Gobo Laughing Festival

Sorry! It’s been so long since I have posted anything. I have been quite busy. First I will talk about the Laughing Festival. It was on October 8th in Gobo, which is about an hour away by train. It was a small festival, but I enjoyed all the people watching. There were small shrines, mikoshi, that many people carried on their shoulders. Some contained 4 young boys who played drums, and would hang themselves outside of the basket upside down. They have great make-up. All the men who are carrying the mikoshi are also constantly being doused with sake, so we were all a little afraid for the boys. There were men in scary masks, and all the men were in kilt-like skirts. I asked my Japanese friends why. They weren’t sure, but they think since it is the laughing festival, the men were trying to dress funny. When everyone arrived at the shrine, there were priests passing out skewered fruits and vegetables. No one knows why. Maybe something about the harvest? Another thing they had were very large flags. More like a banner I guess. They were on long bamboo sticks at least 2-3 stories tall. The men lifted them to stand vertically, and waved them around. It required much strength. The challenging part was maneuvering them around and under the telephone wires. Overall it was an interesting festival. Although I don’t think I laughed much.