove the mostly-ruined paper screen to DW. He tries once, too, but I’ve messed up the screen so much that there’s really no chance of success. Mr. Vendor leans in and takes the screen from DW.)

MR. V [Japanese]: “Maybe… you can… maybe try this way… you don’t need the screen, right?”

MRS. V [Japanese]: “No, you don’t need the screen! Just use the bowl!”

MR. V [Japanese]: “Yes, just use the bowl! That’s okay!”

(DW turns to me, confused.)

DW [English]: “What are they saying?”

WR [English]: “They’re telling us to just scoop one up in the bowl. Without using the screen.”

DW [English]: “But… isn’t that the entire purpose of the game?”

WR [English]: “They’re taking pity on us, because I suck so much.”

(A pause, as we look over at the patiently smiling Mr. and Mrs. Vendor.)

DW [English]: “Oh. Well. Fair enough.”

(DW scoops successfully, using the bowl and *not* the screen [which is the entire point of the game]. The Vendors and the crowd all cheer warmly and enthusiastically as DW and I laugh, walking away with our prize.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And that’s how we met our newest little friend! Her name is Matsuri (祭り), the word for “Festival.” She’s absolutely adorable.