Himeji Fall Festival

This past weekend I went to Himeji and stayed with a former student of my mom's. We had a great time. Saturday was the annual Fall Festival, where there are parades to the local Shinto shrine to give thanks for the years' harvest and to pray for another year of healthy crops. The festival has been going on for a very long time, and it is tradition that men wear mawashi, or sumo attire, which basically means...well, they are half-naked! There was a lot of energy and cheer, with the call-and-response from those parading. The men carried the very heavy omikoshi all the way to the front of the shrine. Inside the omikoshi, there are four men (or boys for the smaller ones), inside keeping rhythm with taiko drums. Oh, and before all this happens the junior high school kids get to hold hands and circle around the tall flags for each one of their areas of the city (each omikoshi represents a diferrent area as well). I know that probably wasn't the best explaination, so if you have questions, feel free to ask!


I tried to post a video unsuccessfully, so you just get pictures for now. I'll keep working on it!

Girls in their summer kimonos.

Drummer Boy all dressed up in traditional attire.

The shishi, or Buddhist/Shinto dragon, repels evil and is often seen in festivals.