Ohara Hadaka Matsuri (Ohara Naked Festival), Navigation for Beginners

Ohara Hadaka Matsuri is only a few days away (on 23 and 24 September).
Local people are looking forward to this festival for a long time.
This is one of the traditional event for which people are most excited in this area.

Local people are accustomed to this festival and know entire schedule of two days, but people who come to the festival for the first time may have no idea where the festival is taken place and what is going on.

I recommend beginners to go Ohara fishing port on 23 September around 1 PM.
Multiple mikoshis (portable shrine) are carried around the town in the morning and start to gather the fishing port around 1 PM.

After mikoshis reach the fishing port, they circle around a building. People carrying mikoshis run with a loud voice, which is excited!
Then they toss over the mikoshis in the building. The higher mikoshis are tossed, the louder people cheer.

After the ceremony praying for bountiful harvest, they move to Ohara beach where “Shiofumi,” one of the main events of the festival, is taken place.
Everybody walk together with mikoshi to the beach. It is a good chance to take a cool photo of people who carry mikoshis.

For Shiofumi, you can see mikoshis are carried into the ocean one after another.
Roar, spray of water, and dirt. People are really brave and valiant.

Well, until the time of “Owakare” of 6 PM, you can enjoy atmosphere of the festival with some foods at Ohara shopping street.
Besides local shops, there are a lot of street stalls.
“Hokutosha” is also open on the day who sells folk crafts. You can find “Walking map of Ohara shopping street” there.

6 PM. Finally it’s a time of “Owakare”
Each mikoshi gathers at schoolyard of Ohara elementary school, and start to circle around the yard.
Candle is used for the Japanese lantern instead of electricity.
The soft wavy lights… are fantastical.

On 24 September, after each shrine is carried around the town, Owakare is taken place again at 6 PM.
If you miss it on September 23, please visit this day.

It is really difficult to follow a mikoshi for a whole day. Please check “must-see” points of main feature.

Also, please read the report of the festival last year!

( Shige / Yasuko )

update : 2014/09/22 02:50
Category : information, town events

Making Hand-made Miso was held on September 9. Now, Miso is ready to eat.

It’s been half a year since we held “Making Hand-made Miso 2014” on February 24.
On that day, 15 people joined from around Isumi to prepare hand-made miso.

See details for the previous event.>>

Although the miso was supposed to be distributed to the participants in November when the miso becomes more matured, we decided to do it earlier. The miso, however, was already matured after little more than half a year!!

10 participants joined this day in spite of the short notice.

In February we prepared 50 kg of miso. We did not invert top and bottom part of miso.

(I learned from a local grandma to put a weight on miso and then water comes up. It makes salt mixed to the entire part of miso.)

We compared the taste of top, middle and bottom part of the miso.
The top part was salty, the middle tasted so-so, and bottom sweet.

In order to distribute the miso with a proper valance, we packed 1 kg each mixing each part together.

We all worked together, so it finished quickly.
After the work, we made rice ball and ate it with miso!!

We compared the taste of 2 miso (one was prepared 1 and half a year ago, and the other half a year ago) How was the taste!?

The new miso of this year was very sweet and I felt a taste of soybean!
The matured old miso was little salty with “umami (rich taste)”, and I felt like eating more and more.

I didn’t know rice ball with miso was so good! It was amazing!

We were not sure if we hold this event next year, but the participants said “I’d like to work together again”, “I’d like to make Koji (one of the ingredient of miso which is made of rice) as well.”
So that we are considering to hold “Making hand-made Koji” next time.

Participants were happy to have tasty miso.
It’s really enjoyable to work together with chat.

Such our happy feelings might be reached to our miso. It became really tasty.
Thank you very much everyone!

It is nice to enjoy working and also enjoy waiting.

I look forward to work together again.

update : 2014/09/15 15:20
Category : event reports

Information of “Isumi city Tanka Convention”

** “Tanka” is a Japanese short poem

The east side of Isumi city faces to the Pacific Ocean, and hills and paddy fields make beautiful scenery in the west. There are also several historical cultural heritages in the city.

Many litterateurs visited Isumi looking for this environment, and especially great masters of modern Tanka left lots of famous Tanka.

Mori Ogai had a villa in the current Nichizai, Isumi-shi, and Wakayama Bokusui and Saito Mokichi also visited Isumi. Those are famous Kajin (poets) I know.

In such a traditional place Isumi, “2nd Isumi Tanka Convention” is going to be held.

The Convention itself is still to come on February 15, 2015 (Sun), but Tanka started to be accepted from September 1st, 2014.

It’s getting cool and now it’s a time the season changes.
The image of autumn, late autumn and winter may be come up with from now on.

Why don’t you take a walk to visit your favorite place or a location with nice view in the city, and create Tanka feeling the atmosphere of the place?
Or you can create Tanka of love letter just like young Kajin (poet) in old days. (Teenagers are most welcome!)

The autumn is a season of art. Why don’t you try this art of Japanese language?

( Shige / Yasuko )

2nd Isumi Tanka Convention
-Outline: February 15, 2015 (Sun) 13:00- @ Ohara Bunka Center
(Awards ceremony, Comments, Tanka lesson)

-Application Guideline
Theme: free (unpublished)
Qualification and number of submission:
General (High school student and older) : 1 to 2 Tanka.
Elementary and Junior High School student in Isumi city: 1 Tanka
Submission Fee: 1000 yen per Tanka (free for Elementary, Junior high school and High school student)
How to submit: use dedicated submission form and bring it to the administrative office or send by post mail with the submission fee.
Period for acceptance: September 1, 2014 (Mon) – October 31, 2014 (Fri)

-Application and inquiry
Administrative Office of Isumi City Tanka Convention Executive Committee (Lifelong Learning Section, Education Board, Isumi City) TEL: 0470-62-2811

* The dedicated submission form is available for some pieces at our office as well. Please visit our office if you need one.

update : 2014/09/02 17:23
Category : information, town events