The Kanzashi My Mother Wore...

This weekend we had a bit of Ulster come visit Japan - a couple who live in the very same street as we do in Magherafelt, in fact - so we did the decent thing and took them to a parade.

The Gracia Procession takes place in Nagaokakyo, south west of Kyoto, and celebrates the tragic life of Hosokawa Gracia. Tragic because her old man, a samurai, bumped off his lord and master, “Orange Oda” Nobunaga, forcing her husband to divorce the "traitor's daughter" in shame. Distraught, she turned to Christianity, and Hosokawa-san has subsequently been immortalised as Japan's first (and only) saint, a character in James Clavell's Shogun, and as a somewhat racier reincarnation in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends.

After the decommissioning of arms that took place in 1945 under the supervision of General MacArthur, Japan has been a remarkably peaceful place (apart from the odd ‘punishment seppuku’ and ricin attack). For many centuries the two main communities – staunchly nationalist Sinn To and Johnny-come-lately spiritualists, B-UDA – have generally lived together in harmony, but a potential flashpoint has always been the tri-partite enclave surrounding Katsuryuuji Castle.

Miki O’Kamoto of the Gaasaki Road Residents’ Coalition is openly critical of the procession: “Bloody Christians, they’ve been here less than five hundred years and they march around like they own the place. Bring back Togukawa Ieyasu.”

According to the brochure they were using the 'very traditional route', but there was no mention of the location of ‘the field’.

Happily, the parade passed without incident. A spokesman for the local keisatsu-kyoku was pleased that appeals for calm and restraint had been heeded. “This is nothing though – you should see them in the summer. They go bloody bonkers with the old hanabi” he added.

Shichi-Go-San

November is - according to The Daily Yomiuri at least - a time to "celebrate parents' love for children" at the festival known as Shichigosan. And what better way to prove your love to kids by opening your wallet and haemorrhaging yen?

"Shichi-go-san" means "Seven-Five-Three", and it's a rite-of-passage for girls aged three and seven, and boys age three and five. On November 15 (seven + five + three - geddit?) or more likely the closest weekend, young people all over Japan visit their Shinto Shrine, dressed up to the nines, to be blessed with a long a prosperous life by the kannushi. That's the local vicar in these parts.

Jessica was well up for the significant amount of dressing-up required. The kimono is a complicated affair, comprising various layered undergarments accompanied by some eccentric accessories, including a wide belt (obi), split-toe socks (tabi), sandals (zori) and some brightly coloured dangly stuff (kanzashi) atop an elaborate hairstyle. Not relishing such foppery, my friend Alex and I made our excuses and left the girls to get on with it.

Now, back home we would have no doubt found a friendly alehouse and a football match to occupy the hour or so it took to get Jessica ready. Instead, we scuttled off to Starbucks round the corner and drank Gingerbread lattes. Oh, the shame, the shame...

More pix can be found here.