Houjou Matsuri, Japan

[bakubo]

Last week I went to the Houjou Matsuri in a fishing village not far from here on the Seto Naikai (Seto Inland Sea):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seto_Inland_Sea

First a huge (maybe 20cm in diameter) rope was made and then it was carried by boat to Kashima Island to be blessed at the temple there. Then back on the boat and taken out to 2 big rocks protruding out of the ocean to be strung between them. I took a boat to Kashima after they finished making the rope and then lots of local fisherman volunteered to take anyone who was interested out to see the rope stringing on their fishing boats. This is an annual event. If you are interested you can see some photos here:

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries%202/Japan/index.html

[Greg Beetham]

I looked through the Wiki article to see if there was anything on the rope stringing festival, but I didn't notice anything. All well covered btw Henry.
Greg

[Dr. Harout]

Nice set you have there, Henry.

[sury]

Nice set Henry. My friends always spelt my name as Suri (typical spelling of my name in India).
I changed it to Sury since in US my name instead of being sur-ee it was often pronounced as sur-eye. My last
name is Maturi. I have often been called Matsuri by some of my colleagues/friends who were either
Japanese or lived in Japan or married to some one who is Japanese. Now I know Matsuri means a festival.

Sury

[Birma]

Fascinating local custom Henry and every one seems to be having a good time. Great set of documentary shots as ever. I really like the sea-scape shot at the end.

[bakubo]

Greg commented about this thread in my other thread so I moved it here.

The handmade ships tow line (seriously big rope) was interesting too, and the amount of trouble they went to too suspend it in midair between two pinnacles of rock out in the ocean, very neatly done.

I arrived where they were making the big rope about 10:00 AM and they had already started. They loaded it on the boat to take it to Kashima Island about 11:30. It probably took that huge group about 2.5 hours to make the rope. Then about 12:30 they loaded the rope back onto the boat to head out to the rocks and then it was finished by about 3:00 PM.

My understanding is this dates back to the year 1185 when it was done in prayer hoping for victory in a big battle. I guess it was done for a long time and then was revived in 1957 to pray for marine safety, bountiful crops, and large fish catches. You often see these big ropes strung at jinjas (Shinto shrines) and o-teras (Buddhist temples) also. I don't know the significance, but these ropes seem to have some sort of religious significance. Over the years I have seen them hundreds of times. Here are just a couple of examples in the last few weeks:

Ps someone said once all the weird stuff happens in Japan but I didn’t believe them, I have to admit though those were borderline weird.

It is only weird if you don't know what is going on are if it is your first time to see it. But, yes, Japan has lots of interesting and cool traditions. All around you see all the modern aspects of life, but then mixed with it is hundreds of years and sometimes thousand year old traditions that are still followed.

[bakubo]

I looked through the Wiki article to see if there was anything on the rope stringing festival, but I didn't notice anything. All well covered btw Henry.

Yes, that was just about the Seto Naikai.

[bakubo]

Nice set Henry. My friends always spelt my name as Suri (typical spelling of my name in India).
I changed it to Sury since in US my name instead of being sur-ee it was often pronounced as sur-eye. My last
name is Maturi. I have often been called Matsuri by some of my colleagues/friends who were either
Japanese or lived in Japan or married to some one who is Japanese. Now I know Matsuri means a festival.

Yes, matsuri means festival. Back in the 1980s a good buddy and I used to often go to a Japanese restaurant named Matsuri in San Jose in the Campbell area. We knew the owners well and they were a great bunch. The patriarch of the family passed away in the late '80s or early '90s and, I think, the restaurant may be gone by now. It was run by him, his wife, son and daugher-in-law, and they had a great guy from Okinawa who was their sushi chef. Great bunch of people and I miss them. Lots of good times eating sushi, drinking beer, talking and laughing with them.

[ValeryD]

Very good set!

[bakubo]

Nice set Henry. My friends always spelt my name as Suri (typical spelling of my name in India).
I changed it to Sury since in US my name instead of being sur-ee it was often pronounced as sur-eye. My last
name is Maturi. I have often been called Matsuri by some of my colleagues/friends who were either
Japanese or lived in Japan or married to some one who is Japanese. Now I know Matsuri means a festival.

By the way, Apple now has Siri and they didn't spell it Siry so maybe people wouldn't get confused if you used Suri.

[bakubo]

My understanding is this dates back to the year 1185 when it was done in prayer hoping for victory in a big battle. I guess it was done for a long time and then was revived in 1957 to pray for marine safety, bountiful crops, and large fish catches. You often see these big ropes strung at jinjas (Shinto shrines) and o-teras (Buddhist temples) also. I don't know the significance, but these ropes seem to have some sort of religious significance. Over the years I have seen them hundreds of times.

The thick ropes are called shimenawa:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimenawa

[aster]

The Japanese continue to amaze me with their dedication and workmanship....

Thanks for sharing, Henry.


Yildiz

[bakubo]

The Japanese continue to amaze me with their dedication and workmanship....

Thanks for sharing, Henry.

You are welcome. Yes, Japanese in general are meticulous with trying to get the very best quality in their traditional crafts. They also care a lot about maintaining the skills, expertise, and love and passing them down generation to generation. It pervades Japanese society.

[aster]

The Japanese continue to amaze me with their dedication and workmanship....

Thanks for sharing, Henry.

You are welcome. Yes, Japanese in general are meticulous with trying to get the very best quality in their traditional crafts. They also care a lot about maintaining the skills, expertise, and love and passing them down generation to generation. It pervades Japanese society.

Completely agree with each of your words, Henry.

Thanks for sharing your personal interactions with them as well. You have a natural calling for them and their deep culture/traditions at heart....I've realised so much through your photos and views.

Thanks,

Yildiz