"Shichi" (variously translated as Lion, Dragon or Dog) is said to have lived on a mythical mountain in China. They can be seen in stone-form guarding the entrances to Buddhist temples, but also appear in dances in shinto festivals.
At our local festival we saw two dance/drama performances. In the first a brave boy hunts and fights the dragon/lion/dog. In the second the shishi pursues a boy for his flower...
One of the two very agile and skilled operators of the shishi.
Sadly, Shirasagi resident Ferra was consumed by the shishi at the After Party celebrations...
The dance was accompanied by a take (bamboo) flute orchestra of local kids taught by this 80+ gentleman who made this flute 60 years ago. Before he teaches the traditional tunes, he shows the kids how to select their own bamboo and make the instrument.
Rob gets an impromptu lesson from the master.
1 comment:
Hi Rob. As you might have gathers I am not very good at keeping in touch with people but I have been reading your blog and admiring your photos every day. What a fantastic year you are having. It seems there truly is a festival on every day of the year in Japan and I think you have seen them all. As part of my new job this year I am responsible for creating online student projects in a site called OzProjects at
http://www.ozprojects.edu.au
I am currently constructing a project called December Celebrations around the World and was wondering if you would like to be a special guest in the project if you are still going to be in Japan in December. Please let me know if it is a possibility and I can then send you more details. In the meantime, keep those fantastic photos coming and keep on going to every festival you can find. Enjoy!!!
Cheers
Cecily
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