Asakusa is considered by many to be Tokyo’s cultural and historical centre. I would agree with them if it wasn’t so hard to get to, but I think the reason it has this title is because of it’s many temples, shrines and traditional things going on. Last Sunday there was an annual festival there, and I thought I’d pop along in the evening to watch the climax of the festivities.
What I actually got to see was the back of a lot of people’s heads. The streets in Asakusa are quite thin, and there were literally millions of people there. It also got dark incredibly quickly, which made it very hard to take any photos.
It quickly became clear that I was not going to be taking any nice photos this evening. Partially because of the surprising lack of light, partly because I feared for my life.
Asakusa is a fantastic place, and considering it’s in the middle of Tokyo, it’s skyline is relatively unspoiled by skyscrapers. I have this coming Monday and Tuesday off from work, so who knows, I may just be able to sneak back there when it’s quieter and take some better photos.
The festival itself consisted of a load of people carrying a big wooden stand which was in turn carrying a box through the streets, whilst the police tried to hold back the mobs of fanatic supporters. I should point out now that when it comes to Japanese tradition, elderly people here turn into monsters. Old women were literally shoving me out of the way to get a better view, and I am in no way ashamed to say that they were a lot stronger than me. Fueled by their insatiable national pride, they were like miniature, well dressed bulldozers. Truly scary. Now I’ve seen them in action, it’s a miracle I survived our visit to the Emperor.
Anyway, I’m sorry about the length of this update, but it’s a miracle I survived the festival in the first place, so in a way you’re lucky you’re reading anything at all. You owe me for my survival, in fact. You can pay back this debt by sending money to me.
May 26th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
The “box” is called a Mikoshi, and is actually a small shrine. In the festival it is carried around the neighbourhood near the shrine it belongs too, and it weighs a bloody ton.
Usual programme is for your group to dress in the same clothes (as you can see in the photo navy blue with a red symbol on the back, can’t read it without seeing the rest) and carry the Mikoshi with pre-decided rest points where the Mikoshi is carefully put onto a stand, while you get drunk, or have a snack, which is usually provided by shops in the area. By the end of a day of doing that you are usually pretty tired, sweaty and drunk, but you get to know everyone (being jammed between people really does bring you closer together…) and its pretty fun.
I’ll stick some stuff on my blog later, got some photos last week I forgot about.