Summer is the time for festivals throughout Japan, and major events are enjoyed in nearly every large town and city, complete with dancing parades and large fireworks displays. These big events are fun and exciting, however I tend to enjoy more the smaller community festivals which are organized by nearly every small town and village. Small community festivals are typically held on the grounds of the local Shinto (native religion of Japan) shrine where a wooden platform is erected for use by dancers and taiko drummers.In our community of Yada, nearly everyone reports to the shrine the day before the festival in order to prepare the grounds for the big event. Loud firecrackers are used to wake everyone up and summon them to the shrine to begin work. The women and children busy themselves with raking leaves and clearing the shrine grounds while the men work together to assemble the tents and the wooden dance platform. When this work is done everyone enjoys a short party with food and drinks which helps to get the community into the proper mood for the upcoming festival. On the day of the festival adults and children take turns performing for the community after which everyone dances around the platform and enjoys popular festival foods such as yakisoba, roasted corn, shaved ice and drinks such as Ramune soda. After nightfall fireworks bring the event to an exciting climax.
Nearly every face at a small community festival is familiar and those in attendance can enjoy a relaxing evening watching their neighbors perform and enjoying the sight of children running and playing in traditional Japanese summer costume. In this video the insects which are seen flying about the light during the fireworks are cicada (semi) and the masked dancer is yours truly.
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