One of Japan`s GREATEST Fireworks Events- The Tsuchiura Hanabi Taikai- Will Be Held This Coming Saturday Night- Here is it`s surprising history
The Jinryu-Ji Temple in Tsuchiura
Jinryu-Ji (神龍寺), in Tsuchiura, is a Soto Sect Zen Temple which was founded in 1530. Within its precincts stands a memorial stone dedicated to consoling the spirits of pilots who lost their lives training on, over, and around Lake Kasumigaura, along whose shores once lay the Naval-Air Force, and later the YOKAREN (予科練） flight training schools. In the early years of aviation, accidents took a heavy toll on student (and experienced) pilots.
In 1925 (Taisho 14), Jinryu-Ji`s priest Akimoto Baiho’s dream of holding a national fireworks competition became a reality. He had been pushing this idea as a stimulus to revive the sluggish local economy AND as a tribute and consolation to all these fallen pilots (remember, this is LONG before WWII).
Considering this proposed purpose, it is surprising that the competition is held NOT by the lake, but along the Sakura River. This might be because, traditionally, the great fireworks events of Japan have been associated with rivers, especially the great Sumida River event (in Tokyo) which has been held almost every year since 1733.
Except for a pause during the war years, the Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition has been taking place every year(since 1925) and it seems to be getting more and more popular with each coming year. One reason for this is that most fireworks events in Japan are held in summer, while this one is in autumn. Thus there are no similar events(in summer there are thousands!) to compete with. Of course, there is also the quality of the event. Each year, fireworks fans can get a glimpse of each master’s latest creation. It is a two hour state-of-the-art HANABI extravaganza, and the pyrotechnist who takes first place has received the highest honor in his field.
Hanabi, literally means FIRE-FLOWERS, and in Japan that is traditionally what you got: whiiiiiiiiiiiiish- POW -cherry blossom, whiiiiiiiish-POW- chrysanthemum, whiiiiiiiiiish-POW- plum blossom.The connection with blossoms is strong. In fact, fireworks viewing is considered by many Japanese to be a LIFE-CYCLE MARKER, along with cherry blossom viewing. By that I mean that many Japanese, every year of their lives, from childhood through old age experience these seasonal VIEWING EVENTS. In this way they measure the years as they pass by.
Fireworks are also linked to cherry blossoms in that they both burst out in a fleeting moment of beauty which quickly fades away, symbolizing MUJO (the ephemeral nature of all things). In recent years, however, with the popularity of star mines, the competition has started reminding me more of the BIGNESS of an American 4th of July style firework bombardment. A barrage, as opposed to the dainty and delicate HANABI of the past.
It is interesting to note that as part of the mysterious way culture flows through the world over the ages, fireworks, now linked so stongly with traditional Japanese culture were actually introduced to Japan by Europeans. The Portuguese brought them here in the 1500s along with Western firearms. The first recorded instance of a HANABI event took place in 1613 and was sponsored by Tokugawa Ieyasu himself.
Today I went to check out the preparations for this weekend’s festivities. Laborers (including women and children!!!!) were hard at work putting up unsightly plywood boards to prevent viewers from crowding the bridge or occupying any roadside knolls. Things look very bad indeed, but they say it’s safer this way. The reserved seats (sajiki) have been set up, but alas, the weather forecast is not very favorable ( the festivities could very well be postponed for a week).
If extremely crowded and noisy conditions are not your thing, you might want to enjoy the event from afar (as so many Tsukubans do). One place I would recommend for that is the Kamitakatsu Shell Mound Park. There on the expansive lawn you can spread your legs, picnic, and enjoy the occasional firework that emerges from behind the trees. There is usually some good music to be heard there too.
Of course if you dont get up close you cant experience the pungent smell of the powder and the tumbling ash,
See you there!
Here is a report on last years Hanabi Taikai:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/10/best-tsuchiura-fireworks-ever/
and some more things Ive written about this season in Tsukuba:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/09/in-autumn-dont-forget-web-search-as-you-head-for-your-front-door/
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/10/still-more-fall-foraging-in-tsukuba-akebi/
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/09/tsukubas-gingko-nut-nuts-putting-their-gloves-on/
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The 28th (and the evening of the 27th) of Each Month is the Time for Prayer Meetings at Tsukuba`s ( and the surrounding area`s) Fudo-Halls (不動尊)
It was the 27th, and July is an odd numbered month (the 7th), so I knew where I could find Mrs. Okamino. I built up the determination to step out of my house and into the throbbing heat. With notebook and pen in hand and a squint on my face, I slowly walked around the corner and headed towards the Sakura City Office. About a hundred meters later, I came to an old wooden structure covered with an out-of-place red tin roof. When I saw that the doors and shutters were open and the cushions were airing out in the sun I felt reassured. And, just like clockwork, there she was, broom in hand, vigorously sweeping the grounds of this old neighborhood meeting hall where women regularly gather gather to pray for health, fertility, and easy delivery.
Tsukuba has been changing rapidly with plenty of new buildings and a large influx of out-of-towners. Stiil, with all the dramatic changes, the city can be seen as being a collection of villages which retain their own identities. The community spirit can most easily be recognized by outside observers in the village Matsuri (festivals). If you look more carefully, however, you will find other signs of what life was like before this area was turned into The Science City.
One interesting feature of the village (shuraku or buraku) is the meeting hall (shukaijo). Now many of these have been rebuilt as what look like prefabricated sheds. However, you can still find several meeting halls that are used for KO (講）which are traditional wooden structures which could be mistaken for a small shrine or temple. Ko are prayer or study meetings which became popular in this region in the Edo Period (1600-1868). There are a confusing variety of KO, and I have described the most popular one, The Ko of the 19th (ju ku ya ko,十九夜講) in an Alien Times article.
Mrs. Okamino was concentrating deeply on her sweeping and did not notice my approach. I almost felt bad that I was going to disturb her, but I was determined to talk to her about that night’s Fudo-Ko and to get some pictures of the inside of the Fudo Hall, especially of the fearsome statue of Fudo-Myoo,whom the women respectfully refer to as Fudo-Sama,which I had only ever had a peek at through the grating of at the front of the hall.
For many generations, a Fudo-Ko (women’s prayer meeting in front of the image of Fudo Myoo) has been held at this worship hall in Higashioka. It had always been held once a month, on the 27th, but now with it getting harder and harder to get the neighborhood women together (only eight regularly gather now), the frequency has been reduced to one meeting every other month.
The women take turns being toban, the person in charge of preparing food and tea, and they get together at about 8 pm, chanting the Dainichi Kyo Sutra which they all know by heart. This is done before an impressive wooden image of Fudo Myoo (不働明王), one of the 5 Deva Kings to have been introduced to Japan in the 9th century by the great Buddhist priest Kukai in the 9th century. For some reason, Fudo, the Unmoveable One, became the most popular of these frightening figures, and a cult of Fudo spread throughout the islands, with special success in the Kanto Area, where he was worshiped by both warriors and peasants alike.The most famous place known for its worship of Fudo is Narita-San Temple(Shinsho-Ji),one of the most visited in all of Japan This popularity is interesting because in India and China it is RARE to find an image of Fudo alone (one that is not part of the group of all five myoo). I have not yey been able to determine just why this particular figure was so attractive for the Japanese.
The Fudo image at the Higashioka worship hall is impressive indeed with his sword and rope and halo of flames. What a contrast to the serene Niorin Kannon image worshipped at the Ju ku ya ko(19th night Ko). This difference in countenance,however, does not indicate a difference in objective, as the Fudo Myoo uses his fiercely determined expression to bring people to an understanding of Buddhism. He is believed to bring good health and easy delivery,prevent disaster and even bring monetary success.
Certainly, sitting in the old hall, smelling of ancient tatami mats, with Fudo glaring down as the rhythmic chanting pounds in their ears, could not help but make worshipers reflect on their ways and consider taking the correct, middle path .
Of the dozen or so Ko regularly practiced in this area before WW2, a few are still actively being kept alive. Just across the Hanamuro River in Saiki, there is another very interesting Fudo Hall which I have discussed in a past posting:
The old Fudo Hall in Saiki, Tsukuba
[/caption]There is no listing of these events online or in any printed form ( though the interesting and open-to-all- monthly Fudo Meeting which takes place at the old Fudo-Zon Hall just past the Kaba-San Jinja in Makabe is listed on The Traditional Events in and around Tsukuba Page). The best way to get information about a Ko near you is to speak to the older people in your neighborhood. They will be very glad to hear that you are interested.
The Fudo-zon Hall just up the road from the Kaba-San Shrines in Makabe. Ceremonies are held every month on the 28th from 10 AM. Anyone is welcome.
The roving mountain priestess who performs the ancient goma taki rituals at the Fudo Hall on Mt Kaba every month
After the ceremonies on the 28th each month at Mt Kaba, you can hang out and shmooz with all those who attended
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The Japanese Custom of O-Higan- Remembering Ancestors Are On and Around The Equinox Days (O-Higan)- Revisited
The Japanese never go very long without taking care of their ancestors or departed loved ones. In fact, there are many who pray and make offerings at their family altar (butsudan) every single day. In addition, as part of the annual cycle of events, there are four times a year (besides individual memorial days) for special ceremonies in which extra efforts are made for family members who have passed on: New Years, O-Bon (in August) and then the week around (three days before and three days after) the equinox days. In fact, there are national holidays in March and September making it possible for anyone who wishes to do so to visit their family graves for O-Higan (for a more comprehensive explaination of O-higan see my article).
Walking around Tsukuba today, I saw many signs of this autumn`s higan-iri (彼岸入）, the first day of O-Higan. First, the graves in all the old neighborhood cemeteries have been swept and decorated with offerings of seasonal flowers.
In and around these graveyards, and in many other places as well (the gardens of old houses, parks, or even along the road), are the amazing higanbana. These flowers are so named for the very fact that they appear, each year, during the higan season.
Higanbana along Tsuchiura-Gakuen Road
At convenience stores, department stores and traditional sweet shops, O-Hagi are on sale. These are oval shaped mochi-rice cakes, covered with a layer of sweet beans, soy bean powder, or black sesame. You can buy them individually, or in sets. The name of these traditional cakes during the autumn o-higan is o-hagi because hagi are a typical flower of this season, while the same sweet cake in spring is called botan-mochi, after the peony, a typical spring flower.
O-Hagi at Seibu
You will notice that many Japanese, when talking about the weather will use the expression- atsusa samusa mo higan made (hot and cold until O-higan), which I guess means that the equinox days (spring and autumn) are seasonal and climatic turning-points. With the crazy weather we’ve been having who knows when it will get cooler. One thing is for sure, though, the nights will start getting longer and longer, until next spring’s equinox.
Higan-Bana at Tsukuba`s Botanical Garden 2009 Print This Post
A Look at Moon-Viewing ( O-Tsukimi, お月見) in Japan- Tonight (Sept. 22nd) is the Ju-Go-Ya, while tomorrow night, September 23rd, will be the night of the full moon
The full moon of mid-autumn (chushu no meigetsu , 仲秋名月） with pampas grass (susuki)
When they followed their traditional LUNISOLAR calendar, now referred to as the kyu-reki (旧暦, former calendar) or inreki (陰暦), the Japanese were always in tune with the MOON and its PHASES. In fact, under that old system of ordering the days, months and seasons ( first introduced to Japan from Tang China via Korea sometime in the mid- 6th century), the days of the month were directly connected to the moons waxing and waning. Thus, it was possible on many specific dates to predict the shape that the moon would take in the sky on that particular night. Most famously, the FULL MOON (満月、mangetsu) would almost always appear on the night of the 15th (ju-go-ya, 十五夜) of each month ( though this year the full moon will actually appear the next day- TOMORROW- Sept. 23rd 2010).
Since the Japanese government of the Meiji Period ( a time of rabid Westernization and modernization) decided to drop this old lunisolar calendar in favor of the solar based Gregorian one( in 1873), consciousness of the moon and its cycle has been ON THE WANE, as the dates of the NEW CALENDAR no longer coincide with the lunar phases. Thus, even though some modern Japanese calendars DO show the KOYOMI dates (in hard to notice, small print) , it is still easy to lose track of when important traditional ceremonies are coming up. It is ironic, that it is now CONVENIENCE STORES (an institiution which can be said to bear great responsibility in the precipitous demise of traditional lifestles and family relationships), which help remind the general public about the coming of one of Japan`s MOST ANCIENT AND ENDEARING CUSTOMS- O-Tsukimi ( お月見, Moon-Viewing). They do this by setting up displays ( which look charmingly home-made) featuring the iconic symbols of the event- moons and rabbits ( according to Japanese and Chinese legend, there is a rabbit on the moon!), Tsukimi-Dango ( moon shaped rice dumplings) and Chinese moon cakes, as well as stalks of real pampas grass (susuki, 薄).
Tsukimi dango and pampas grass (susuki) at a convenience store in Tsukuba
Though the moon`s beauty can be appreciated at any time of year, in Japan doing so is strongly connected with AUTUMN. In fact , in Haiku poetry the word moon- TSUKI (月), by itself , is a keyword indicating the fall. This is not only because at that time of year temperatures and weather conditions are at their most suitable for such outdoor activity at night, but also because, in the northern hemisphere, the moon seems to be especially large and NEAR to us during the autumn months.
For the Japanese, whose culture is so connected to the changing of the seasons and the appreciation of natural beauty, viewing this autumn moon ( the Harvest Moon, in English) came to be one of the most cherished and anticipated activities of the year!. There was (is) even the saying- HARU WA HANA- AKI WA TSUKI- in spring cherry blossoms, in autumn the moon! Countless works of art, especially in poetry and painting focused on the moon as its major motif, suggesting not only beauty, but continuous change, and even revival. Here is one very famous ( and anonymous) classical poem which expresses the SPECIAL joy of viewing the moon in mid-autumn:
Tsukizuki ni tsuki miru tsuki wa oo keredo tsuki miru tsuki wa kono tsuki no tsuki ( 月々に月見る月は多けれど月見る月はこの月の月) , which I translate, using the word moon to mean both MONTH and MOON, as it does in Japanese-
Moon after moon there are so many moons to be viewed, but as for a MOON-VIEWING moon there is none other than this moon`s moon!
According to the traditional calendar, the months of autumn are the 7th, 8th and 9th, months. These roughly correspond to the Gregorian late August, September, October and early November. The custom of viewing the mid-autumn full moon (仲秋名月, chu-shu-meigetsu), which appears in the sky on the 15th day of 8th month (sometime in September or October according to the new calendar) while eating , drinking and composing and reciting poetry, was introduced to Japan from China. The oldest record of such a formal Chinese- style Moon-Viewing party held by the Japanese Imperial Court dates back to the year 856 ( the third year of the Emperor Saikou). However, many scholars believe that the Japanese people had been making offerings to the moon, in order to pray for or give thanks for a good harvest, since LONG BEFORE the Chinese style celebrations were introduced.
The reason for assuming this, is that among the common people ( and later for anyone doing Tsuki-Mi), it was (and still is) the custom to offer SATO-IMO (里芋), taro, to the moon in this season , as part of a general rite of prayer called the HATSUHO-MATSURI (初穂祭り, Festival of the First Harvest）. In fact, an alternate name for the mid-autumn full moon is the TARO-FULL-MOON (IMO-MEIGETSU. 芋名月）, which might just very well be a LIVING CONNECTION with Japans prehistoric, pre-rice cultivating past, when the taro was the staple food of the inhabitants of these islands.
Taro and tsukimi dango (rice dumplings) being offered to the moon
Another indication that there was a native Japanese version of the Chinese custom of moon-viewing is the fact that in Japan, it is considered incomplete, or even UNLUCKY to do TSUKI-MI only on the 15th day of the 8th month ( the day the Chinese do it)- which is tonight! Doing so is called KATAMI-TSUKI (片見月）, literally, a half-viewed moon. For a full and satisfactoryTSUKI-MI one also had to view the moon and make offerings on the 13th DAY OF THE 9th MONTH ( called- Ju-san-ya, 十三夜）. It is possible that before the Chinese custom of formal moon-viewing was introduced that the Japanese had a similar custom, involving offerings and supplications to the moon, which took place about one month later. It has also been suggested by commentators, that the shape of the moon on the 13th ( 十三夜), not quite, but just nearly full, is more appealing to the aesthetic sensibilities of the Japanese!
Anyway, no matter what the origins, people continue to do tsukimi to this day. Whereas the Chinese have a national holiday and celebrate by eating large, round moon cakes ( to symbolize family unity), the Japanese make offerings to the moon ( by leaving them in a place exposed to the moon-light) of seasonal crops ( chestnuts, persimons, taro, apples), seasonal plants ( bush clover, etc.) and little round rice dumplings called Tsuki-mi dango. Usually 15 ( for the 15th night) or 12 ( for 12 months of the year) of these dango are placed in a traditional tray called a SANBO (三方) . One very interesting folk belief related to these dango is that your family will have good luck ( and a good harvest) if these little sweets are stolen from your offering tray! Thus, moon-viewing night was an exciting time for kids, who would be permitted, or even encouraged, to steal the neighbors dango. These kids were (are ) called O-Tsuki-Mi Dorobo ( お月見泥棒）。
An essential element for any Tsukimi event is some pampas grass. One thing that stands out in my memory is that every year at moon viewing time, the 7-11 near Doho Park, in Tsukuba, gives out free susuki to any one who wanted it .
The significance of this plant is not only its being emblematic of the season. It also resembles rice stalks (though much larger, they are a member of the same family), and thus, moon viewing offerings symbolically connect the old slash and burn agriculture of prehistoric Japan ( the taro) with the culture of rice ( by the presence of susuki and the rice dumplings, in former times the real rice would not have been harvested yet). Susuki also has prickly leaves and stems on its leaves and is sharp where it is cut off, making it useful for symbolically driving away evil.
Most importantly, the stalks act as YORISHIRO (依代), antennae which attract the spirit of the moon to the offerings ( at New Years Kadomatsu, bamboo and pine decorations, are yorishiro- and on childrens day the poles of the carp streamers (Koi nobori) originally had the same function.
Last year the full moon coincided with the great Tsuchiura fireworks event. As I watched from the HANABI (fireworks) from afar, I was lucky enough to be able to occassionally see the mid-autumn moon whenever the clouds presented an opening. The people around me were all alternately viewing the Hanabi and the moon. It is hard to say which was more entrancing.
If the moon can fill modern man( for whom it is merely a PIECE OF ROCK orbiting around the Earth), with such wonder, imagine how mysterious and even awesome it was to those who had no scientific explanation for it.
Besides providing precious light at night, the Japanese realized that the moon did have an influence on the world around them, the tides, the activities of animals (sea turtles lay their eggs on full moon nights), etc. They also felt a strong connection between the moon and womens menstrual cycles and by extension childbirth.
It is because of this that in Japan, besides the autumn moon viewing events, there were regularly held prayer meetings on particular days of the month ( depending on the community). In Tsukuba, such meetings ( O-Koh, お講) are still held on the 19th of the month. Numerous sacred stones attest to the fact that other nights were once popular for holding these gatherings at which women prayed for easy delivery and family health. Probably the most common of these stones commemorate prayers on the 23rd night (二十三夜).
A niju sanya stone (二十三夜塔) which indicates that special prayer meetings had once been held during that phase of the moon
You can do O-Tsukimi tonight- JU-GO-YA, or tomorrow night ( Sept. 23rd 2010) when the moon is truly full. You then have another chance next month.You too can join the minion of LUNATICS. In fact, the moon-viewing afficionados of old would enjoy not only the full moon of the 15th, but also, in their uncontrollable anticipation, watch the 14th night moon. This night was called MACHIYOI (待宵), the night of excited expectation! Then after the 15th, day by day, the moon rises a little later and its shape grows more and more cut-off. There are specific names the poets have given to each of these phases of the mid-autumn moon- on the 16th ( of the old calendar) you can view the IZAYOI (十六や), the 17th the TACHIMACHI-ZUKI (立待月), the 18th the IMACHI-ZUKI (居待月, and so on.
This year the 13th night of the 9th month (ju-san-ya, 十三夜) will fall on October 22nd.
For more on this season read:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/11/kaki-is-the-color-and-flavor-of-fall-in-rural-japan/
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Japan`s Prehistoric Staple Food – The Chestnut ( KURI, 栗), Is One of Tsukuba`s Most Outstanding (and dangerous!) Features- revisited
My neighbor, out early in the morning with boots, basket, and tongs! Sept 2010
Kuri on the tree in September. This year`s (2010) chestnut crop was greatly damaged by the summers unusually high temperatures
In Tsukuba, early on September mornings, you are very likely to see farmers who are walking, on bicycle, or emerging from pickup trucks, carrying metal TONGS. And though the weather is JUST RIGHT for it, these early risers ARE NOT, as you might assume, heading out to get a BARBECUE going. Wearing boots and gloves, and almost always with a plastic basket at their side, they will proceed to use these forceps ( which are usually for moving burning charcoal), for gathering in one of Ibaraki Prefectures most important and delicious crops- chestnuts ( KURI).
Gathering KURI (chestnuts) in Higashi-oka, Tsukuba
The reason the farmers need all this protective gear for harvesting chestnuts, is that these fruit come encased in what look uncannily like spiny SEA URCHINS (uni),with hundreds (?) of sharp needles jutting forbiddingly out of them. Tsukuba residents, in particular those living in the older neighborhoods, have to learn to keep an eye out for these dangerous burrs which lay scattered on the ground ALL YEAR ROUND, especially if they have small children or dogs ( if a toddler stumbles and falls face first onto a chestnut case you have a serious injury, and when your dog starts limping during a walk, the first possible cause that comes to mind in my neighborhood is that he/she has stepped on one).
My neighbor all set for gathering Kuri- Sept. 2010
In autumn, we have to be DOUBLY alert, as not only are there more than the usual amount of spiny casings on the ground , but there are also chestnuts continually falling from the trees, often onto sidewalks! I know one case of an elementary school child who had to be rushed to the hospital after getting a chestnut on the head- OUCH !
The spiny casings left over after the chestnuts have been picked out of them
Though the varieties of chestnut grown in Ibaraki today (my neighbors grow the KUNIMI ( 国見) variety, while a variety called TSUKUBA is the most commonly grown type in the country) were only introduced to these parts in the 20th century, archaeologists have shown that Japan`s prehistoric inhabitants, usually thought of as hunter- gatherers, not only ate lots of KURI but in fact CULTIVATED their trees! Excavations in Aomori Prefecture (the Sannaiyaman Iseki), and Fukui Prefecture (Torihama Kaizuka) have revealed how thousands of years before rice agriculture was introduced to the Japanese Islands, villagers had cleared the forest around them, leaving only chestnut and walnut trees, creating forests of these these trees, which appear to have been carefully managed. Chestnuts, which are highly nutritious, seem to have been the staple food of these early residents of Japan. One cant help but feeling the connection with this distant past when hiking in the woods with Japanese families- there is so much excitement over finding and picking up wild chestnuts and acorns!
Even after rice, barley and millet became major food products , chestnuts remained important as a crop, not only for use in a variety of different dishes and sweets, but also as an EMERGENCY FOOD to fall back on in times of famine. There are many references to this fact in classical Japanese texts, including the Nihon Shoki ( 720 AD).
Beware of falling KURI !
Over the centuries, chestnut trees, especially those which bear SHIBAGURI (wild chestnuts) were allowed to grow in Japan`s satoyama (carefully managed woods on hills above villages), as the trees were widely used not only for food but also for timber (making roofing, and other boards for housing, etc). By the end of the 19th century, these trees came to be extremely common.
A typical September groundscape in Tsukuba
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