Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Gion Matsuri / 祇園祭


 Though I enjoy it when people, especially family, come to visit, I occasionally have trouble when showing them around Kyoto and Seika. By this point I have seen pretty much every famous temple, shrine and sushi bar this side of Osaka. So while my guests are all in awe of the beautiful Japanese architecture and culture, I’m wondering where the nearest all you can eat place is. However, this past week, my mother was kind enough to come when one of Japan’s biggest festivals, Gion Matsuri, was being held. As I’ve never been, this seemed like a good chance for both of us to see something entirely new.

 
 京都府で住みはじめたときから、友だちや家族がよく遊びにきます。京都府の寺や神社などの日本文化の遺産は世界中に知られているので、日本人の友だちや家族が私と会うためだけでなく、京都の有名な所にも案内してもらおうと来ます。ただし、最近案内することはちょっと大変になりました。それは、もう一年間京都府で住んでいましたし、色々な人を案内したので、最も有名な寺や神社を全部何回も見ました。だから、その友だちは凄く感動しても、何回も見た私にとって、そういう初めての感動はもう感じません。でも、先週母親が来てくれていた間に、知らない日本人に一人もいない祇園祭が開催されていたので、久しぶりにすごくワクワクしました。

 The festival was started in the 800s, when a terrible plague was devastating Kyoto. Deciding that the gods were miffed about something, the emperor decreed that 66 halberds, one for each prefecture, be raised at Yasuka Shrine in the Gion district to appease the gods. This practice was repeated every time a plague hit, and the festival became a yearly event in 970. Over time Gion Matsuri gradually changed into a kind of parade, where portable shrines were carried throughout the town.
 祇園祭は千年以上の歴史があります。800年代に、京都市でひどい疫病が流行していましたので、神様を鎮めて疫病を退散してもらうように天皇は八坂神社で当時の日本列島内の国の数66ヵにちなんで国矛を66本立てました。その時から、京都市で疫病が発生するたびに矛を立てまして、970年から毎年の行事になりました。時間がたち、矛を立てる習慣がなくなりましたが、現在の山鉾巡行の形になりました。

 Gion Matsuri lasts the entire month of July, and has more events than you can shake a stick at. The most popular and famous has to be Yamaboko parade, a parade featuring giant floats known as Yamaboko that goes down on the 17th of July. The Yamaboko floats(technically two distinct styles, one called yama and one called hoko) can be huge, towering over 25 meters and weighing in at near 12 tons and requiring a team of near 50 men to pull them. All the floats are decorated with beautiful tapestries, some woven in areas like Persia, Belgium and Turkery.

 祇園祭は71日から31日まで開催されていますので、本当に数え切れないほど行事があります。一番有名なのは717日に行なわれる山鉾巡行です。山鉾というのは、2種類の山車(山と鉾)なんです。そして、鉾の山車は昔立てた矛を代表し、息をのむほど大きいです。高さ25メートルで、重さ10000キロ以上で、50人に引っ張られています。

 However, as Mom and I found out, the three days leading up to the parade are a blast too, and in some respects, the real “festival” part of Gion Matsuri. The floats are set out for people to see and even go into, and thousands of people wander up and down the streets of Kyoto. Food vendors open up and start selling friend chicken, pineapple, and nearly every corner had someone hawking cold drinks and beer. Almost every girl was decked out in her yukata, and it was clear that the Japanese folks were getting just as much fun having a “Kyoto” experience as my mom and I were.
 さらに、山鉾巡行の前の3日間も魅力があります。それぞれよいよいよいやま、よいよいやま、よいやまと呼ばれている3日間で、巡行に出る山鉾は道に置いてあり、柔らかな光を出している灯がついてます。人々は山鉾を間近で見れますが、入ってみることができる山鉾もあります。屋台が出て商人たちはたこ焼やから揚げなどを売り出しますが、各街角で冷たいお茶やビールを売っていました。何万人もの人が京都市の道を埋めていましたが、洋服より浴衣を着ていた人のほうが多そうでした。確かに、「京都」や「日本」的な感じを楽しんでいたのは僕とお母さんだけではありませんでした。

 The parade itself was quite something, if just for the fact that the guys pulling the floats didn’t pass out from heat stroke. The sidewalks were packed with people and despite the fact that progression of the floats was slow (you wouldn’t move fast if you were dragging 12 tons either), watching the huge floats moving through the city was kind of like seeing ships sailing through the city streets. Musicians followed every float, and some had dancers or performers following along, swinging staffs or hopping around.
 山鉾巡行も見事でしたが、その何十メートルの高さがある山鉾の漸進を見ると、ビルが船になったようでした。たしかに山鉾に乗ったり、音楽をひいたりするのは楽しそうでしたが、一番尊敬していたのは引っ張っていた男たちでした。重い物を持ち上げるのが大好きな私でも、その10,000キロ以上がある山鉾を朝から夜までしゃく熱の道で引っ張ったら、イエス様と会う機会をもらうと思います。
 
Gion Matsuri was exciting not only because we got to watch huge floats rolling down the city streets, but also because I got to show it to my mother, and be just as excited as she was about it. Hopefully it’ll be just as fun next year.

 もちろん母親が滞在期間色々なところに案内しましたが、一番印象を与えたのは祇園祭でした。それは、お母さんと一緒に、そして同じほど楽しめましたからです。

1 comment:

  1. Hello Kai,

    I'm an American speaking intermediate Japanese at the moment, and Japan is in my plans next spring.

    I will be 18 next year, which means that I will most likely be moving abroad away from home soon. There are many reasons for that, but I won't bother you with my family story, haha.

    I recently came across Seika Town online, while browsing for potential destinations on my trip next year and potential places to live in the future. Seika seems absolutely perfect, the perfect balance of urban and rural.

    Finding your blog was like divine intervention! Seika seems exceedingly foreigner-friendly, and seeing that someone else has successfully lived there for an extended period of time only feeds my fire.

    Naturally, I have questions. And I'd like to hear it straight from a "native!"

    As an American who is seriously considering Seika as a place of residence for an unknown period of time, I would be delighted to have your blessing. That is to say, I'd like to exchange emails with you and see whether or not Seika would be a good match for me in the future.

    Linguist, artist, entrepeneur and gaming enthusiast,
    Annie

    ReplyDelete