Carrying the Mikoshi

On Saturday night, I was able to participate in a Japanese matsuri (festival) where I dressed in traditional clothes and helped carry a mikoshi (basically a portable Shinto shrine). The women wear multiple layers despite the extreme heat and humidity yet most of the Japanese men were only in a shirt and a tiny strip of underwear similar to the sumo attire. Many of the Japanese men thought it funny that I was so shocked by their lack of pants.

The underclothes.

The shoes did hurt a bit but how cool is it that I got to wear them!                                   

We carried the shrine for a total of two hours with many breaks for sake, Japanese beer, and some onigiri (rice balls). The shrine was surprisingly heavy and two days later I still have a bruise and some tenderness on my shoulder. The idea of carrying the shrine isn't to get from point A to point B but to worship the gods by parading around the neighborhood. While carrying it, the step is a mild prance and you move the shrine from side to side while slowly making your way down the street, the whole time shouting "say ya, soi ya, san, sorta..ect". There were only a couple awkward moments when I was smashed between people and could barely move. Also at one point my shoe fell off but a kind stranger helped me put it back on.

The men carried it for the most part and the women watched and cheered. 

They whole experience was amazing and I can thank my home stay family for setting it up for me. Everyone was so kind to me. I was almost like a celebrity: everyone wanted to take their picture with me!

After carrying the mikoshi for two hours, the festival started. There was beer, cotton candy, and lots of really cute kids running around in their yukata (summer kimono). My host family also performed a few of their hula dances. What a great night and so much fun!!