I finally have time to share my experience at the music festival! Weeks of preparation, learning and practicing Taiko drums, finally came to an end. I thought I had so much to prepare and worry about, but the work and effort given especially by the group leaders was incredible. Since our group (out of five) was the leader of the festival this year, there was even more to plan and prepare on their end, making my little part seem almost silly!
To begin the first day, we had help from a local in putting on our uniforms. She helped us with the belts and tied them super tight and low as per tradition. Most of the day consisted of pulling the shrine with huge ropes yelling “Wah Shoi” to encourage everyone to stay positive and try their hardest. We were pulling everyone playing drums and flutes on the shrine, and there were even people on the roof with lanterns. We would stop at different locations and our leaders would present our group and say a few words, but the instrumentalists would switch out as the shrine was moving. Mostly kids played the drums which surprised me a bit, I would have thought the fast playing elders would play throughout the town, but now I see that they had their time and its about preserving the tradition in their kids. It was fun to watch as shrines met through the town face off and play at each other. One of the most fun moments of the day was running up the hill near the end of the night. No kids were allowed on the rope at this time to avoid injury so there was a lot more room as we ran full speed up the hill with hundreds of spectators on either side of us. Then to close the night the shrines met in a circle and played their group’s song. I also got to play the drums twice that night! It was such a rush getting up there and looking out into the crowd, but I just did my best and smiled through the song.
The second day was much hotter so my sister mom and I took a more hands off approach to the day and spent some more time observing and enjoying the festival. Forgot to mention that they came to visit and we had some wonderful days together. We were so lucky to have them in the festival as well. Emily and I walked around the venders, had some delicious food, and made it back to the shrine in time to pull it up the hill again. At the end of that day the shrines met in the large parking lot in a half circle and played in order several times. I was given the chance to play again, an experience unlike any other. I’m so grateful to have been taught and welcomed into these traditions.
This post doesn’t begin to capture the energy and excitement felt on those days. Yes they were long sweaty days, but the sense of community and passion urged you to keep pushing your worn out body. I’m already missing the late night Taiko practices and those from our festival group. If it was something I looked forward to each day, I can’t imagine how much the people of Onishi love it and miss it when the two days come to an end. I can’t stress enough how kind and welcoming everyone has been to us. This is a pretty close knit town, and the fact that they were so open to allowing us to join their biggest pride is just incredible. I will never forget the festival and the faces that let me be a part of it.