Sunday, October 19--Mikoshi Parade

Today was the 32nd Annual Mikoshi Parade in Yokosuka. We were up late last night playing poker, so we got a slow start this morning. By the time we got up and indulged in brunch on base, we missed the beginning of the parade. What we did see was incredible, and I will make sure to catch the whole thing next year.

A mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine, which is traditionally believed to carry part of a deity which will be taken to a special place to be released by a priest. (This parade was just a reenactment—no deities were contained in the shrines.) Each mikoshi is beautifully decorated with ribbons, lanterns, paintings, and plants. There are bells and knockers on the sides to wake the sleeping deity inside. Each of the 74 shrines in this year’s parade was carried well over a mile, from city hall downtown onto the base itself, on the shoulders of nearly 9,000 participants. No small feat, considering these things are made of solid wood beams and can weigh up to two tons.

Each mikoshi has a team of “handlers.” The shrine is led by a couple people carrying lanterns. Then there are several people pulling on ropes attached to the mikoshi, helping to guide the rest of the team down the parade route. The shrine itself is carried on the shoulders of dozens of Japanese, fueled (I’m told) by vast quantities of sake, who are moving in a sort of march/dance. They shake the mikoshi to rattle the bells, and sometimes even squat down repeatedly to dip the shrine. This is all done in perfect harmony, thanks to the rhythmic knocking on the sides of the shrine and the chanting of the carriers. It all looks professionally choreographed. The shrines are accompanied by scores of alternate carriers, ready to take the place of anyone who needs to step out from under the weight of the shrine for a break. Some members of the team are guides—they push and pull with all their might on the shrine to make sure it stays on course, and does not ram the shrine ahead (or drift backwards into the one behind). Each shrine is followed by a pit crew, for lack of a better term. They push along a cart on which the mikoshi can be rested if the parade stalls. (However, most carts today were being used to transport vast quantities of pizza—the Japanese love American pizza, and buy dozens of them whenever they have an opportunity to come on base.)

The mikoshi carriers almost defy description. Their energy is amazing, boundless, and infectious. Despite the enormous burden they carry, they smile and laugh, their faces only occasionally showing the strain of what they are doing. Both men and women participate, old and young, tall and short. I would add fat and thin, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat to be seen anywhere. And believe me, it was easy to assess, thanks to the traditional dress of the participants. Some of the men stuck to the purely traditional dress, which consists of a short robe called a happi coat and a type of thong undergarment. Bare chests and bare buns were frequently visible. The majority of the participants, however, opted for a more modest approach, wearing the happi coat over a t-shirt, and sporting white bike-shorts called zubon-shita. All wore odori tabi, which are vinyl-soled socks, split at the big toe, so sandals can easily be worn. (Traditionally, the Japanese participated in festivals such as this bare-footed—these socks offer some protection from the rough asphalt.)

I took lots of pictures during the parade (see link at right), but they just don’t capture the spirit of the event. There was so much to take in, between the costumes, the chanting, the pounding, the bells, the dancing, the beauty of the shrines, and good old-fashioned people watching. You can get a better feel for the festive atmosphere by watching the short video clips below.