Day 161 - 7th of February

12:41pm　急行
天気：晴れ
I’m on the express to 橿原神宮前 (Kashihara Jingu-mae). We’re going to see a fertility festival in Asuka; that’s Sam, Jeremy, Victor, Naoya, Jacinthe, Hugo, Rachael, and I. When we went on the field trip to Asuka last semester in History, I recall transferring trains at Kashihara Jingu-mae. It’s a nice, relatively warm day, and there’s no sign of snow, which is a shame. Still, on the way to Makino this morning, there was a bit of snow on the ground, hiding in the shadows. I don’t know what exactly to expect from this festival, but I think it will be fun…

5:30pm　急行
We’re on the train back to Tambabashi. The festival was so fascinating… When we got to Kashihara, we hastily made our way to the bus stop, and found the bus that would take us out front of Asuka Daibutsu. We met up with another large group of Gaidai students, and ended up all crammed on the same bus together. I was worried we weren’t going to make it in time, while realising I’d been to this area before on the field trip. We went past the museum, and up the same street we had came riding down so many months ago. We got off in front of Asuka-dera (which I’d also been to before), after driving past the shrine, and the chaos, we would soon be a part of. The shrine is called 飛鳥坐神社 (Asuka Niimasu Jinga – Asuka “sitting” shrine) and while we never went to it during the field trip, I remember Jo pointing it out, curious to see it. We made our way through the torii, past the stalls, and up the steep steps, to a crowded opening in front of a stage; we had arrived just in time. I decided to film it, and again was thankful for my height; we were quite far back, and not everyone was so lucky. The festival started slow, with representatives from other shrines in the area making offerings and praying. We noticed three figures in the back in costume and wearing masks; an ox, a 天狗 (Tengu – lit. “Heavenly dog” – dangerous, but protective spirits, characterised by their unusually long noses), and an old man.

After all the representatives had finished, the “play” started. First, the cycle of rice planting and harvesting was depicted, with the ox ploughing the field, and then a priest sowing the seeds, and panting the crops; agricultural fertility. The story was narrated, and the three characters were all very playful and ludicrous at times. They came out into the crowd, hitting people on the legs and bottoms with bamboo rakes, before going down the hill. Returning, they brought with them an “old women” masked figure in kimono. Then the old man and woman depicted the act of human procreation. Bits of tissue were thrown out into the crowd. Called fuku no kami, which is a pun ~ fuku no kami can be written in kanji to mean “lucky gods”, or “wiping paper” ~ they were blessed, and also significant in their use after intercourse; hence the term wiping paper. Also depicted, was the spilling of seed, by the Tengu figure, holding a bamboo rod as a phalluc symbol; he aimed this toward both the crowd, and the represtentatives.

Offerings of rice were made, and then a priestess performed a dance to pre-recorded music; still very beautiful and haunting though. More offerings were made, and then everyone up on the stage (including some children) started throwing mochi into the crowd. Although the ritual was over, the Tengu, Ox, and old man and women figures, continued to prowl around the crowd, whacking young and old alike. Being whacked like this is supposed to wake up the spirit from its winter hibernation, to get ready for spring; I got whacked a couple of times on the legs. Some older people readily bent over to get hit, but the kids generally ran away, screaming in fear or delight as they were chased after. As the crowd made their way back down the hill, I met with Jacinthe and Rachael and we explored the shrine some. Rachael and Jacinthe had both caught some mochi, and when we went up the stage, a man gave us more, and also gave Jacinthe a piece of tissue paper. We then made our way back down the hill, and met up with the rest of the group, and also Jo and a few others, who had only seen the last few minutes of the play. This didn’t mean there were exempt from the whacking.

One girl in particular (Liz), got hit so hard she was crying. We joked that she would be expecting a lot of babies; linking the whacking with fertility too. We decided to check out Asuka-dera, and Jo and I explained to the others the practice involving the pouring of the water on the three Buddha’s heads. The scenery was just so beautiful, painted orange by the setting sun; I’m glad I got to see Asuka again. Content with our lot, we waited for the bus out front, which finally came at 5:02; at least we got to sit down this time. We got back to the station, and got straight on the train, and here I am still; it’s a long ride back. Today was really amazing. It was just such a different sort of thing to see, and says a lot about the mindset, and attitudes of the Japanese; it was a real eye-opener. In a way, it kinda makes me feel like I’m missing out on something in my own background, so I was truly grateful to have seen it. I know there is another really famous fertility festival in March near Nagoya, and while I doubt I’ll be able to see it, I’ll have to let Alex know. Jacinthe is studying, a few people are reading or listening to music, and the rest have their eyes closed; I think I shall join them…