-The wishes of the Japanese people as seen through unusual festivals-
point
People's wishes are always the same
• Abundant harvest of grains
・Household safety
Procreation
Hojo Shuji. 1902-1996. Japanese playwright, director, and author.
This book, written by playwright Hojo, chronicles his travels through festivals across Japan 50 years ago. It's a book that will make you want to participate in Japanese festivals. The afterword explains why he used the term "unusual festival," meaning that the style of the festivals was unusual from a modern perspective. The names of the festivals are also those used at the time. The end of the book conveniently lists the current names, locations, and dates of the festivals.
As you read on, you'll see that most of these festivals are based on ancient, solemn beliefs about bountiful harvests, prosperity of descendants, and safety of the family, and that the festivals themselves are one way of expressing these fundamental wishes.
The festival I'd especially like to see, or rather, participate in, is the "Ushikubo Castle Town Maggot Festival." The lord, who was democratic, invited farmers into the castle to celebrate a bountiful harvest, treated them to sake, and let them play and have fun all day long. The farmers got drunk and collapsed one after another on their way home, and the festival is said to have started to pass on the joy of that event to future generations. You can find it by searching for "Unagouji Festival" on YouTube.
For mountain climbers, the frog-jumping festival held by the Rengekai of Kinpusen-ji Temple on the famous Mt. Kinpusen is also fun to watch.
The state of emergency in Tokyo will be lifted on June 20th, but it's still difficult to travel. I'm listing travel destinations for when the Go To Travel campaign resumes. I'll also start writing travelogues from next month in July, so I'd appreciate it if you would check out the blog linked in my profile.
Author: Hojo Shuji
Published by Tankosha
Paperback: 288 pages
First reading completed on 2021/03/19
Thank you for reading. Goodbye for now. Take care :)
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