19th October 2011
Like Malaysia, Japan has many festivals. I came across this
Kawashiri Shrine Autumn Festival when I was on my way home. When I was walking to the train station, I heard loud bangs and a lot of people were heading to the Kawashiri Shrine. It stirred my curiosity, so I walked there too. Apparently, an archer was riding on a horse and he shot an arrow to a diamond shaped target. When the archer managed to hit the target, the spectators laughed and applauded, the atmosphere was joyous. Well, that day was a working day, so I was actually surprised with the turnout, it was full of people, young and old.
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| archer on a horse wearing traditional clothes |
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| the arrow hit the target |
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| processions after the archery act |
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| the target was being kept for next year event, I guess? |
Like any other festivals in Japan, stalls selling food stuffs and toys would be available near the venue. The air was reeking of grilling smell. I didn't buy anything though, not a fan of grilled stuff.
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| festival stalls 屋台 |
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| parents bringing their children to the festivals |
When I was browsing through the stalls, I met two colleagues of mine. They explained to me that the festival was meant to pray for bountiful harvest the next year. Well, it makes sense, Kumamoto is very big on agriculture. Then, we waited for the procession, the first to go was the archer with the horse. Then, group of people with different colour clothes followed.
We met another colleague who was a local in that area, she and her daughter were in the procession, she told us that the colours represented different machi in that area. I stayed until the end of the procession. It's heartening to see many young people who joined this festivals, it's the young force that is going to carry on the culture!
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| start of the procession |
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| procession |
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| procession |
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| procession |
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| procession |
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| banners congratulating the Kawashiri Autumn Festival |
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