November 25, 2010 in A student life by adminsekaione

A student life in Japan : Matsuri or Festivals

Hello, everyone.

I was so happy to see all your comments and suggestions on my last post. It has encouraged me so much that I decided to write more. Today I will share with you pictures and good time I had going to festivals all summer long here in Japan

Matsuri which means Festivals or Holidays in Japanese, are celebrated all over Japan every year. The Matsuri season starts at the beginning of summer and goes all the way to the end of autumn in some towns. Almost every city in Japan has at least one festival a year. Lately foreigners living in Japan have been organizing their own festivals as well. Those are my favorite festivals by far, and this year I have been to the African Festival, the Jamaican Festival, the Brasilian Festival and the Global Festival just to name a few.

This last week end I have participated in the AIRA festival in Abiko, a city in CHIBA. Being a member of AIRA ( Abiko International Relations Association) for almost 2 years now , this year was my second time participating in this Matsuri.

In the AIRA Matsuri there were diverse food and drinks, just like most festivals, but most of the food was from foreign countries. There was some tea from China, drinks from Spain, Burgers from America and doughnuts from Senegal and yea I almost forgot RICE BALLS from JAPAN.

What is a Matsuri if there is no singing and dancing? Just like the previous years, this year in AIRA there was a Bamboo Dance presented by Filipinos; ballet dance performed by cute little girls from ballet school next door, and singing from the foreigners in Japanese class but also Folklore music from the Japanese students who are learning Spanish in AIRA.

However my favorite part of the festival was the Kimono wearing ceremony. Foreigners who have never experienced wearing a Kimono get the chance to wear the Japanese cultural outfit only if it’s for half an hour. Although I own a Kimono I can’t wear it by myself something that is not unusual in Japan. Nowadays only few people; and usually elderly people; can wear Kimonos by themselves. The new generation only wears this beautiful dress on special occasions such as their coming-of-age ceremony, their graduation ceremony or their wedding. For these occasions they usually go to a beauty salon to dress up or have their grandmother help them wear their Kimono.

This year I decided to rock a Red kimono while last year I was wearing a pink and white one. I couldn’t help but feel like a princess in her gown ?

Please enjoy the festivals pictures and leave your comments ….