“Owara Kaze no Bon Festival” is held from 1 st to 3 rd of September in Yatsuo in Toyama city (central Japan); it is a nationally famous one. It is a rice harvest season and a typhoon season simultaneously. Locals dance for praying for prevention from a natural disaster . "Kaze" means wind. When I visited in 2024, the typhoon actually hit Japan. However, it didn’t rain at the area, so they could dance and I could see. Unhappily, the number of spectators was 130,000 which is two-thirds of average year. The well-practiced lads and lasses dance not only sophisticated but also a bit alluring at night . It is understandable that they have gotten a friend of a different gender during the festival. The museum helps us to understand the festival. おわら風の盆は、稲の刈り入れ前に 二百十日の風害を鎮めることを願って踊られる 祭りです。「盆」は休みの意味だそうです。 町の人びとが練習を重ねて ９月１日から３日に披露 されます。私が訪れた年は、本当に台風が来てしまい前年より７万人少ない 13 万人の人出、訪問した最終日は３万人でした。しかし、台風は八尾を避け、雨に邪魔されず三日間とも踊りが行われました。 洗練された夜間の踊りで艶っぽく 、踊りの夜にカップルができたということを今も感じさせるお祭りでし...
How to enjoy daily life in Japan before the industrialization (more than 100 years ago). Most Japanese were farmers and poor, but they enjoyed their lives without smartphones and fossil fuels. Through old diaries, exhibits in museums and books, we could find their fun. 百年以上前、スマホや化石燃料を使わなくても人々は日々の暮らしを楽しんでいました。多くは農民で、豊かではなかったけど。昔の日記、資料館の展示品、書籍から、その生き方を学ぶ。「遊びをせんとや 生まれけむ 戯れせんとや 生まれけん」、ですよね。