Danjiri Matsuri

I went with these two jokers, and Heather (not pictured)

Hi! It’s been a while! This is mostly due to midterms week being next week and also me settling into a more boring routine than what has been previously broadcast. Anyways, today I went to a danjiri festival in Osaka.

The circle is a drum someone sits inside with and beats

The Danjiri matsuri was all sorts of epic awesome. We went to two shrines, the first where I received an onmamroi (good luck charm) for safe driving (though I’m thinking of having it always on my person when I’m on the harrowing streets of Japan) and I got to take lots of pictures, which were ruined by the low lighting, my lack of flash, and the constant drizzle.

We also got to slip away from the group for a short time to find our own dinner. I found a lovely family restaurant which had the most delicious miso soup I could eat. In addition to that, I had a fried chicken (karage) bento box. Again, this was some of the best food I’ve eaten here (including some of Okaasan’s!) and I can only wait to bring more people back to try more of the menu.

Seriously, the broth was  mind-blowing

Here’s the thing about Japanese festivals (matsuri)—they’re pretty darn awesome. I mean, it’s like a mini state fair or something. There were ring tosses, cotton candy, and even grilled things on a stick (which were delicious).

Goldfish catching game

 

Some of the stalls

Ring toss!

HAVE I SAID HOW MUCH I LOVE FESTIVALS, YET? 'CAUSE I REALLY DO!

Dancing Dragon Dude

The main shrine (last two pictures above) we visited was next to Korea town and had some really fun booths and stalls (see above). Unfortunately, the matsuri had a ton of rain, so the danjiri was covered in plastic bags, but it was still excellent, despite the water dripping down my back. The danjiri traveled across the town (even passing the restaurant we were having dinner at) and made a stop at the shrine where someone got on top of the slippery, plastic-covered roof to dance a dance that, according to my poor translation of an old man talking to me, was supposed to imitate a dragon but also looked like a cat. Thanks to the marvels of modern technology (and my cell phone), I managed to get some video of the event, even if it is of slightly poor quality. In the video, the music just sounds like noise, but standing in the rain, listening to the beat of the gong in addition to the beat of the rain just sounded to me like the heartbeat of the matsuri. I couldn't stop the silly grin from sprawling across my face. There's this vivid sense of community you get while watching this. I couldn't find anyone in a bad mood; everyone was laughing or smiling.

And then it was time to be off! Everyone grabbed their ropes and hauled the danjiri off to more parts of town. And then it really started to pour.

Guy in the danjiri--one of the musicians (gong, I believe)

After the danjiri left, I made a prayer at the temple, first paying, then ringing the bell...

...then praying

Eventually we got home. It just took two trains and a bus to do it. What a late night (though it would have been later if they hadn't canceled the main danjiri event due to rain!)!