The Hachioji festival

I didn't know that there was a big festival in Hachioji which had such a long history.
The Hachioji festival is held from the first Friday in August to Sunday, over 3 days.

Please check this link for a video of the festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ECr9LtPM0&feature=player_embedded

The first day of the festival on Friday is called "Yoimiya", when the geisha perform dances in front of the audience. On Yoimiya day, everyone can enjoy seeing professional geisha's performance free of charge.

On the Saturday and Sunday, many floats parade through the central area of Hachioji city. The geisha play the shamisen, drums and flute on a float.


Before the festival I heard from my geisha sister that we must play the shamisen for about 4 hours, in Seiza, Japanese sitting style.

In addition, I had to memorize all of the songs which I had to play, so I had been practicing very hard every day before the festival.

Unfortunately I couldn't participate in the final day of the festival, because I had to attend a group shamisen practice session with my shamisen teacher and other pupils in Asakusa.

So I did my best to really enjoy the 2 days.

On the Friday, Yoimiya, my geisha mother, geisha sister and I played the shamisen together.
It was my first time to play the shamisen as a geisha in front of a large audience.

I felt very nervous, because we used microphones, so if I made any mistakes, they would be amplified.

I had tried to learn all songs by heart, but in the end I used my music scores without making any mistakes.

At the rehearsal for Yoimiya, my geisha mother told me that I should play the shamisen in perfect synchronization with her.

If I followed my music score, it might be difficult play as she expected me to.
I couldn't decide whether to use my music scores or not, but in the end I uesed 2 music scores.

Here are 2 Youtube pages of Yoimiya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ4bSqULgBM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CYHV-U0nsI&feature=related

After Yoimiya, all geishas entertained customers at some parties.

On the second day, before playing the shamisen on the float, the geisha and the local people gathered at the shrine to pray.
After praying, all people pulled the ropes of our float and paraded it around Hachioji city.

I want to explain about the float.

There are many kinds of floats which are different in each town.

The following PDF files show some images of various floats.
http://www.hachiojimatsuri.jp/pamphlet/pamphlet2010_kami.pdf
http://www.hachiojimatsuri.jp/pamphlet/pamphlet2010_shimo.pdf

The Hachioji festival was originally separately held in the Kami-area and the Shimo-area, however 50 years ago, these festivals united into one big festival and subsequently became a tourist attraction.

Back to the second day of the festival, it was a very hot and sunny day, so it was very tough for everyone to pull the float, however all people seemed to enjoy the festival.

On the float, "Ohayashi" was performed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jelDIfBx7Gc&feature=related

The above URL is a scene of "Buttsuke".
People who perform Ohayashi compete with other performances on the nearby float.

The following URL is our geisha's "Niwaka-dashi"(Improvised float).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcAFeab8-3I&feature=related

The time passed very quickly. I really enjoyed the festival.
I hope I can participate in all days next year.

From participating in the Hachioji Festival, I realized that the geisha are an important cultural element in the town.