A matsuri (祭り) is a Japanese festival. Most often it is a Shinto celebration linked to a local shrine, its god and the rhythm of the seasons. Every year, thousands of matsuri fill Japan's streets with drums, chanting and food stalls. A shouting crowd carries a heavy portable shrine on its shoulders, and the shrine sways above their heads. At a matsuri, the sacred and the joyful meet in the open air.
A festival for the gods
At its root, a matsuri is an act of worship. The word comes from matsuru, "to worship a god." Usually a shrine holds the festival to thank its kami, its god, or to ask for its help. People pray for a good harvest, protection from disease or a prosperous town. The central rite is often the procession of the mikoshi (神輿). This is a portable shrine, and the god moves into it for a short time to travel around the neighbourhood and bless it. Teams of bearers lift the heavy, gilded mikoshi and carry it through the streets. They rock and jolt it on purpose. People believe the shaking pleases the god and makes its power stronger.
“Paper lanterns, drums and dancing fill the night.”
Drums, floats, and food
Beyond the mikoshi, a matsuri overflows with spectacle. Teams haul great wheeled floats through town. These are dashi or yama (山車), some of them many metres tall, hung with lanterns and carvings. Taiko drums pound, and dancers move in long lines. Yatai (屋台), food stalls, line the route and sell the tastes of a festival evening: grilled squid, takoyaki octopus balls, candied apples and shaved ice. Children try to catch goldfish with paper scoops. Summer is the high season for matsuri, and people come in light cotton yukata robes. Some festivals have grown huge and famous worldwide. Kyoto's Gion Matsuri is grand and stately. The Nebuta festival in Aomori parades giant glowing figures. In the winter hadaka festivals, men compete in little more than loincloths.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
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神輿 / お神輿 (mikoshi / o-mikoshi): the portable shrine that carries the god through the streets during a festival. The bearers lift and shake it and shout "wasshoi!"
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屋台 (yatai): a festival food stall or street cart. The same word also means the mobile food stands that sell ramen and snacks at night.