© 1986 Lawrence I. Charters
Off Duty, August 1986, pp. 10-11.
August is Japan’s busiest vacation month and a particularly active time for festivals and lively neighborhood processions.
There is something humbling about Japanese culture. As you wander along some city side street on a lazy August afternoon, it isn’t at all uncommon to suddenly encounter a neighborhood festival in full swing. A portable Shinto shrine (called a mikoshi) will be bouncing through the streets on the shoulders of smiling young men and women, while other celebrants sing, dance and play musical instruments. Vendors will be selling all manner of wondrous foods and beverages, crowds will be surging up and down the thoroughfares, enjoying the festivities and watching each other; and children, like children everywhere, will be noisily clamoring for goodies and chasing one another through the throng.
None of this will be the least disconcerting until you start asking questions: What are you celebrating? Is this an annual event? When did it all begin? And until you realize the full importance of the answers: You mean, you’ve done this every year — for over a thousand years?
Coming as we do from a land with no popular thousand-year-old traditions, much less any ten-centuries-old neighborhood parties, we Americans aren’t really sure how to react. Something this old is usually a somber and sacred affair, isn’t it? Should I even be here? What if I do something wrong?
Herein lies one of the secrets to understanding the Japanese society: maintain an open mind and everything will be fine. Unlike most Westerners, the Japanese are not at all dogmatic about religion; many claim to be Shinto, Buddhist and Christian — all at the same time. As long as you remain respectful, there isn’t much likelihood of violating any sacred principles. “Respectful,” incidentally, doesn’t mean acting stern and serious; while there are times when a solemn appearance might be advisable, these times are rare.
Take, for example, the mikoshi’s trip though the streets. Before the procession begins, the kami (spirit or god) is taken from the altar of the shrine and placed in the carriage shrine. When the bearers convey the mikoshi through the streets, they are literally carrying their neighborhood god on their shoulders. Yet their actions and attitudes are more playful than pious.
This makes perfect sense when you realize that the festival is usually held in honor of the god, and the Japanese want to make sure the god has a good time. Instead of a slow, stately procession, the god is treated to a trip worthy of an amusement park ride, during which he is offered delicacies, toasted with sake and entertained with song, dance and music.
August is a particularly active festival time, as it is also Japan’s busiest vacation month. schools are out, children are everywhere and millions of people take to the roads, trains and planes. Because it is so convenient, many districts hold Bon events in August, often resulting in festivals with a colorful mixture of Buddhist and Shinto elements.
Bon, the Buddhist Festival of Lanterns, is supposed to be held in mid-July. Departed ancestors are thought to return to visit the living, and the living are expected to both honor and entertain them. Over the years there has been a gradual shift from mid-July to mid-August, a practical evolution that allows the big-city residents to return to rural ancestral homes during vacation period.
Most of the activity takes place in the afternoon and evening. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people dress in matching yukata (lightweight cotton kimonos) and take part in Bon Odori dances called Eisa, which are highly ritualized dances of rejoicing. One of the most endearing elements of the dance is the expectation that people will join in and not just observe. As Bon is a family event, children are also encouraged to attend.
Neighborhood Bon festivals are the friendliest, but one large Bon-related festival is worth noting. On August 16, a major Kyoto temple, Zenrinji, will hold its annual Daimonji Okuribi sometime after sunset. On the side of Mount Nyoigadake, overlooking Kyoto, a huge bonfire in the shape of the Chinese character dai, meaning large, is set ablaze. The burning character, with flames reaching to the sky, is intended to guide the souls of the departed as they return to the other side after celebrating Bon. Since the character is over 500 feet high and nearly 250 feet wide, chances are you’ve never seen anything like it.
Mount Fuji-climbing season ends on August 31, so hurry if you still want to participate. In recent years, demon bicyclists have started carrying bikes to the summit (12,385 feet above sea level), in order to ride the rim of the volcano. Don’t try this unless you want to burn off several thousand extra calories of energy very quickly.
Less ambitious travelers might want to attend the Fuji-Yoshida Fire Festival held on August 26. Near the Sengen Shrine on the slopes of Mount Fuji, large bonfires and towers are put to the torch after dark to celebrate the end of the climbing season and to rejoice for the safe return of the season’s climbers. As the date falls on a Tuesday this year, you may have to do some advance scheduling to get free, but the pictures you bring back should be spectacular.
At the end of the month, on August 30 and 31, Yokota Air Base will be holding an open house. In past years, well over a hundred thousand people have attended, and there is no reason to believe that this year will be any different. As usual, static displays of U.S. and Japanese aircraft are planned, along with tours of support facilities, live entertainment, flying demonstrations and lots of stalls selling goodies. The Air Force is trying to schedule a performance by Japan’s superb air demonstration team, the Blue Impulse, but at press time final arrangements had not been confirmed.
For all practical purposes, Yokota will be closed to traffic during the open house, so don’t even think of driving. Base officials strongly encourage visitors to use public transport, particularly the trains. Those in Yokosuka, Yokohama and Tokyo can get to Yokota by catching a Chuo Line train from track 6 at Shinjuku Station on Tokyo’s Yamanote Line. Ride to Tachikawa, then transfer to an Ome Line train leaving from track 2 or 3. There probably won’t be any cabs available at Fussa Station, so just follow the crowd to the base.
You should also start planning now if you want to see September’s Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo. This will be the final basho of the year in Tokyo’s Kokugikan (National Sumo Arena), and promises to be exceptionally exciting. Grand Champion Chiyonofuji, third winningest sumotori in history, will try to maintain his record of never having lost a tournament in the new Kokulikan. Meanwhile, John Tenta (known as Kototenta) should send a few chills through the ranks of spectators, as this Vancouver, British Columbia, native threatens to storm the upper division.
Tickets for Tokyo tournaments are very hard to get, so don’t expect simply to arrive at the gates and get in. The New Sanno Information Desk is taking reservations for the tournament beginning August 1. Call 229-7200 for details.
Elsewhere in Japan in August , a number of other festivals and celebrations are scheduled to take place. At Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture, the Tanabata or Star Festival is held from August 6 to August 8, a month later than in most parts of the country. In the largest festival of its kind in Japan, the city is decorated with colored paper streamers and strips.
The Awa Odori will be celebrated at Tokushima from August 15 to August 18. The entire city will burst with singing and dancing as musicians in fancy dress parade through the streets.
The Lantern Festival of Suwa Shrine, at Isshiki near Nagoya, will be held over August 26 and 27. In the evening, great paper lanterns, painted with colorful designs, are lighted in the shrine compound.
Kamakura’s Great Buddha
Kamakura, immediately south of Tokyo, was Japan’s capital for 141 years, beginning in 1192 when Yoritomo Minamoto established his shogunate there. During this time, Kamakura reached a high level of prosperity, but this dimmed as Minamoto’s power passed into the hands of the Hojo family, whose leaders acted as regents.
Today, historic Kamakura boasts a large number of ancient Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and artistic treasures that recall its days of glory. It is also blessed with a fine coastline and rustic wooded hills. There are no factories in the area and much of the city’s income stems from the tourist trade.
The two main attractions of Kamakura are the Temple of the Great Buddha, known as the Daibutsu, and the Hase Kannon Temple, famous for the 11-faced gilt image of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. One good way to get to both is to take the train to Hase Station and walk.
As you leave Hase Station, turn right onto the road. Walk to the first large intersection and turn left onto a fairly small road. This will take you to the Kannon Temple, inside of which is a wooden image 30 feet tall, the tallest work of its kind in Japan. The legend of Kannon goes back to the eighth century, during the reign of the Empress Gensho, when a Buddhist priest discovered a huge camphor tree.
He petitioned the empress, who dispatched two carvers to the priest to carve two Kannons of equal size. One was enshrined at the site where the tree was found. The other was specially treated, consecrated and cast into the sea to decide her own destination. After floating eastward for 300 miles and 15 years, the carving came to rest on the beach near Kamakura, where the Hase temple was constructed to enshrine her.
Return to the main street and turn left. After walking for about 300 yards, you will see an entrance to a temple on your right. This is the famous Temple of the Great Buddha. The Daibutsu was cast in bronze in 1252, is 44 feet high and weighs almost 130 tons. It is the largest uncovered bronze statue in Japan; the Buddha at Nara is larger but enclosed.
In 1495, the building that originally covered the Kamakura Daibutsu was destroyed by a tidal wave. The image has stood uncovered ever since. For a small sum, you can climb inside the Buddha and look around. Remember, though, that the Daibutsu is a holy figure and should be approached with reverence.
Teleguide in English
During a time when mass communication is playing an increasingly greater role in every society, a new form of “media” has been developed in Japan. Inaugurated in May last year, the Teleguide service exists to provide information about events and facilities in Tokyo using computer terminals situated on street corners.
Designed to be easy to understand and master via the keyboard, the machine displays reference information on such subjects as news, sports briefs, restaurant suggestions, hotels and entertainment. There are now 143 terminals in 97 downtown Tokyo locations, including several hotel lobbies.
The first heading under the Main Index is “Authentic Japan,” which lists venues for viewing the traditional arts and sports, such as Noh and Kabuki theater, the tea ceremony, karate and sumo wrestling matches and many others. “Tokyo’s Nightlife Has It All” summarizes the popular nightspots in Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Askasaka and Roppongi.