Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri

I finally made it down to Danjiri Matsuri in Kishiwada on September 15th… I have been trying to catch this festival for years now…

This is not one of the more beautiful or elegant festivals in Japan. In fact, mention Danjiri Matsuri in Kishiwada to a native Japanese, and they’ll probably describe it as down-right dangerous.

(Actually… Many Japanese describe the Kishiwada area as dangerous even when the festival isn’t going on… Kishiwada has a reputation for being… Well… a “wretched hive of scum and villianry”. But that’s another story for another post.)

I have heard that almost every year, someone dies at this festival… crushed by a danjiri or trampled by the crowd or something. I have also heard that citizens who live in Kishiwada can get Danjiri Matsuri insurance to cover their property from damage in case a danjiri goes out of control. Maybe these are only rumors and a bit exaggerated, but I’m sure they are rooted in some truth.

So, you’re probably wondering what happens during this festival that is so dangerous… I’m getting there. Basically, anywhere between what seemed to be 40 to 70 people grab ropes attached to these giant wooden contraptions on wheels called danjiri, and pull them through the streets. Inside the danjiri are drummers, people playing the flute, and various other important people from the participating towns who are along for the ride on. At various intervals the people pulling the danjiri will take off at a full sprint, swinging the danjiri around corners (it’s not even really built for turning mind you) while another guy on top of the danjiri with two fans is jumping around on the roof dancing.

This Danjiri Matsuri youtube video is from 1997, and shows typical Danjiri crashes. Here is another more recent video from 2006. My jaw drops every time I see this. Fortunately(?) , there were no major crashes that I saw this year… Though there were a few close scrapes, and ambulances were rolling around at the ready. This video will give you a sense of how long the lines are that pull the danjiri.

I actually made some videos with my camera in AVI format… But for some reason they’re not making it to YouTube successfully… I’ll tinker with it again later and show them if I ever get it working.

This covered corridor here is called a shoutengai (商店街) in Japanese. It’s a shopping street. Anyway, during the day, this area is filled with pedestrians buying bread and toilet paper. During Danjiri Matsuri, the pedestrians are mostly pressed up against the sides of the walls as the Danjiri floats tear down the corridor at break neck speeds. The mad dash of people and noise reminded me of a passing train in the subway as the danjiri went by. My friends and I actually were running down the shoutengai at one point yelling, “They’re coming!!!” while looking back over our shoulder. It all felt very Indiana Jones-esque.

Anyway, that’s Danjiri. If you’re ever in Japan in September, try to catch this one!

An EnglishMan in Osaka was there as well. He’s got some great pics and videos, check it out!

Man I love Osaka…

- Harvey

All of the girls participating in the festival had braids. I asked someone why, a mom, and she said that it was a popular hairstyle this year… Indeed. Everyone I tell ya!

This is a picture of the entrance to the shoutengai mentioned above. The danjiri come tearing down this thing with hundreds of people running in front of, and behind it.