Minato Matsuri - Koniya's local festival

On Friday, August 19 I had just finished cooking dinner when I heard the unmistakable sound of Shima Uta, traditional island songs, emanating from the nearby park. I ate as quickly as I could and headed over, where I found a stage, several stands of matsuri food, and the source of the music.

A shima uta performance, featuring a singer (main singer in the middle and a second singer on the left) and a shamisen player (seated, right). 

The final performance of the night was an island dance, similar to the ones we participated in during the Amami matsuri. 

The next morning I headed down to the park by Umi no Eki, where a sumo tournament was being held for boys representing their schools from all around Setouchi to compete against each other. A sumo ring is a raised, square-shaped mound of dirt on which a round rope ring is secured. Sumo rings often have a wooden roof-like structure built above them. Judges in white are stationed on all four sides of the mound, and from time to time toss some salt to ritually purify the ring. Nathaniel, Setouchi's ALT was roped into competing as well...

Nat (right) lost both bouts, but fought admirably.

First up were the middle schoolers. Two wrestlers entered the ring from opposite sides (referred to as "east" and "west") and got ready on their marks. They would then both stand down before getting ready again, and at this point the bout was on. The loser is the first wrestler to touch any part of his body other than the soles of his feet to the ground, or to step out of the rope ring. When a winner is determined, the loser steps off, and the winner crouches by the ringside, waits for the judges to point in his direction, before stepping off himself. Matches are quick, often as fast as 15 seconds.

Next were the high schoolers (and Nat). Nat got a special round of applause for his bravery (wearing nothing but a sumo mawashi takes guts) acknowledging his participation as a foreigner in Japan's national sport.

In the afternoon, the Minato Matsuri parade was held. Various local groups dressed in matching outfits and performed a dance around the two main streets of Koniya. I ran into the Koniya High School group, comprised of both students and teachers, who asked me to join them! I didn't know the dance, so a few of the students taught me quickly before the parade started.

It took a full 2 hours to make one full loop, but in true Japanese fashion, a water/snack/beer break was announced every 30 minutes over the same city-wide PA loudspeaker system that played the music we danced to. To give an idea of just how slowly we were moving, it takes maybe 20 minutes to walk the loop at a normal pace. Those water breaks were a welcome relief under the hot sun.

After the parade I ran into a friend and some former ALTs who were back on Amami for vacation, so we went to a nearby sushi place for dinner. Then, it was off to the park from yesterday for more singing and festival food! Nat got swarmed with his students, and I stuffed my face with kakigori and the freshest yakitori I've ever had.

We both had to call an early night, as he was to participate in the next day's boat race while I had to leave early in the morning to fly to Kagoshima for a business trip.