Last night 1000's of people gathered in front of a temple in a fishing village in Uozu for the last day of the Tatemon Festival. The typical festival fare: food, fireworks and yukatas. But this festival also has floats. These floats, made to look like fishing boats, represent different fishing neighborhoods. Each float weighs several tons. The trick is, it has to be brought to the temple by pulling and pushing. That sounds easy if it had wheels, but it doesn't. It's like a sled, but on asphalt and concrete, not snow! It's a challenge. Especially given the heat and humidity! We started pulling/pushing at about 9pm. We finally finished at about 12midnight. There were probably a hundred or so people assigned to move each float. And there were kids and muscians sitting on the float--lucky! Anyway, my arms are stiff and typing is a challenge! So here are some pictures!
What you can't see in the pictures: the heat & the humidity--it was intense!!!
What you can't taste: the sake being poured down our throats and the cold tea breaks!
What you can't smell: the sweat, the festival food, and the fishy smell of a port!
What you can't hear: the flutes, the taiko drums, and the heave-ho's!
What you can't feel: the burn of pulling for several hours!
2 comments:
Looks neat. But you're right, there are some things that photos just can't do justice to - you need to know how the moment plays on the rest of the senses, too! Thanks for your descriptions!
I've been kinda MIA...but I'm back in Madurai now and hopefully will be better about keeping in touch. I love reading what you're up to.
Love,
Marcie
can't
lift
my
arms
to
type....
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