hello everybody, today i will finalize the chronicle of the Japanese festival, Matsuri, by this blog. it’s already mid November, and the fianl exam is coming; Cannot believe only one month left for staying in Japan. since all geoblogers are taking their final exams on foreign countries, “がんばってください、gan-bat-te-gu-da-sa-i.” which means cheer up. In order to prepare for my final exam of the Japnese Reoligion class, i decided organize what i have studied and learned by writing what i have on my head regarding the Japanese religion. Since i wrote several blogs about Japanese festivals, the Matsuri, I will finalize talking and analyzing the matsuri with this article, and introduce new topic on next week. I have a culture background of Korea and America. I moved to US when I was 16 years old, so I know a lot of both cultures. I will compare Korea, US, and Japan and point out a religious relativities of each country with cultural events and festivals.
Obon, Sakura, Gyon, and Hima matsuri; there are innumerable festivals that you could experience during the fall of Japan. You will be immediately attracted to the visual power of the matsuri. Though many countries have each own festival customs, there is something special about the Japanese matsuri. Compare to Korean and American festival, there are big uniqueness and interesting features about the Japanese matsuri. Japanese focuses on tradition, Korean focuses on entertainment, and American focuses on excitement. I will introduce each country’s festival with aspects of religious and characteristic emphasis.
Fall is the season for Japanese to celebrate their cultural identities by holding a matsuri. Matsuri sets the stage for annual traditions of spectacle ceremonies all over the Japan. Matsuri takes place in or near the shrine. Festivals are composed with music, crowds, and shows; the rhythmic music, procession, and dancing makes the matsuri more enjoyable. The symbolisms of the traditional Japanese events capture tourists’ eyes and make them to revisit later on. Though some matsuri are only holds for one day, most of them continue for 2~3 days. Japanese matsuri is religious purification based ritual, they are held annually for the admiration of the god, temples, and shrines, or to commemorate the historical and seasonal events. The reason why there are ghosts, demons, and warriors in the matsuri is that to celebrate a victory of an ancient battle with chaos. And the reason for the first start of the Kyoto’s Gyon matsuri is that to celebrate the ending of epidemics. Both reasons are to celebrate the gladness of surviving. Matsuri also includes meaning of seasonal rites and Buddhist religious faith. Matsuri is the ritual function of the worship. It provides opportunities to wish for happiness and joy. Japanese prays to the god or the spirits for staying out of illness, ensuring a bountiful harvest, and wellbeing for ancestors’ spirits. When the living was difficult in the ancient period, well-being was everything for the one family. And Japanese prayed to the god for the mercy, which they believed the god, “Kami,” will look after the family. Also matsuri is used for the public entertainment to drink, enjoy, manage, socialize, and reaffirm the communal bond. The matsuri is supported by the shrine or the temple. Almost every shrine has its own way of celebrating and holding matsuri, so guests could observe different characteristics on every each matsuri that they visits on Japan. While some festivals are calm and meditating, some are excited, loud, and lively. On each festival you can feel the enjoyable different point of viewing experience. Foreign or domestic visitors are always welcomed, and their interests propel the local people to exceed to the next level. Only by enjoying and experiencing the matsuri, local people will appreciate the visitation. However, there are always some people who do not greet or annoys the foreign visitors. Be careful for their unkindness. The most unique aspect of the Japanese matsuri is the preservation. Compare to other countries around the world, Japanese kept the ancient practice and traditional custom until now. While society strives for changes and technologic revolutions, Japanese preserved the uninterrupted historical religious traditions from fast changing world.
I have been to two matsuri which are Kyoto Gyon matsuri on July and Nagoya matsuri on October. Gyon is the names of the biggest shrine next to the Kyoto station. Gyon matsuri was started on the base of the Shinto faith on 8th century to appease the Kami for the ending of plagues. Kyoto suffered on many occasions, such as epidemics, floods, fires, and earthquakes. Kyoto people started the Gion matsuri to relief and protect themselves from the angry evil spirits. The most outstanding features of the Gyon matsuri were processions and floats. Gyon matsuri is famous for the procession with men pulling the enormous floats. The floats have each different theme and are pulled through the town during the matsuri, and it was astonishing to see the size of 6th floor building moving around. When the floats are stopped on the center of the Kyoto city on July 17th, the main day for the matsuri, you are allowed to enter the float to see the inside and touch the bell on the top floor. However, females are not allowed in the floats because of the religious reasons. Also a selected local boy seats on the very front of the many floats to describe the divine messenger. Even today, you can see the matsuri continues to practice ancient traditional and religious believes.
Likewise, in Korea there are as much festivals all around the country as Japan. However, most of Korean festivals are recently established for entertainment. Only 10% of all the festivals are 500 years or older. Old festivals were mainly to pray, and provide safe passage for spirits of ancestors for returning home. On ancient period, Korean believed the spirits of ancestors comes back to home twice a year on the New-years day, and the Korean Thanksgiving day. Agriculture and myths plays big role in the Korean religious traditional festival. Especially, Korean myths are really interesting and long. Some traditional festivals are based on the belief of that the myths are true. New born festivals are made for the attraction of tourists and the young to increase local products reputation. To invite more visitors, some festivals even call famous celebrities to advertise the city, and perform on the stage.
To compare Japanese and Korean festival, I would like to point out two main themes. First, Japanese is shrine and worship focused, while Korean is food and modern arts focused. Japanese matsuri opens near shrine and enacts by Kami and shrine’s theme. In Korean festival, they concentrate on selling local agricultural products, and introduce modern arts. While Japanese shows relic of ancient times, Korean displays modern painting and art works. Secondly, in Korea, interesting new festivals are constantly forming, and unknown festivals are disappearing. For example, Mud festival, Red Me Seoul festival, and Chicken & Beer festival are newly risen famous festivals. Mud festival is playing on the mud. Red Me Seoul is a coloring red paint battle with anybody in the festival. Chicken & Beer is just continuously eating chicken and drinking beer on the festival. As you can see, Korea recently focuses the theme only for an entertainment.
On US, they do not have festival which looks like matsuri. US neither have old history nor ancient religious traditions. As united means, US are combination of populations with different cultural backgrounds. US celebrates Hanukkah for Jewish, and Saint’ Patrick’s day for Irish. However, in some cities, they do have such thing called farmers’ market. Farmer’s market is rural living people coming to cities to sell their fresh crops, hand-made foods, and piece of arts. They dresses up as middle-age Europe style looking clothes, and sometime performs a traditional dance. But no religious cultural believes behind. US neither have religious reverence tradition of worshiping spiritual god nor traditional ancient food to share. They rather have big museums to display arts, and community gatherings to fulfill socializing. US also perform a lot of concerts for an excitement. On US’s perspective, Korean and Japanese local festival is envious religious tradition.
Matsuri or festival are usually started from or reflects own country’s religious traditional backgrounds. I believe that the festival’s natural differences are results of historical, geographical, cultural, and ethnical characteristic dissimilarities. Every nation experienced different historical incidences till now, so they possess different historical reflected hearts. Japan and Korean has very different historical backgrounds, and the historical characteristic is smudging off on modern cultural perspectives. Depends on what the geographic looking of the country is the nation’s peculiarity changes. If the country is as big as US, it is harder to socialize with neighbor. But if the country is small like Korea or Japan, it is easier to gather around with a local people, and plan a city festival. Small geographic area with large population increases a feeling of belongingness and solidarity. Cultural aspect is what we have seen while growing up. Since we were kids, Japanese and Korean saw and acknowledged different cultural and religious experiences. So having festival or community engagement is common, but not in US. I think ethnicity also plays a role. Asians are smaller than Caucasians or Africans. So Asians are fonder to make a bond or cooperate and collaborate with people around. The uniqueness of certain cultures is natural and should be respected. Japanese are outperforming on keeping their ancient religious traditions by reflecting and preserving the religious believes in the matsuri.
We can easily find Japanese ancient religious traditions melted in the way of how Japanese lives or in matsuri. Even though, many countries has their own customs of festivals; innumerous numbers of festivals around Japan, well preserved religious traditions, and marvelous size of the matsuri are the uniqueness of Japanese festival that only Japan could represents. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “If you want to see Rome, go to Rome, not a museum on Paris.” Matsuri is the total combination of the Japanese religious and traditional culture. Experience it. If not, you will not able to understand Japanese ancient religious traditional cultures.
Thank you very much for reading this long article, which i spent a lot of times. It has beomce little bit longer than expected, since i had a lot of thing which wanted to say. Thank you very much again, and see you on next week.
Location: Nagoya, Nanzan University, Japan
