Our Ueno hanami

Some photos to give you an idea of what sakura season is like in Tokyo, where hundreds of drunk tomodachi (friends) convene at the parks for hanami. These are courtesy of Rachel, who took over camera duty that evening. These are from Ueno Park.

Kanamara matsuri

We went to a rather strange festival this last weekend, which I am posting for cultural value, of course... It is called Kanamara Matsuri, and it roughly translates to the "festival of the steel phallus," though some call it a fertility festival. The entire festival centers on a certain sensitive part of the male anatomy and priestesses and priests offer blessings to many, many effigies of this particular body part. Lest you think I'm kidding, there are articles explaining Kanamara Matsuri as a religious festival at a local shrine (actually called Kanamara "steel phallus" Shrine) in Kawasaki (about 20 minutes south of Tokyo) here, here, and here. At Kanamara shrine, there are actual permanent installations of phallic sculptures along with the well-attended annual festival. If this religious event offends your sensibilities, please read no further, as yes, there will be photos.

According to this site, which gives the most succinct explanation: "The legend goes that there was a demon living in the vaginas of the women in this area and a local metal-smith forged a steel phallus which broke the demons teeth and thus ridding the town of it forever. This legend was mostly wishful thinking on the part of the locals, many of whom had caught venereal diseases from the prostitutes that were common in this area in the Edo Period (1603-1867), during which this festival began. Even today Kawasaki is famous for its red-light district."

One word: ouch.

During a hanami in Ueno Park last week, we met some gaijin who were teaching English in Kawasaki and told us about Kanamara Matsuri. I was a bit incredulous, but did some research and found out that this was an actual festival that was occuring in a week. Kanamara Matsuri brought an eclectic group of people out to "worship" at the shrine: curious and clueless gaijin, drag queens and Harajuku goths, and just regular old Nihon-jin (Japanese) who were there for the party. Vendors sold plenty of phallic paraphenalia: lollipops, bananas, hot dogs, and assorted sculptures and souveniers. And of course, alcohol.



Here is one of the ceremony participants making an offering of laurel branches to the steel phallus. During this part of the ceremony, priestesses said prayers and made offerings to the phalluses, while obnoxious drunk Americans couldn't help but yell things like "Ohmigod, can you believe this is happening?? The sisters at Alpha Alpha Phi are never going to believe this!" I was annoyed at first, but was reminded that if they're going to serve alcohol to ignorant gaijin at 10 a.m. they have to expect, if not condone this sort of behavior.

After the short prayer service, the festivities began. There was a daikon radish carving contest, where the favorite body part was put into vegetable form and auctioned off to the highest bidder (I heard that the proceeds go to HIV/AIDS research, but since I saw no AIDS awareness groups at the festival, color me dubious).

A band played the same song over and over and there was a taiko performance as well.
























Just to prove that there was an eclectic crowd present at Kanamara Matsuri, here are some colorful folks that were in attendance, including a drag queen that took it upon herself to direct traffic during the procession of the phalluses, where effigies were carried through the streets of Kawasaki in celebration, I guess, of the vanquishing of that nasty demon.























But, proving that it wasn't just the crazies who were at the Sunday morning festival, here is a photo that shows you that Kanamara Matsuri was a family affair.

And let's not forget about the procession. Here are some photos of the parade.























Ah, Japan! Never ceases to amaze me!

We also saw a less exciting, but very pretty shrine in Kawasaki, but it had a really nice pagoda and a much, much tamer religious ceremony.

Kamakura sakura

Had to make another trip to Kamakura during sakura season! Anyone who goes to Tokyo needs to visit Kamakura; it's such a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the big city, though it was pretty crowded and the Kamakura visit marked the first time I've seriously been shooed out of a restaurant. And we were only there for 15 minutes! Yipes!

It's hanami time!

It's hanami time in Tokyo, where the sakura (cherry blossoms) are in bloom and Japanese spend their lunch hours sitting under the sakura drinking sake and enjoying their lunch in the breezy comfort beneath the trees. The whole act of viewing the sakura is called hanami. Sakura are in their peak season only one week out of the year, so it is a large event, with entire magazines devoted to letting Japanese people know when the sakura have bloomed in various parts of Japan and where the best places for viewing are. Different parts of Japan have different sakura seasons, with Hiroshima and southern Japan's buds opening as early as January or February, middle-to-northern Honshu prefectures from late-March to early-April and Hokkaido in mid-April or so.

Primo spots for hanami are highly contested, and Japanese will spread out mats in the wee hours of the morning and write their names on the mats in Sharpie pens in order to "claim" the spot for the entire day. Some of the most famous viewing spots are extremely crowded, and unfortunately the beauty of the sakura is somewhat eclipsed by the ubiquitous blue tarps and food stalls serving everything from fried ika (squid) and tako (octopus) to yakisoba and roasted sweet potatoes. [Hmm, this reminds me that I really need to do a Japanese food write-up soon!]























Jeremy, Kaitlin and I went to Hommon-ji, a little-known temple in the Nishi-Magome area of Tokyo to view the sakura and escape the crowds. We found that even the workers in the area didn't know where Hommon-ji was even when we asked them about it! But it was indeed a hidden treasure, with not so many visitors, but beautiful sakura throughout the koen (park) area and in a cemetery near the temple complex. There was also a nice pagoda which many folks were photographing.




Later on, Jeremy and I went to Yasukuni Shrine and the nearby Chidorigafuchi and Kitanomaru Park, the only Imperial Palace grounds that are opened to the public on days other than January 2nd (the day after New Year's) and December 23rd (The Emperor's birthday). It was absolutely gorgeous, and the beautiful blossoms *almost* make one forget about the controversy surrounding the shrine. At the shrine, a Book of Souls commemorates Japanese soldiers killed in war, and includes 14 Class A war criminals such as Hideki Tojo which are enshrined there as well. This angers many Korean and Chinese protesters, especially when Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits the shrine. No protesters this day, and luckily there were no right-wingers there either, with their loud booming megaphones and creepy nationalistic songs! The shrine itself has a nationalist perspective in its War Memorial Museum, which calls war "sorrowful," but fails to mention any atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II.

But I digress! Let's not forget the pretty, pretty sakura!