Hamamatsu Matsuri, aka Golden Week
Golden Week has come and gone, with the finality of the festivities emphasized by a night and day of rain. Now that our headaches are gone, cobwebs cleared, and pants dry, I present you with some text and photos in a loose report of varying style.
A brief summary of Hamamatsu Matsuri
Golden Week is celebrated throughout Japan… it is a week containing 3 or 4 national holidays so pretty much no one works (except for those unfortunate enough to be employed at a convenience store*) and everyone parties. Hamamatsu is overwhelmingly known for its kite festival, in which each neighborhood in the city builds huge bamboo and rice paper kites, takes them to the Nakatajima dunes, and for three days wage war in the sky.
The Hamamatsu Matsuri (festival) lasts for three days, though legend has it it used to last for five according to a businessman kzi was talking to. It seems five days of kite fights and float hauling was too much for everyone (I was exhausted after marginally participating in three). The festival rests on and encourages community involvement; the kites, floats, and bands are made by and comprised of individuals from each neighborhood. Neighborhoods vary in size, with Owari-cho (our neighborhood) encompassing eight blocks and the larger neighborhoods like Kamoe-N encompassing at least twenty. During the day, the kites engage in battle and in the evenings neighborhoods parade floats around the town and the bands gallivant about playing trumpets, waving lanterns, shouting “yoisho!” incessantly and drinking lots of sake and beer.