Japan Festivals or Matsuri

Obon, mid August

Japan festivals are known as “matsuri” or 祭り in Kanji character. Festivals, hodidays, and other ceremonial occasions fall into two main categories : matsuri (festivals) and nen-chuu gyouji (年中行事, annual events; also prononced nenjuu gyouji). Matsuri are essentially native Japanese festivals of Shinto origin, held annually on established dates. Nenchuu gyouji is a larger category of annual and seasonal obervances, many of which are of Chinese or Buddhist origin. Nenchuu gyouji are arranged seasonally to form an annual calendar of events. Matsuri are often included in this calendar, and there is some overlapping between the two categories.

Matsuri are chiefly of sacred origin, related (at least originally) to the cultivication of rice and the spiritual well-being of local communities. They derive ultimately from ancient Shinto rites for the propitiation of the gods and the spirits of the dead, and for the fullfillment of the agricultural round. Some of these Shinto rites were incorporated, along with Buddhist and Confucian rites and ceremonies imported from China, into the imperial calendar of annual obervances.

The word “matsuri” includes the rites and festivals practices in both FOLK SHINTO and institutionalized Shinto. A matsuri is basically a symbolic act whereby participants enter a state of active communication with the gods (KAMI,　神); it is accompanied by communion among participants in the form of feast and festival. In a broad sense, matsuri may also include festivals in which the playful element and commercial interests have all but obliterated the original sacramental context.

Koinobori May 5th

There are several types of Shinto matsuri in Japan : matsuri of supplication to the gods (as for successful harvest), others of thanksgiving, and still others to drive away pestilence and natural disasters. There are solemn matsuri and boisterous occasions featuring games and entertainment. Elaborate festivals flourish in the big cities and small-scale communities. Some matsuri are performed in a very traditional way, and some have been considerately adapted to modern times.

The matsuri have two major aspects. The first is communion between gods and people. This comprises purificatory rites (monoimi), offerings, and communal banquets between gods and humans (NAORAI). The offerings, in particular, have been important from ancient times. The second aspect of masturi is communion among people. Many Japanese festivals feature a parade of MIKOSHI (神輿, portable shrines) and contests or games that provide opportunities for community members to play together and match skills. The strictures of everyday life are relaxed, and the atmosphere is one of spiritual renewal.

HARE and KE __ The Japanese have a concept of two dimension of life : HARE and KE. HARE correlates with the out of the ordinary, KE with the routine, and this duality extends over time, space, and things. Shinto shrines have special festival days set aside for matsuri; these, as well as such occasions as New Year’s Day, The Obon Festival, birthdays, and weddings, are termed HARE. HARE and KE thus resemble the idea of the sacred constrasting with the profane, but it is perhaps more accurate to define them in term of special and every day.

The Matsuri and the Seasons.

Matsuri are in origin and tradition closely related to rice-centered agriculture, especially the growing cycle of rice. Among annual rites, spring and autumn matsuri are the most important. The spring festivals are held in thanksgiving for a pletiful harvest.

Besides spring and autumn fetes, there are summer festivals (natsu matsuri) and winter festivals (fuyu matsuri). In farming areas the summer matsuri have the role of driving away natural disasters that might treaten the crops. In the cities, especially since the medieval period (mid-12th-16th centuries), the role of such festivals has been to ward off plague and pestilence. The winter matsuri, held between the harvest and spring seeding, have elements of both the autumn and spring matsuri. Thus, Japanese matsuri are synchronized with seasonal changes and are classified according to the four seasons.

Essentials of The Matsuri.

Monoimi, or purificatory asceticism. In the center of the Shimane Peninsula on the coast of the Sea of Japan is the Sada Shrine. Each year at the end of September the shrine celebrates the Gosakae Matsuri (literally, “seat-changing rite”). In a midnight ceremony Shinto priests change the seat on which the god is to sit. Priests participating in these rites must confine themselves to the shrine for a week of purificatory asceticism prior to the rite. Monoimi serves as the symbolic gate by which the participants in a festival lewave the everyday world (KE) to enter into the special realm (HARE) of the matsuri. The purification rites have been greatly simpified in recent years. In premodern Japan, however, people are not allowed to participate in the matsuri unless they had undergone this purification process.

Offerings. Another essential element of the matsuri is the offerings made to the gods. Typical items include regular and glutinous (mochi) rice, sake (rice wine), seaweed, vegetables, and fruits. In Japan there are no sacrifices of living creatures during matsuri, nor is there any offering of broken bread.

Communion. The naorai, in which participants in the matsuri partake of the food offerings at the place of celebration together with the gods, is another essential element of the matsuri. In recent years the world naori has also come to include the eating of offerings at a place separate from the matsuri site after the festival has ended, but this is essentially a banquet and not a true naorai.

In addition to these three elements of the matsuri, there are a number of other items. Trees and branches are sometimes used to delineate the matsuri site; the evergreen SAKAKI is particularly favored. This custom derives from the belief that the gods will use these markers in order to descend to the site of the festival.

Also important are the special events that take place on the day of the matsuri. Japanese festivals often feature tug-of-war contests (tsunashiki), horse races, and boat races. The special ceremonial dancing known as kagura also retains significance in the matsuri.

List of Festivals:

1. Oshougatsu (New Year’s Day)
2. Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day)
3. Obon (Festival for The Dead)
4. Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day)

Source : Japan Encyclopedia, Kodansha Ltd.