 The doll of an old hero and an old general, and God is decorated on a float. |
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 Floats of Ishioka and Tsuchiura |
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Last updated June 5,2004.  |
The doll of an old hero and an old general, and God is decorated on a float. |
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Floats of Ishioka and Tsuchiura |
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Last updated June 5,2004. |
Here we have some photos of the festival floats used in Tsuchiura City and Ishioka City in Ibaraki Pref.(some of the typical rural towns, about 70-80km north-east of Tokyo, the capital of Japan).
 The float is located in a line in order to meet a portale shrine. |
Ishioka Festival is held from on the third Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in September every year. The dates are decided to the date of the annual festival of 'sousya-goo', to which the festival is held in respect. You can enjoy 9 or 10 Dashi floats in the average. As for 'Shishimai' dances, it has a dozen to see. |
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| sousya-goo | The mikoshi with which God of sousya-goo has ridden. |
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| Lion dance. A lion mask is in the head of a float. There are about 30 floats of a lion dance in Ishioka. | Float. Dolls, such as God, a hero, and a general, are decorated on the top of a float. There are 14 floats in Ishioka. The doll which appears on the float of this picture is God of Japan called "Yamato Takeru no mikoto." This elaborate doll was made in 1896. People of a town save carefully. |
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Ishioka Bayashi
'O-hayashi' is a traditional festival music played with several types drums, cane or bamoo flutes, and a kind of percussion. Its tune is rather short and simple. It often repeats the same pattern. Basically, it is a sort of rhythm-centred improvisation, however, the rhythm sometimes chnges, within the same piece of music, from slow to fast and vice versa, according to excitement of the festival. It's just like a water flowing and stagnating in a valley. It is a must not only for float performance, but also for festival, and the one heard in a distance, carried by cool night breese on a humid summer night will surely to enchant you. Real Audio 3.0 or more will provide you Stream Play. (Real Audio) |
TSUCHIURA GION AND KIRARA FESTIVAL
 The float is located in a line in order to meet a portale shrine. |
'Tsuchiura Gion Matsuri' festival is held on the 4 days in the end of July every year, from Thursday to Sunday. The dates are decided to be close enough to the date of the annual festival of 'Yasaka Shrine, to which the festival is held in respect. The most spectacular is at the night of Saturday and Sunday. (Such festivals in Japan are usually held so as to show people's thank to the Shinto Gods for giving rich crops, calm weather, peace, etc. Most of them are had during summer or autumn. There are as many numbers of festivals that have relationships to 'Bhuddism', another major religion in the country.) 'Tsuchiura Kirara Matsuri'festival ('Matsuri' is a counterpart for 'festival' in Japanese) is held from the first Friday through the first Sunday in August every year. You can see the 'Dashi' floats on Sunday afternoons. You can enjoy 4 or 5 floats in 'Gion' Festivals, while in 'Tsuchiura Kirara' festival about 10 floats are available. |
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| 'Tsuchiura Yasaka Shrine', | The mikoshi with which God of Yasaka Shrine has ridden. |
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| If night comes, a float and a mikoshi will concentrate. People are wrapped in excitement. | The doll of"Susa no ono mikoto". It seems that it is alive. It is an old handicraft. |
OHAYASHI
'O-hayashi' is a traditional festival music played with several types drums, cane or bamoo flutes, and a kind of percussion. Its tune is rather short and simple. It often repeats the same pattern. Basically, it is a sort of rhythm-centred improvisation, however, the rhythm sometimes chnges, within the same piece of music, from slow to fast and vice versa, according to excitement of the festival. It's just like a water flowing and stagnating in a valley. It is a must not only for float performance, but also for festival, and the one heard in a distance, carried by cool night breese on a humid summer night will surely to enchant you.
Nimba (Ohayashi music) Yamato Bayashi (Real Audio)
| To | From | By | Time required |
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| Tsuchiura | Ueno | Ltd.express train | About 45 min |
| Ishioka | Ueno | Ltd.express train | About 60 min |
| To | From(via) | By | Time required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tsuchiura | Narita(via Abiko) | Local train | About 80 min |
| Ishioka | Narita(via Abiko) | Local train | About 100 min |
Traditional Events around Tsukuba
This page contains a lot of explanation in detail about 'Dashi' floats, 'Shishi-mai' performance (a dance with a lion-like mask, usually performed by one or two persons, alone or along with dashi floats), 'O-hayashi' music, etc.
The Jinja Shinto (The Shrine Shinto)Jinja (or Shrine)
Schauwecker's Guide to Japan "FESTIVALS"
Motoyoko Hyashiren Tsutsumikai
MIKOSHI(Portable shrine) Home Page