Photographs from a small group of islands
After an admittedly long wait, this priest’s prayers have been answered, and the official end of rainy season was announced yesterday. But that said, he’d better hold on to his umbrella, or at least make another call, as more rain is forecast — both today and tomorrow.
During way too many hours of the day, getting on and off Tokyo’s trains can be akin to (relatively) well-mannered mayhem, although at the same time, the obvious emotional stress of such journeys is somehow kept very much in check.
When it comes to traditional festivals, however, there are moments when it really is mayhem, and for once, emotions are thankfully very much to the fore.
The first time I saw a wedding at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, I marvelled at its timelessness, not to mention the elaborate outfits and graceful movements of the procession. A special moment I considered myself very lucky to witness.
But on each subsequent visit, I saw more and more weddings. Sometimes two or three in quick succession. Plus a fairly recent look at a (regular?) weekend schedule detailed what appeared to be a staggering sixteen ceremonies in a single day.
Yet despite knowing this. And having seen so many. The beauty of each and every one hasn’t dimmed in the slightest.
Japanese fertility festivals aren’t necessarily for the faint of heart, but what they definitely are is fun; good-natured bawdiness that remarkably never seems to slip into sleaziness.
What these events also do is effortlessly mix the traditional, with the not so traditional, such as the standard happi coat and a rather less conventional penis costume. A contrast that is clear to see, although what kind of conversations it conjures up is pure — and possibly puerile — conjecture.
For a multitude of reasons, these may well be uncertain times that we live in. But, at a traditional Omiyamairi ceremony, such concerns can fortunately be cast aside, with the little ‘un’s future health and happiness the only focus.
