Street Life and Summer Matsuris

This morning, David, Daniel, and I walked out of our apartment building on campus . . . as several policemen rushed in. They seemed to be following a well-dressed older woman, who we assumed was leading them to the scene of something. Concerned about what was happening in our building, we stopped to watch. As the police spoke on their walkie-talkies, reinforcements kept arriving until there were at least a dozen officers following the woman. Then we realized that the woman wasn’t leading them somewhere; SHE was the problem. But that was difficult to discern, because in spite of a dozen young policemen (and women) following one old lady, no one yelled at her, no one threatened her, no one even touched her. She merely walked around trying to elude them, and muttering (according to David, since she was speaking in Japanese), “Why are you following me? Why are you blocking my way?” And the police kept trying to form lines around her and sort of herd her off campus, the way a sheepdog would corral a wayward sheep into a pen. It was so sweet it was almost touching, and I assume the only reason so many police were involved at all was because of recent stabbing incidents here involving crazy people.

 

But that’s not the kind of street life I’m talking about in this blog.

 

I’ve said in the past that Tokyo doesn’t really have a very vibrant street life. There are few outdoor food stalls (like New York’s hot dog carts, for example), few street musicians, even few beggars. City streets here are full of people, but the scene tends to be very orderly and fairly quiet (there’s even a rule about not smoking on the street).

 

But all that changes in summer, which is the season for “matsuris.” A matsuri is a festival. Often the maturis are sponsored by local temples or shrines. A couple of weeks ago the Hie-Jinja shrine in our neighborhood held a matsuri complete with portable shrine parade.

 

 

 

 

But matsuris can be secular, too. Sometimes they’re seasonal, such as to celebrate the cherry blossoms or hydrangeas being in bloom. Sometimes they’re sports-related, such as a festival with archers on horseback. And sometimes they’re cultural, such as a festival to celebrate/publicize the food or drink of a specific region or country. And when there are festivals, there are also “yatais,” or food stalls, with offerings like takoyaki (fried octopus balls) and okonomiyaki (a pancake with egg, cabbage, and pork or seafood).

 

The good weather also brings out the street performers, who gather in parks and other public places.

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many festivals in Tokyo in the summer that you could surely find one every weekend if you wanted to. And they almost always draw a crowd.

 

This coming Friday is the fourth of July, and somehow I doubt there will be any matsuris here to commemorate U.S. Independence Day. But if David, Daniel, and I are in the mood to celebrate, we know we won’t have to go far to find a festival. Maybe there will even be fireworks.