Traditional Japanese Culture

It seems that every other week in the Kansai area, there is another festival to celebrate some aspect of traditional Japanese culture. The Japanese are very deeply rooted in traditions and festivals in order to appreciate the past. With ancestor worship being so important to followers of Shinto, as well as to people who do not classify as religious, the traditional festivals bring today's Japanese closer to their ancestors and all those who came before them. A few weeks ago, I attended the full moon festival in Kyoto, which is held to celebrate the most beautiful full moon of the year. They celebrated at a Shinto shrine, and had a tea ceremony, koto players, and traditional dancing. Many of the traditional customs such as cleansing before entering the shrine and praying for good luck could be seen by almost every native person.

Another interesting festival is the Daimonji Gozan Fire Festival, which is held in August. According to this website, http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/festivals/gozan.html,the tradition started when in hopes to put an end to the plague, the monk Kobo-Daishi lit the kanji for dai on fire. Other sources say that the festival is an ending ritual of obon, when deceased ancestors come back to their homes, and the fire is lit to release ancestors back. Although the history of the festival seems irrelevant by contemporary Western standards, it is still celebrated every year. I took this picture long after the fire was put out, but the symbol is still scorched into the earth reminding everyone of the meaning behind it.

To read more about this topic, or to view pictures, refer to these websites:

http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/festivals/gozan.html

http://gojapan.about.com/od/attractioninkyoto/a/gozanbonfirefes.htm

http://www.jal.com/world/en/guidetojapan/city_information/uky/events/