I went to the Tenjin Matsuri on Friday and Saturday. After the Bunraku event on Friday, Anya and I went to the Tenjin Matsuri. We walked along the street vendor path but could not find the shrine at first. We finally found it and took many pictures. Drum playing with women dancing, taiko practice, and mini-dragon dance were noteworthy. You can see them on my picasa.
The main event was on Saturday. I was by myself because I could not find someone who would go with me to Kyoto in the morning and early afternoon and come back for the festival. The parade began at 4pm from the shrine. I spent some time on finding the shrine. People dressed up in various types of older Japanese clothes from various eras (I could not tell which). People dressed up in royal or government official clothes rode on horses. They performed traditional Japanese wind and percussion instruments, danced, and chanted some traditional phrase. Perhaps the most labor-intensive performance was the lifting of the god (kami-sama)'s altar/"house." Performers ranged from infants to people who looked like they were in their 70s and maybe 80s.
After the parade on the street, performers and specialists in transportation/boat transported god stuff and themselves onto the boat for the parade on water. Unfortunately I stood at the wrong bridge where the loading dock was located, but not where the boats gathered. Therefore I could not see much, and also missed the firework.
The street vendors not only sold foods (yaki meat, cold drinks, ice cream or shaved ice, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, cotton candy, and sugar-coated strawberry and apple) but also provided games for mainly kids to play- like catching fish, turtle, and toys from the water. I also saw marble, shooting and dart games. I felt as if I was a child again in Taiwan.
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