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.