Sunday, August 10, 2008

Niigata Matsuri-Day 2

Niigata Matsuri-Day 2.

I went to experience the cultural event, Shimin-Mikoshi at Furumachi. Briefly, mikoshi is a portable shinto shrine and used as a transport to move Japanese gods.

This mysterious group of girls were preceeding the mikoshis. They walked slowly in a zig zag pattern following the rythm made by the chimes of their staffs.

Then came the mikoshi. The mikoshi was carried by many people on their shoulders. They moved slowly, pushing the mikoshi up and down while crying 'wasshoi washhoi'.

They were many different kinds of mikoshi. This one really resembled shinto shrine with phoenix on top.

Somebody would stand on top front of mikoshi probably for giving moral support

The young lady seemed happy while the carriers were in pain. Check the guy on the bottom left.

The heat from the summer sun and the weight of the mikoshi really affected it carriers

Some of them were like in the verge of unconsciousness. Later, I found out some of them drank beers during break time, maybe that why.

Several mikoshis in a row. It was like a riot. Totally awesome. I wanted to sneak into the crowd but it was impossible. See the policeman?

On the way home, I came across this group of kids playing Taiko. They were incredibly superb.

13 comments:

rin-chan 린- 찬 said...

the carrier guys (pic 5 and 7) really looked like they're in pain hahah.. probably tipsy as well. poor fellows. nice pics by the way.

Lab papa said...

Rin-chan,

They sure did. Da yg mcm kena sampuk lagi bah, bikin takut, yg tu kalo pakai zoom lens berani la ambik hehehe, takut kana makan wo hahah

Shemah said...

dui nahh!! Bestnyaaaa!! I wish I was there.. I love love love cultural shows and parades like this!! Wish I was there!! :)

Lab papa said...

Hi shemah,

Ble bah, hope Air Asia cepat buat route p sini. Ble dapat murah sikit kan

KaDusMama said...

wow!! makin hebat pulak the parade kan..
those mikoshis carriers memang look setengah mati keberatan lah..hahah nasib ada minum beer, kalau nda, nah habis lah tidak teangkat...

Lab papa said...

Kadusmama,
Ya, begitu hangat. Ala mo kena minum beer ka? bagus minum tu livita huhuhu.

Hombidai said...

bab kena sampuk2 ni mcm sudah mix cultural & religious festival kan lab papa? ya kah?

or kena 'sampuk' oleh 'tuan beer' hehehe..

Poppet said...

now that's more like it... baru nmpk yg muda2.. mungkin begitulah dia punya tradisikan.. bagi chance yg veteran2 dulu lepas tu baru yg muda2 sampailah ke budak2.
I think di sabahpun ada juga begini kan, yg angkat tu patung (i dont know the name) dulu masa kecik2 mcm setiap tahun dorang ada buat.. selalu limpas di depan rumah kami dulu masa di kg.. nmpk tu org2 mengangkat inda tentu jalan mcm keberatan betul dgn gendang2 mengiringi.

Lab papa said...

Hombi,
Sa rasa kena sampuk beer hahah, tia berani gambar dekat nanti kena makan hahah

Poppet,
Ada ka di Sabah? apa punya festival tu? Bole buat coverage la poppet di blog nanti hahaha

whimsical said...

Eeeh Labpapa bikin takut o. Mcm yg I terjumpa di beaufort dulu, ada perarakan the chinese kasi jalan tapikung. kadang-kadang ada peserta pandai bergegar-gegar badan (in trance) lagi kan.bah...mesti u ask ur wife baca doa doa di telinga baby u, kasi kuat semangat baby u.kuat kali semangat org jepun ni!

Lab papa said...

Hi Whimsi,

Wa, sa ingat kavadi saja ada ni begagar2 nanti balik mo explore banyak oh

BTW, sa tia bawa my wife and baby, panas, ramai org dan takut juga tu kana sampuk hahaha

JPP Papa said...

minum beer on the break? wah la weiii.... hebat diaorang ni. Maybe they wanted to feel the high so couldn't feel the pain and agony of carrying the thing. Kesian juga ya.

Yep, one of many countries I wanna visit is Japan... but probably to race my nitro car there and meet the legendary Masami Hirosaka. 11th world championship. Untouchable in the electric powered rc car. Just for info tu :D

PapaJoneh Hiding Place!

Lab papa said...

PapaJ,

Ya, moginum bah derang. Patut la paning2 masa angkat.

Tq for the info. Ada kawan sa yg minat gila sama ni RC. Sa cukup la dengan kamera, kalo sa tambah lagi pengsan bini sa hahahah