Last Monday was 文化の日 (Culture Day). (You can read a very short FAQ that I wrote about Culture Day if you click here).
On 文化の日 (Culture Day), the Emperor awards medals to people who have contributed to Japanese society that year. My wife’s grandfather was a volunteer firefighter in Tokyo for over 50 years when he was young. On his 50th year with the Tokyo Volunteer Fire Department, he received a medal from the Emperor on 文化の日 (Cuture Day).
There are also many festivals in Japan on 文化の日 (Culture Day)…東京時代祭 (Tokyo Era Festival), 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery), etc.
We went to the 東京時代祭 (Tokyo Era Festival). This festival is every year on 文化の日 (Culture Day) at 浅草 (Asakusa, Tokyo).
This is a fun festival with the main part being a large parade of people in costumes representing different eras in Tokyo’s history.
There’s Samurai, Geisha, traditional Japanese dancers, U.S. Commodore Perry and his crew and many more.
Here are some of the many photos and videos that I took (if you wanna see all of the videos I took, they’re on My YouTube Page. Click here):
This sign says 「東京時代祭」 (Tokyo Era Festival):
The 天狗 (Tengu):
歌舞伎 (Kabuki):
神輿 (Portable Shrine):
Common people, including children, brought huge stones across the country to 東京 (Tokyo) (called 江戸 (Edo) back then) to build the Edo Castle:
Japanese firefighters:
七福神 (Seven gods of fortune):
芸者 (Geisha):
This group represents Commodore Perry and his crew of the U.S. Navy who, with his fleet of black ships, forced Japan to open up and trade with the West:
At the end of the parade, they carried this sign to promote Japan’s campaign to host the 2016 Olympics. It said 「日本だから、できる。 あたらしいオリンピック！」 (“We’re Japan, so we can do it. A new Olympics!”):
Tokyo Five 
this is soooooo amazing OwO, its like being in japan without the whole being physically there thing OWO
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Thank you!
You should come to Tokyo and check this festival out in person…
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I’ll try though (if I am free this year, did I mention I don’t travel a lot? >_<)
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I don’t travel overseas often at all either. Too expensive!
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hence why I think I don’t have a chance of going to japan (the plane tickets are expensive, not to mention the tons of cultural related things I have to know before going there)
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I don’t think it’ll be that easy -___-…. (since I don’t travel a lot)
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If you get a chance, you should though, I think.
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>hence why I think I don’t have a chance of going to japan (the plane tickets are expensive, not to mention the tons of cultural related things I have to know before going there)
It is expensive…but you don’t have to be an expert in a country’s culture just to visit the country!
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I added a few more of my photos from this festival to this post…
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品川宿場祭 (Shinagawa Shukuba Festival)? (Some people spell 「しゅ」 as “Syu”…but most often it’s spelled “Shu”).
It’s a good festival. (“Shukuba” means something like “Rest station”. Back in old Japan, people had to travel to Edo (Tokyo) for various reasons from all over the country. So there were rest stations).
I think you’d like the “Fukuro Festival” in Ikebukuro in October better. Have you seen it?
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> Since you came to Japan, which festival that you’ve seen did you enjoy the most?
That’s a good question, I have enjoyed them all. I would have liked to have attended the Kyoto Festival of Ages (Jidai Matsuri), but we missed it by a day (we visited Kyoto a day later, maybe next year).
I would have to say the Shinagawa Syukuba event because it had a variety, including a parade, colorful costumes, entertainment, drums, dancing, bingo, games, food, etc.
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T5,
Sorry to go off topic, but wanted to let you know that the Lizards From Afar finally found a Japanese podcast to give our music a play.
It’s called the Tokyo Calling podcast. It can be found here:
http://www.tokyocalling.org/
(You might dig it…it’s a podcast that is given by a relocated gentleman like yourself.)
And we have redesigned our page, so please go check it out when you get a chance:
http://lizardsfromafar.wordpress.com/
Thanks,
Sir Pent
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bartman905…
Since you came to Japan, which festival that you’ve seen did you enjoy the most?
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> How’d you learn of those festivals?
I didn’t know about the Meiji Jingu 50th year restoration celebration, we were just walking along Omotesando when the parade started and we stayed and watched :-). I think I learned about the Tokyo Edo Festival in the current issue of Metropolis magazine and decided in the last minute to go (my wife and son stayed home).
> There were a couple other foreigners who participated in the parade. Did you see them?
No, I guess I am not that observant because I didn’t see them.
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bartman905…
So you went to Harajuku and the Tokyo Era Festival in Asakusa too?!
How’d you learn of those festivals?
>I will reference your blog post
Sure. If you have a question ever, don’t hesitate.
I noticed a typo in my post above (I just corrected it).
The part above the picture and video of the kids pulling the big stone should have said:
「Common people, including children, brought huge stones across the country to 東京 (Tokyo) (called 江戸 (Edo) back then) to build the Edo Castle」
(It says that now).
Also, I didn’t bother explaining a few of my photos…but, besides what I wrote above, at that festival there were people dressed as the first Shogun of Japan, the Shogun’s concubine (walking in order by rank), and the Geisha there were real Tokyo Geisha (there are still some Geisha in Japan today), and in addition to the foreigners dressed as Cmdr. Perry and his crew—there were a couple other foreigners who participated in the parade. Did you see them?
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Wow, we must have been to the same places last weekend!
I also attended this festival in Asakusa, took a lot of pictures and only a few videos (posted on YouTube) … I am working on my blog post (I’m slow and I don’t really know what I’m doing ^_^) so I will reference your blog post.
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