Festivals of Japan: Where the samurai age is brought back to life

Festivals of Japan: Where the samurai age is brought back to life

The Asahi Shimbun
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Here's a chance to step back into the past and revel in the mysteries
of old Japan.

Four centuries after his death, the spirit of warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu
still draws visitors to the fabulously ornate Nikko Toshogu shrine in
Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. In fact, the sense of history can be
almost overwhelming-with enactments of the samurai period associated
with Ieyasu (1542-1616) and the shogunate set up in his family name.

The remains of the founder of Edo, modern Tokyo, are enshrined at
Toshogu, which every year organizes spectacular parades re-enacting
rites of old Japan.

This tops the list of must-see events. The climax comes when more
than 1,000 local people in period costume parade down avenues graced
with huge pine trees. As many as 53 groups are represented, including
fully armored warriors from the days of old, as well as shrine
maidens and others dressed as lions to guard against evil.

It is called Sennin Musha Gyoretsu, literally procession of 1,000
warriors. It is said to re-enact a procession in 1617 when Ieyasu's
followers transported his remains to the newly built Nikko shrine
from the Kunozan mountain in Shizuoka Prefecture, where they had been
temporarily enshrined.

At the head of the procession is a portable shrine that is said to
honor Ieyasu's spirit. The procession makes its way from the shrine
down a narrow street for about 1 kilometer and then heads back.

Another day trip out of Tokyo that features warriors is the
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine's Reitaisai festival in the old capital
of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture.

This is really something. It features yabusame, where mounted archers
fire arrows at three stationary targets while riding at full gallop
along a fenced-off 254-meter narrow strip of dirt.

Be warned, the crowds will be huge.

It is said this ritual was initiated by Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-
1199), founder of the Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333), in hopes to
bringing lasting peace to the warring states.

Historical figures such as the warlord Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-
1189) are also featured in the summer and autumn festivals of Sawara,
Chiba Prefecture.

They feature elaborately decorated floats with 4-meter dolls of
figures from Japan's ancient past. The dolls, each representing one
of 14 local communities, are paraded around the city, which is noted
for its buildings dating from the Edo Period (1603-1867).

* * *

*The Sennin Musha Gyoretsu is held Oct. 16-17 at the Nikko Toshogu
shrine in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. Nikko Station is on the JR or
Tobu lines. The venue is a 10-minute walk from the Shinkyo bus stop.

*The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine festival is held Sept. 14-16 in
Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. The shrine is a 10-minute walk from JR
Kamakura Station, an hour's train ride from Tokyo Station on the JR
Yokosuka Line.

*The fall Sawara Festival in Sawara, Chiba Prefecture, is held Oct. 8-
10. The summer festival is held July 16-18. Both events are held near
the Onogawa river, a 10-minute walk from JR Sawara Station.
(IHT/Asahi: July 20,2004) (07/20)