Sendai’s Aoba Matsuri Written and Photographed by Philip Vyas
The Sendai Aoba matsuri takes place on the Hit with a fresh wave of hot humid third Saturday and Sunday of May each year. musty air I walked down to the city cenThe festival happens in Sendai’s Aoba district, ter to view the opening ceremony. hence the name. This year was my chance to see it. The festival is 350 years old and was orig- The opening ceremony consisted of a few inally celebrated because of the completion speeches. I could not understand most of of the Toshogu (Shrine celebrating Tokugawa them, but I did understand that they were Ieyasu) shrine in Sendai. The festival has gone placing extra significance on this year’s festhrough many alterations and is now a cele- tival because the previous two years had bration of the city’s founder Date Masamune. been cancelled. The speeches were followed by an actor playing Date Masamune with his entourage making anime-like speeches and doing bits of choreographed sword dances.
Following this came the sparrow dancers performing Sendai’s traditional sparrow dance (suzume odori). They lit up the stage with their big smiles and bright coloured fans. Following them came a group of young elementary sparrow dancers after which the opening 46
