Last week, the neighborhood started preparing for 鳥越祭り (Torigoe Matsuri), setting out 新鮮 (shinsen, offering) in front of the 浅三 (Asakusabashi san-chōme) mikoshi. When the weekend finally came, we put on our matsuri clothes and headed to the shrine.
This is Ayano’s first time participating in a local matsuri that required matsuri clothes, which we got in Nihonbashi for her last week, including matching pastel rainbow 帯 (obi, sash) for the both of us.
Then we did the next-most important thing: we bought some cheap shave ice from 屋台 (yatai, food stalls).
At 4pm, we met up with Daikichi when the local 神輿 (mikoshi, portable shrine) was paraded around our neighborhood.
Nikki was also there, perched up on a fence, playing じゃんけん (rock paper scissors) with me.
As the sun started to set, they lit the 提灯 (chochin, lanterns). That’s Nob (center-left in this photo) lighting the ones on the right side of the mikoshi.
Daikichi is attending junior high now, which means he doesn’t get to see his elementary school friends as often, so it was a nice reunion for them to carry the mikoshi together.
About an hour later, the local mikoshi paraded into and out of the shrine one-by-one, before returning to their individual neighborhoods.
The next morning, I woke up at 5am to the sound of 太鼓 (taiko, drums). And from 6:30am, my neighbors who were participating in carrying the shrine’s 4-ton mikoshi started lining up just outside my home, on my street!
Okay, okay!! I’m up! I quickly got ready and headed outside, where Nikki was leading the five-color flag parade ahead of the big mikoshi in a very stylish dusty-yellow hanten.
For the next 30 minutes, everyone took turns carrying it, until it was handed off to the next neighborhood. There are over 20 neighborhoods who participate! The procession started around 7am and ended around 9pm.
I receive a fair amount of gentle pressure to participate in this part, and while everyone looks like they’re having a good time, it looks a little stressful to me! Maybe next year.
It started to rain in the afternoon, all through the evening. That undoubtedly made it ちょっと大変 (chotto taihen, a little difficult). I’m sure everyone’s clothes were wet and heavier.
After 8pm, it went back and forth on the street in front of the shrine, and for the last segment, the local organizers carried it into the shrine. Nob is among them, and he is in this photo, though I couldn’t find him.
お疲れ様です！ (Thanks for your hard work!)
