Morimachi Matsuri
Morimachi Matsuri – Nov. 3, 2006
A beautiful day somewhat lost in green tea country
My Japanese sources informed me that Morimachi matsuri was a famous matsuri and that I should definitely try to see it. It would also be the last matsuri going on for a while, as people hunkered down for the winter.
It seemed like an out of the well-beaten path, but I had received some directions about what
train I was supposed to take. I did a bit of route researching myself (but obviously not enough as I will explain) and found out that I had to take a train that resembled something of a tram, not the usual Japan Rail (JR) brand. I misunderstood the direction of the train (or the name of the line) for the stop that I was supposed to get off. I was also under the impression that I would have to take a bus to reach the town. Considering all these misunderstandings, it was a miracle that I did not end up hopelessly lost. 
Train stations and rice patty fields abound
Instead, I had a eureka moment on the tram and realized my error. I checked my assumption with the conductor during a brief stopover and was set straight. (I ended up in a town that was celebrating some company anniversary right at the train stations. It was all a bit strange, as I had initially wondered if I might have come across Morimachi matsuri.) I also found out that there was a stop right in Morimachi, but this would not have been obvious as the town was listed under a different name, ‘Enshyumori’. So it really was luck that I arrived in town and bumped in Mr. Nito. Now Mr. Nito was working in some sort of tourist greeting function. Not only was he helpful, but it turned out that he spoke fairly good English, on the level of a Japanese immigrant long living in an English environment. This was truly a gold mine. I told him my ethnomusicological interests and he dispensed a great deal of info in a short time. I never did find out why the town had two different names.
He told me that the festival was in its first day and that the best was towards the end on Sunday. I was disappointed that I would not be able to see this as I would be in Kanazawa on that day, but decided that I would check out as much as I could for the day, namely the musical patterns. Mr. Nito insisted that I return to visit him before the tourist office closed for the day at 4:00 pm. I asked him for an interview on video, which unfortunately did not take place, although an informal interview did take place. However, without the video documentation, I must rely upon my memory and my on the spot translations. Mr. Nito quickly shooed me off so that I could catch the opening ceremonies at the jinja where the yatais would be assembled. He gave me a map and a bunch of helpful information, so I am indebted to him. I also purchased a Morimachi matsuri calendar that showed a lot of highlights from the matsuri and Mr. Nito offered me a beautiful and huge matsuri poster. I was very happy. I hoofed out to the jinja and discovered a small town that was pretty much shut down for the national holiday. This would proven to be a small hardship as I did not have any food or beverage, nor did I bring a battery replacement for my camera. I learned a lot from this matsuri, in terms of ethnomusicologists in the field. I should be very well prepared when attending a matsuri in a small town where everyone would be participating and the town for the most part would shut down.
Instead, I had a eureka moment on the tram and realized my error. I checked my assumption with the conductor during a brief stopover and was set straight. (I ended up in a town that was celebrating some company anniversary right at the train stations. It was all a bit strange, as I had initially wondered if I might have come across Morimachi matsuri.) I also found out that there was a stop right in Morimachi, but this would not have been obvious as the town was listed under a different name, ‘Enshyumori’. So it really was luck that I arrived in town and bumped in Mr. Nito. Now Mr. Nito was working in some sort of tourist greeting function. Not only was he helpful, but it turned out that he spoke fairly good English, on the level of a Japanese immigrant long living in an English environment. This was truly a gold mine. I told him my ethnomusicological interests and he dispensed a great deal of info in a short time. I never did find out why the town had two different names.
He told me that the festival was in its first day and that the best was towards the end on Sunday. I was disappointed that I would not be able to see this as I would be in Kanazawa on that day, but decided that I would check out as much as I could for the day, namely the musical patterns. Mr. Nito insisted that I return to visit him before the tourist office closed for the day at 4:00 pm. I asked him for an interview on video, which unfortunately did not take place, although an informal interview did take place. However, without the video documentation, I must rely upon my memory and my on the spot translations. Mr. Nito quickly shooed me off so that I could catch the opening ceremonies at the jinja where the yatais would be assembled. He gave me a map and a bunch of helpful information, so I am indebted to him. I also purchased a Morimachi matsuri calendar that showed a lot of highlights from the matsuri and Mr. Nito offered me a beautiful and huge matsuri poster. I was very happy. I hoofed out to the jinja and discovered a small town that was pretty much shut down for the national holiday. This would proven to be a small hardship as I did not have any food or beverage, nor did I bring a battery replacement for my camera. I learned a lot from this matsuri, in terms of ethnomusicologists in the field. I should be very well prepared when attending a matsuri in a small town where everyone would be participating and the town for the most part would shut down.
Small quiet towns need to have beer/sake vending machines
I reached the designated area, but was slightly early and in dire need of food and drink and batteries, so I left the area to track down these items. Well after finding a gelato shop that did have food and drink, but no batteries (I never did find any) I made my way back.
I caught several of the yatais, veering to and fro, leaving the area in a frenzy of matsuri spirit. One could easily get hit be an oncoming yatai if one was not careful, I discovered, since this was a small town event without much safeguards or policing. There was little to see as they quickly made there way out of town. I was somewhat disappointed. Since the area was quickly emptying of people, I took the time to examine the jinja area closely. Now had I done this initially, I might have found a more interesting sight. The jinja was actually at the top of the hill (they usually are) and the ceremony took place there. What I initially saw, apart from the throngs of people in front of two or three yatais, was just a spillover from what was taking place atop the hill. It seemed that I would just get a glimmer of this festival. It seemed that I spent most of my time seeking out food, batteries and toilets. There was a barrage of toilets around the foot of the jinja entrance. I also had an encounter with the village idiot, who was downing beers by the side of the road. He wanted to know if I was Brazilian and married and then proceeded to loudly declare his love throughout town and insist that we marry. Note to women in the field, it might be wise to say that one is married, even if not. I quickly escaped from the scene (and continued to avoid hime throughout the day; quite easy as he was the only person wearing a bright red jacket)and hiked about town to see if I could find any yatais. I did come across two and followed them for a while.
What I found interesting was that there were Japanese flags all around town, something I had not seen since my time in Japan. When I inquired about this, I was told that it was related to the National holiday (it was the Emperor's birthday), but I could be mistaken because of my limited Japanese. The jinja was in full regal splendor and had two Japanese flags curtaining the opening of the shrine. Dignitaries were buzzing around taking care of ceremonial business.
With little taking place, I decided it would be a great time to revisit Mr. Nito. When I found Mr. Nito, he was conversing with another gentlemen, who I later found out was Mr. Oda (or perhaps Ota- however there are a lot of Oda’s in the prefecture, so I assumed that it was Oda). When I asked for an interview from Mr. Nito, he told me that Mr. Oda was the authority figure on matsuri daiko in Morimachi. Another stroke of luck. So I ended up talking with both Mr. Nito and Mr. Oda about the Morimachi Matsuri and this was really the highlight of the day because Mr. Oda could talk about rhythms and historical changes taking place over 70 years. Alas, he would not agree to a video interview and I was disappointed because he actually could talk about the music and he performed different rhythmic patterns on the table. 
After my very interesting discussion with Mr. Nito and Mr. Oda, I rushed off to the temple area where about 5 yatais were to converge before making their way to the outskirts of the town where all the yatais would eventually respite. At the temple area I found a mass of people loitering about, eating and drinking. It was the 5:00 pm dinner break followed by the lighting of the lanterns. I was getting well versed on this routine. Suddenly, the yatai were loaded up and they quickly and vicariously, hit the road again. Once again I was dangerously close to an oncoming yatai. These rural affairs with seemingly less regulation were for the well-seasoned and toughened matsuri participants no doubt. After watching them teeter down the road, I decided to teeter myself home. A long and exhausting day in the field.
I reached the designated area, but was slightly early and in dire need of food and drink and batteries, so I left the area to track down these items. Well after finding a gelato shop that did have food and drink, but no batteries (I never did find any) I made my way back.
I caught several of the yatais, veering to and fro, leaving the area in a frenzy of matsuri spirit. One could easily get hit be an oncoming yatai if one was not careful, I discovered, since this was a small town event without much safeguards or policing. There was little to see as they quickly made there way out of town. I was somewhat disappointed. Since the area was quickly emptying of people, I took the time to examine the jinja area closely. Now had I done this initially, I might have found a more interesting sight. The jinja was actually at the top of the hill (they usually are) and the ceremony took place there. What I initially saw, apart from the throngs of people in front of two or three yatais, was just a spillover from what was taking place atop the hill. It seemed that I would just get a glimmer of this festival. It seemed that I spent most of my time seeking out food, batteries and toilets. There was a barrage of toilets around the foot of the jinja entrance. I also had an encounter with the village idiot, who was downing beers by the side of the road. He wanted to know if I was Brazilian and married and then proceeded to loudly declare his love throughout town and insist that we marry. Note to women in the field, it might be wise to say that one is married, even if not. I quickly escaped from the scene (and continued to avoid hime throughout the day; quite easy as he was the only person wearing a bright red jacket)and hiked about town to see if I could find any yatais. I did come across two and followed them for a while.
What I found interesting was that there were Japanese flags all around town, something I had not seen since my time in Japan. When I inquired about this, I was told that it was related to the National holiday (it was the Emperor's birthday), but I could be mistaken because of my limited Japanese. The jinja was in full regal splendor and had two Japanese flags curtaining the opening of the shrine. Dignitaries were buzzing around taking care of ceremonial business.
With little taking place, I decided it would be a great time to revisit Mr. Nito. When I found Mr. Nito, he was conversing with another gentlemen, who I later found out was Mr. Oda (or perhaps Ota- however there are a lot of Oda’s in the prefecture, so I assumed that it was Oda). When I asked for an interview from Mr. Nito, he told me that Mr. Oda was the authority figure on matsuri daiko in Morimachi. Another stroke of luck. So I ended up talking with both Mr. Nito and Mr. Oda about the Morimachi Matsuri and this was really the highlight of the day because Mr. Oda could talk about rhythms and historical changes taking place over 70 years. Alas, he would not agree to a video interview and I was disappointed because he actually could talk about the music and he performed different rhythmic patterns on the table. 
After my very interesting discussion with Mr. Nito and Mr. Oda, I rushed off to the temple area where about 5 yatais were to converge before making their way to the outskirts of the town where all the yatais would eventually respite. At the temple area I found a mass of people loitering about, eating and drinking. It was the 5:00 pm dinner break followed by the lighting of the lanterns. I was getting well versed on this routine. Suddenly, the yatai were loaded up and they quickly and vicariously, hit the road again. Once again I was dangerously close to an oncoming yatai. These rural affairs with seemingly less regulation were for the well-seasoned and toughened matsuri participants no doubt. After watching them teeter down the road, I decided to teeter myself home. A long and exhausting day in the field.
posted by Mahoo @ 6:02 AM
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