I'd only been here for two-and-a-half-months, and this was the first time I had traveled anywhere outside a small radius from my apartment - except for a homestay organized by one of my bosses, Kanemaru-san, from the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education).
I'll spare you the details of the long trip et al - because I have no recollection of it.
Nikko - it was a fairly dull day, grey day. It did not rain, but it had the night before. It was the day before I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle - perhaps it's why I have no memory of my journey to and from Nikko. You can read about that HIT here.
Why were we going to Nikko? Again -not much is ever explained to me - or maybe it was, but it was probably done in Japanese... and that's okay... their country, their rules, I should figure it out. Twenty years later - I have a clue.
We went to see an annual festival called Nikko Toshogu. It's a two-day festival, with the first day showing off yabusame (horseback archery), and today's event: the sennin musha gyoretsu (Procession of a Thousand Warriors).
The procession/parade started at 11AM departing from Nikko Toshugu Shrine finishing at Otabisho near Shinkyo Bridge at 1PM. Shinkyo Bridge is one of Japan's most famous bridges - so I'll write about that soon.
What is the Toshugu Shrine? Well, the founder of the Edo Bakufu government was the Shogun (aka leader) named Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is enshrined within the Toshogu Shrine. Just outside the shrine, is a beautiful gate called Yomeimon that is decorated with detailed carvings of mythical creatures. (See Photo below).
I have taken a lot of photos of the procession - I'm not going to win any photography awards here, but you can get an idea of the types of costumes, the locale, the number of people there - and you get to see the six students who babysat me. PARADE.
Although... not one of my babysitters warned me that when I ate a snack food involving takko (octopus) on a stick (I was expecting a tentacle only), that the doughy ball was going to contain an entire baby octopus - crunchy beak and all. It was tasty, but the crunchiness in something you expect to be rubbery was a tad unnerving.
Somewhere still trying to digest everything I saw and ate,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is brought to you by U2. You can listen to their song: HERE.
PS: I have no idea who these kids are now. I'm sorry. They would all be about 34 or 35 in 2010 - if you are out there - let me know!
But... if you look at the photo at the top of this blog, you'll see two of the girls I was with join a line of priests - as a joke. I just love their spontaneity, and as such, it's one of my favourite photos taken by myself while in Japan.
PPS: Check out the photos of my students... if you were ever curious about the fancy dress outfits worn by Japanese students, the photographic evidence will learn ya!
