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Yuino Matsuri Festival 2018 -The festival for connecting people with food, life and things in our lives-

2018.09.21

Festivals and events

the poster of the festival

“Yuino Matsuri” festival will be held at “Kura-no-tsuji” in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture from 11:00 to 21:00 on October 21st, 2018. The festival is conducted by young people from Fukui Prefecture for connecting people with foods, life and things in our lives.

 

 

the poster of the festival

At the festival, there will be several kinds of food stands such as soba (buckwheat noodles), tacos and foods using local products. There will also be various workshops that anyone from adults to children can take, such as playing Japanese drums, playing musical instruments, dancing, making small chairs, doing yoga, skateboarding, etc. Moreover, DJ Yasa, who had been the champion for five consecutive years (2007-2011) at the world’s largest DJ competition, the “DMC(Disco Mix Club) World Championship” will be giving lessons as well.

 

 

The photograph is one of the performances from last year.

The photograph above is from last year’s.

 

When I visited the “Yuino Matsuri” festival last year, I felt that the atmosphere of the festival was relaxing and enjoyable.

 

The venue was not that big, so I was able to see professional singers and dancers performing closely and it was exciting.

 

Other than the performance, mochi-tsuki (pounding boiled rice into mochi) was conducted and the mochi (rice cake) was served to everyone there. Also, there were some people selling bags, clothing, accessories, and artist’s work.

At night, the venue was lighted up with many handmade candles, lanterns and an open fire, and it was making the mood for the festival more exciting.

 

If you have a chance, how about visiting Yuino Matsuri (The festival of connecting with people, food, life and things in our lives) in Echizen City, Fukui?

 

 

I’d like to share a video of one of the artists of the festival, a reggae singer from Fukui City, “Sing J Roy”, who mainly performs in Fukui Prefecture. The song of the video I’m sharing is “Danne-za”, which means that's ok and/or don't worry in Fukui dialect. Please enjoy!

 

T.F

 

What is “Kurano-no-tsuji”…

According to the "information for visitors of Echizen City" in the official site of Echizen City
“Kura-no-tsuji” has old warehouses with white painted walls (1603-1868) which are opposite the Soja Shrine. This area flourished in the Edo Era as a stopping point for transporting supplies between the Kansai area and the Hokuriku area. During that area the row of warehouses belonged to merchants. Now, the warehouses are maintained in the district activation program, and are a must-see-spot in the downtown area.

Eiheiji Toro-nagashi （Lantern Festival) 2018

2018.09.08

Festivals and events

I visited an annual summer event, Eiheiji Toro-nagashi (Lantern Festival), which was held along Kuzuryu River in Eiheiji Town, Yoshida-gun, Fukui Prefecture on August 25th, 2018. Toro-nagashi is a Japanese ceremony in which participants release candle-lit lanterns into

a river as a way to help guide spirits to the other world.

 

This year was the 31st time for the festival to be held and it has been a seasonal tradition that tells summer will be ended soon. Many people in and out of the prefecture visit the festival every year.

 

There are several events held throughout the day, which are divided into daytime programs and night ones. I visited the night ones.

 

According to some acquaintances of mine who were there from the beginning of the festival, the daytime program was begun with a Japanese drum show at 2 p.m., visitors enjoyed

live shows by a local reggae singer and comedians. Also, the visitors enjoyed a show of a TV superhero, the “Masked Rider” (Kamen Rider).

 

 

Japanese festival common foods such as takoyaki (octopus dumpling)
fish from a local river

I arrived at around 6 p.m., and there were many visitors, and food stands which served Japanese festival common foods such as takoyaki (octopus dumpling) and okonomiyaki (savory Japanese-style of pancake). Some local dishes were served at the stands as well.

 

 

Eiheiji Lantern Ceremony

At 7 p.m., the Toro-nagashi ceremony began. Monks from Eiheiji Temple first read the sutra, and then participants released approximately 10,000 lanterns into the waters of the Kuzuryu River. Finally, at the end of the ceremony, a display of fireworks exploding in the night sky, was one of the highlights of the event.

 

If you have a chance to visit Fukui in the end of August, how about enjoying

the lantern ceremony in Eiheiji Town, Yoshida-gun, Fukui Prefecture?

 

T.F

Summer Festival Season -Yosakoi Icchorai Dance (Yosakoi style dance in Fukui)-

2018.08.01

Festivals and events

2018　fukui phoenix festival's poster

As I introduced in our previous blog that one of the main events in the first day of

Fukui Phoenix Festival is Fukui Phoenix Fireworks, which will be held on August 3rd, 2018.

 

On the second day of the festival (Aug. 4th, 2018), you can definitely enjoy watching

Yosakoi Icchorai Dance (Yosakoi style dance in Fukui) which is very popular among

foreign people as well. It starts at 15:45 and ends at 21:20. 39 teams will be competing.

 

I asked a few foreigners who like the Yosakoi Icchorai Dance the reason why they like it

so much. Most of them have said that they like it because the costumes are bright and colorful

which catch the eye. They also have mentioned about how the aggressive type of music and

the energetic dance are very exciting and overwhelming. One of them also said that

the female dancers who wrap themselves with cloth called “sarashi” look very cool as well.

 

 

The video was taken last year (2017) at Fukui Phoenix Festival

during the Yosakoi Icchorai Dance event.

 

The dancers had the bright and colorful costume waving a tall and large flag and shouting

something in Japanese (I think they were saying “let’s go” or something like it).

Their powerful synchronized dance was really overwhelming.

 

The Yosakoi Icchorai Dance started in 1999.

The members of the youth group of Fukui Chamber of Commerce learned about

Yosakoi Soaran Festival which is a mixture of Hokkaido’s Soran Bhushi folk melodies and

an energetic dancing event based on the Yosakoi Festival of Kochi Prefecture.

The members of the youth group of Fukui Chamber of Commerce wanted to start

a similar event for local residents to participate in the Fukui Phoenix Festival.

This was the start of Yosakoi Icchorai Dance.

 

There are only two rules and they are very simple.

The dancers must dance with “Naruko (clappers)” and they also must have phrases of

Fukui’s Soran Bhushi folk melodies in the music they dance to.

 

If you have a chance to visit Fukui during summer time,

how about enjoying the Yosakoi Icchorai Dance?

 

T.F

Lotus Flower Festival in Fukui -June 30th - August 12th, 2018-

2018.06.22

Festivals and events

Lotus Flower Festival 2018
Lotus Flower Festival 2018

The Lotus Flower Festival at Hanahasu (lotus flower) Park in South Echizen Town in Fukui Prefecture, falling every year in the beginning of summer, showcases 120 different kinds of lotus flowers from around the world. You can even see a rare one from Chiba Prefecture in Japan called “Oga hasu” lotus flowers which have bloomed for the first time in 2,000 years.

 

This year, the festival will be held from June 30th to August 12th, 2018. The park will be filled with beautiful flowers and it will look stunning.

 

Unlike many other flowers, lotus flowers grow in the condition which is surrounded by mud and muck, and by fish and insects. It is a simply dirty, rough condition.

 

Comparing ourselves to lotus flowers, the condition where the lotus flowers grow is like our life which can sometimes be difficult, hard and problematic.

 

Even the lotus flowers grow in the dirty and rough condition, the flowers bloom beautifully. We can say that the lotus flowers are like ourselves that we can become wiser, stronger, happier, more successful, more loving and/or anything better, even if we go through hardship.

 

If you have a chance to visit Fukui and the lotus flower festival, how about enjoying the beauty of the flowers, comparing your life to the mud, and comparing yourself to the flowers? I’m sure you will realize that how you might have overcome hardships in your life and become a better one.

 

T.F

Talk show about Japanese solitary confidential agent Kei Wakaizumi

2018.05.01

Festivals and events

The other day, I went to listen to a talk show about a scholar in international politics, Kei Wakaizumi(1930 – 1996) , who was born in Fukui Prefecture. Mr. Ryuichi Teshima, who is a foreign diplomacy journalist and knew Wakaizumi, gave a talk.

 


Mr. Teshima during the talk

 

At the opening of the show, the host gave a talk that 21 years passed after the death of Wakaizumi and the numbers of people who know his achievement have declined, also four years later, it will mark the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, so he wanted to spread Wakaizumi’s thoughts much more widely for the occasion. He said that Wakaizumi was just like Kissinger in Japan but Mr. Teshima objected to only about it because the two men’s personality was very different.

 

As I wrote about Wakaizumi on our blog before, Japanese confidential agent for Okinawa’s reversion, he looked quiet, calm and humble despite he was under immeasurable pressure.

 

Also, there is an exhibit like this related to Wakaizumi in Fukui International Activities Plaza.

 

Mr. Teshima said that Wakaizumi is not history and he still shows a controversy which we should face, and Okinawa’s reversion to Japan would be delayed so badly without Wakaizumi. Also, his thought has been handed down through Mr. Shotaro Yachi, who is an early disciple of Wakaizumi and the first head of Japan’s National Security Council.

 

Coincidentally, a North-South summit was held for the first time in 11 years. If Wakaizumi were alive, what would he think about the situation? What will happen to the U.S. military bases in Okinawa, which Wakaizumi was deeply distressed? I want to see the transition period of this rare international situation carefully. (H.S)

 

[Profile of Mr. Ryuichi Teshima]
Former NHK political correspondent. During the Gulf War, he reported from the front line.
When 9.11 occurred, he had a live at the site for 11 days night and day. He retired from NHK in 2005 and the following year, he published Japan's first intelligence novel which was a big hit. Now, he teaches younger people about foreign diplomacy and security at a university and a foreign diplomacy research institution. 68 years old.

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