Rampaging in Flames
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
After a two and a half month absence, I am back to the blogging. Two visits by friends on either side of a three-week trip to America destroyed my rhythm, such as it was.
I have a ton to catch up on, first being the Abare festival from early July, then followed by my climbing of Mount Fuji, visit to Matsumoto Castle, a travel snafu of epic proportions, four hours in Taipei, and a description of what it's like starting my second year here. Not sure about the timetable for all this, but it is a-comin'.
The Abare festival in rural Ishikawa is also known as the Fire and Violence festival. One night is for fire, the other violence. I was only able to get up for the violence, which also involved a fair amount of fire.
There are kiriko (floats) at Abare, but the main star of the second night is a reinforced portable shrine that is carried through the streets and periodically beaten up. Men roll it around and bash it into things, shouting rhythmically the whole time. Then they take it to one of the city's canals and jump in, maneuvering the shrine underneath what at first looked like a 20-foot corndog made of dry branches, but was, of course, a huge torch.
The men then proceed to pound the shrine into the base of the torch. Since it was made of loose pine branches, sparks and cinders started to rain down on the men, only in loincloths.
The men near the back of the formation were charged with continually splashing water on the backs of the men near the torch, so as to put out all the fire pouring down on them.
Eventually the torch was exhausted and the men climbed out of the canal, their backs marked by numerous burns despite the efforts of the water-splashers. They had a bit of a breather, then carried the shrine up a hill to the base of a permanent shrine in a grove of trees. There they ran around a bonfire and rolled the shrine through it.
I had a great time at Abare; I'm pretty sure everyone in the town was out celebrating. Just one more thing I'll miss dearly about this country.
More to come soon.
Read more...
I have a ton to catch up on, first being the Abare festival from early July, then followed by my climbing of Mount Fuji, visit to Matsumoto Castle, a travel snafu of epic proportions, four hours in Taipei, and a description of what it's like starting my second year here. Not sure about the timetable for all this, but it is a-comin'.
The Abare festival in rural Ishikawa is also known as the Fire and Violence festival. One night is for fire, the other violence. I was only able to get up for the violence, which also involved a fair amount of fire.
There are kiriko (floats) at Abare, but the main star of the second night is a reinforced portable shrine that is carried through the streets and periodically beaten up. Men roll it around and bash it into things, shouting rhythmically the whole time. Then they take it to one of the city's canals and jump in, maneuvering the shrine underneath what at first looked like a 20-foot corndog made of dry branches, but was, of course, a huge torch.
The men then proceed to pound the shrine into the base of the torch. Since it was made of loose pine branches, sparks and cinders started to rain down on the men, only in loincloths.
The men near the back of the formation were charged with continually splashing water on the backs of the men near the torch, so as to put out all the fire pouring down on them.
Eventually the torch was exhausted and the men climbed out of the canal, their backs marked by numerous burns despite the efforts of the water-splashers. They had a bit of a breather, then carried the shrine up a hill to the base of a permanent shrine in a grove of trees. There they ran around a bonfire and rolled the shrine through it.
I had a great time at Abare; I'm pretty sure everyone in the town was out celebrating. Just one more thing I'll miss dearly about this country.
More to come soon.
Read more...
