Matsuri Day!

~Another exciting and hectic week of teaching is over! While riding my bicycle to work today, I couldn't help but notice the large street festival taking place in downtown Nagaoka. During my lunch break, I wandered out a bit and managed to take some pictures:

^ The Nagaoka City Fireman Band was playing here for some reason. A group of old men wearing red armbands were lined up in front of the band; hazarding a guess, I'd say they were retired firefighters. Anyway, the band was really good. Nothing like a good brass band to lighten your mood.

^ As I mentioned before, Japanese teenagers are obsessed with hip-hop dancing. For hour after hour, successive dancing teams took to the street and performed their dance routines. I gathered that these girls in black are a high school team.

^ Here's another hip-hop team showing their stuff. These girls were dancing to loud American music, although for the life of me I couldn't make out the song.

^ One of those air-filled trampoline things that everyone loves to jump around in. It's modeled after Anpanman, an insanely popular children's cartoon character. His head is made out of jam-filled bread and he fights villains, and his head is always getting eaten off or burned and needs to be replaced. Disturbing.

Incidentally, one of my students is a girl with a round face and red cheeks, who told me that her parents nicknamed her 'Anpanman' because she looks like the character. Fortunately for her sanity, she has an easy-going disposition and laughs it off.

^ A motorized train ride for the kids behind Anpanman. The guy in the blue shirt (left-center) was the operator, and he looked completely beat and in desperate need of a drink. I hope he got a break.

^ The festival was not all entertainment; it was also to attract people to an open-air market along the streets, where vendors sold food, clothing, toys, artwork, saké, etc. There were also some more "interesting" things for sale:

^ All your life, you've wanted a pet to love and take care of, but your parents never let you. Now, for a mere 2,500 yen, you can be the proud owner of a Stag Beetle! This shiny, lovable insect is ready to be your pal. Take him home today! Have him fight to the death with the beetles of your friends, or love him forever; it's your choice.

Collecting large beetles is apparently a popular summer pastime for Japanese boys. Remember my insect-obsessed student? Two days ago, he brought a field guide on beetles to class, and eagerly pointed out the beetles that he'd collected so far. Well, to each his own.

^ The flail pictured above is not a toy; it was a real medieval-replica (?) steel weapon for only 3,000 yen (~$26). I was tempted to buy it to defend myself from possible North Korean invaders. And annoying children. And people who stare too much at foreigners. And noisy dogs. Seriously though, the nearby flintlock pistol would have complemented it nicely and struck fear into the hearts of...well, of whoever happened to be on the receiving end.

Your Word of the Post is matsuri, which is Japanese for festival (ma-tsu-ri, 祭 ). This festival was sponsored and organized by some kind of local commerce association, and I was delighted to discover that it is in fact a monthly event. Every month, on the second Thursday or Saturday (depending on the weather), there's all this entertainment. How cool is that? Why don't we have monthly festivals in the Raleigh area?

Finally, here's an interesting piece of artwork I ran across some time ago. It's not Japanglish, but it's something you probably won't see in America:

^ These lovable, cuddly bears grace the wall of a convenience store in Nagaoka (near the N-1 "pachinko" building...a possible connection?). The store itself stocks a large quantity of liquor for those late-night beer runs. These friendly-looking bears are here to attract the children and show them that drinking is FUN! Note the happy smile on the face of the bear on the right. Hey, I'd be happy too if I was holding a bottle of wine or whatever that is. ~Oyasumi!