A Hollywood production; a living scroll; an eye-popping kaleidoscope of costumes; a celebration of heritage – Kyoto’s Jidai Matsuri (Festival of Ages) is all this and more. It takes place on Oct 22, and such is the enormity of the … Read the rest
Category: Festivals (Page 13 of 26)
Babies take part in the “baby-cry sumo” competition at the Irugi Shrine in Tokyo on Sunday. (AFP)
Having a bawl: Sumo wrestlers grapple with cry-babies
SEP. 22, 2014 Japan Today AFP TOKYO —
Japanese parents watched with glee on Sunday … Read the rest
Since Shinto is promoted as a nature religion, one might presume that green issues would be uppermost in its social thinking. However, this is often far from the case, as traditional interests and political support for right-wing nationalism take priority. … Read the rest
It’s coming up to that special summer time of Obon – Japan’s day of the dead. Or rather days.
Though the dates of the festival can vary from region to region, the spirits of family deceased are thought to come … Read the rest
Last weekend saw one of Kyoto’s most popular summer festivals, the wonderful Mitarashi Festival at Shimogamo Jinja. It comes on the last weekend in July when the sweltering temperatures reach up to 36 degrees or so. Visitors … Read the rest
The Gion Matsuri is a complex month-long festival in Kyoto, with events spread out over the 30 days which are all directly related to this millennium-old event. In the grand parades there are 33 floats involved altogether, each with … Read the rest
Yesterday (July 21) was Marine Day (Day of the Sea) in Japan and a public holiday.
By way of celebration, Japan Today carried a piece about a portable shrine being ferried across Matsushima Bay, north of Tokyo. It was … Read the rest