Soma-Nomaoi


Last weekend I yet again visited Fukushima prefecture as a volunteer. However, this time was slightly different than previous trips to Fukushima prefecture, as it wasn’t so much about volunteering, rather a trip to get to know the city of Minamisoma. There are still people who are living uncertain lives in temporary housing, so we didn’t go all the way up to Minamisoma just to have fun. On the first day of our 2 day trip, we had another get together with those in temporary housing. We listened to their stories and did what we could to give them encouragement.

The city of Minamisoma is not a major city. Having said that, every year a famous festival known as the Soma-Nomaoi takes place there. I don’t know about any of the other volunteers, but even though I’d been to the city of Minamisoma a number of times, I know very little about the history and whatnot of the city itself. This time volunteer efforts were deliberately arranged on a weekend when the Soma-Nomaoi festival itself was being held. This is a festival that apparently takes place over the course of 3 days, and our volunteer group got to see the events held on Sunday, the second day of the event. The festival centers around many of the people in Minamisoma dressing up in samurai costumes and riding horses. I thought it was rather neat, and made me wish I could go and see what life was like in the Edo period.


“The Soma-Nomaoi is said to have its origins in the early 10th Century when samurai warriors of this land secretly commenced their military exercises.” (taken from the Soma-Nomaoi website). This is a festival (that I didn’t realize at the time) has quite a rich history behind it. It was the first time I saw this festival, and it was quite a lot of fun. I hope that I can go back and see the Soma-Nomai festival again some day.




At the start of the festival, a few people riding horses come into some of the residents houses of those dressed in a samurai costume and yell words (I'm sure) in order to get pumped up about the days events.




The first event (pictured below) features those riding horses going off to the horse track in where the main events are to be held. This line of samurai riding horses goes on for about 2 hours, and those take part all seem to be in order of corps (i.e. the Odaka corps/group and so on).


There were a number of kids who were also riding horses, cute!



I don't know a lot about the history of Japan, but I'm sure (pictured below) these are the most notable people out of all of those that take part in this festival. If I remember correctly, I think the announcement mentioned something about a relationship to this girl and Himiko, a princess (or was she a god?) who comes up in Japanese history who no one is sure actually existed. 


A horse shaped toilet. Perfect for a horse track.


At the horse track itself, the 2 major events of the Soma-Nomaoi festival take place. A horse race takes place, along with an event where those riding horses try to catch flags that have been shot up into the air. As you can imagine, it's utter chaos.


Fukushima prefecture is surrounded by mountains, it's a rather beautiful place.



You need to be careful when viewing this festival, seeing as some of the horses will break away a start running around the track on their own. There's nothing to do but wait until the horse (or horses) run out of steam.


The winners of the horse races and those that are able to catch any of the flags run up a zig-zag like hill. Maybe it's a way of saying "I won! Everybody look at me!" and showing off.


I quite enjoy festivals in Japan, so if there are any others that you think might be worth seeing, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know.

コメント

コメントを投稿

このブログの人気の投稿

The Hokuriku Region

イメージ
Japanese people are ever so stylish. It seems as if many people around the world too find Japanese people to be stylish. Having lived in Japan for about 5 years now, I’ve noticed how good Japanese people are at matching clothes and always looking well dressed. Even if they're clothes from the Japanese clothing store UNIQLO , which one might call the Japanese GAP or OLD NAVY (now with stores popping up all over the world), Japanese people are very good at coordinating the clothing they wear and making themselves look fashionable. Even when just hanging out with a friend, Japanese people take care in what they wear on a daily basis, always look smart and in clothing that suits them. I’m influenced by all of the stylish Japanese people around me and have started to make more of an effort to dress more stylish, and make more of an effort to wear clothes that suit me. But what’s stylish in Japan is not just what people wear. In Japan, buildings are also rather stylish. For those wh
続きを読む

The city of Chofu

イメージ
Originally coming from (as far as I’m aware) Japanese folklore, Japan has what are known as 妖怪 ( yokai ). If you’ve ever read any posts on my facebook , twitter , instagram , or read any other blogs I’ve written then you may have heard about yokai . Yokai are often referred to as Japanese monsters, but seeing as the most famous Japanese monster Godzilla isn’t a yokai , and seeing as there are many yokai that take the shape of humans, animals, and even inanimate objects, explaining yokai as a Japanese monster isn’t 100% correct. For those wanting to learn more about yokai I highly   recommending watching this Japanology Plus episode about yokai , I also recommend reading this book about yokai,  written by translator Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt .   Japanese cartoons, known in Japanese as アニメ ( anime ), which is an abbreviation of the word アニメーション (animation), are incredibly popular all over the world. Many people come to Japan each year because of their interest in these ca
続きを読む

Mt. Takao

イメージ
For those of you from Tokyo, I have no doubt that you’ve visited the city of Hachioji. There isn’t really much to do in Hachioji, so I have no doubt that not so many people from Tokyo have gone sightseeing there. However, what the city of Hachioji does have is Mt. Takao , measuring at 599 meters tall. It’s a very easy mountain to climb and there’s lots of delicious food that can be enjoyed along the way there. Because of this, many people climb it each year. I’ve hear it somewhere, but Mt. Takao is apparently the most climbed mountain in the entire world. Anyway, Mt. Takao is famous for soba, but it doesn’t stop there, there’s also a type of miso soup with nameko mushrooms in it known as なめこ汁 ( nameko jiru ) as well as 三福団子 ( mitsu fuku dango ) , a type of boiled or steamed balls of (rice) flour. It’s not just at the top of the mountain, but you can enjoy a number of foods as you climb up the mountain. Last year an acquaintance of mine from one of the many volunteer trips I’
続きを読む