Thursday, September 1, 2011

夏祭り(Summer Festivals)


The food.  The arts.  The crafts.  The music.  The dancing.  The parades. 

I always have loved going to outdoor festivals.  Back at home, my top three festivals are: The Minnesota State Fair, the Minnesota Renaissance festival and the Bayfield Applefest.  Especially the Applefest.  There is nothing better then a crisp, lovely Autumn day next to Lake Superior, filled with apples, apple cider, apple pie (with cinnamon ice cream!), apple brats…apple anything!

Hold on.  I need to stop that.  I need to keep the homesickness at bay and focus on where I am. 

Japan.  Festivals.  The two are practically synonyms.  Almost every weekend, there is a festival somewhere in this country.  Summer festivals are in their own personal category. 

Because of the Japanese summer heat, many people wear yukata-summer kimono.  Wearing traditional garb to festivals is a very popular practice in Japan.  The typical kimono is simply far to complex and heavy to wear during the summer, so the light summer version is worn-the yukata. 

We attended two festivals this summer.  The first one was in our own town.  It was back in July.  A festival to celebrate two star lovers called 七夕 (Tanabata). 

But that deserves a post all to itself.  More to come!

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2 comments:

  1. Do you have a kimono yet?

    I would love one and a pair of the stilty sandals.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No...not yet! They are crazy expensive, yo.

    ReplyDelete