Over the weekend we attended the Mikoshi Parade. The parade started out in town and then ended here on the base. It was open base, which means anyone is permitted to come onto the base with limited access and the base was overwhelmed by the local community.
It was one of the most interesting parades I've ever witnessed. To describe it is almost an impossiblity, but I will try. First of all, Mikoshi means, "portable shrine". A shrine houses a kami, a spirit or god or deity of the Shinto religion. The mikoshi allows the kami to experience the community of its people. These mikoshi were decorated with laterns and masks and were carried on the shoulders of both men and women.
At one point, Caleb was carried off into the crowd of men carring a mikoshi.
We also took about 300 pictures at the parade, but I'll bore you with only 29 of my favorites. Of course Caleb and Riley got the usual attention of being the blond haired, blue eyed babies in the middle of many Japanese people. Shawn was pulled into the parade and given a coat to wear and asked to carry one of the mikoshi. We enjoyed a pizza on the grass and had an awesome weekend!!! Take a look at the pictures at the following website...too many to upload for blogger....I have to warn you however, there is a picture of a man's butt checks....just in case the kiddos are looking....
http://picasaweb.google.com/rachaelplus2/SlideshowOfMikoshiParade?authkey=GhYNkMxS2qA#
1 comment:
This post is so interesting. I remember when I lived in Taiwan--I just loved all the parades and beliefs and superstitions.
Post a Comment