Sendai’s Aoba Matsuri

Written and Photographed by Philip Vyas

The Sendai Aoba matsuri takes place on the third Saturday and Sunday of May each year. The festival happens in Sendai’s Aoba district, hence the name. This year was my chance to see it. The festival is 350 years old and was originally celebrated because of the completion of the Toshogu (Shrine celebrating Tokugawa Ieyasu) shrine in Sendai. The festival has gone through many alterations and is now a celebration of the city’s founder Date Masamune. Hit with a fresh wave of hot humid

musty air I walked down to the city center to view the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony consisted of a few speeches. I could not understand most of them, but I did understand that they were placing extra significance on this year’s festival because the previous two years had 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

I made my way to the stalls where I saw most of the typical Japanese festival foods with a Sendai twist due

to the presence of Gyutan (cow’s tongue) and Zunda (mashed edamame) two of Sendai’s signature dishes.

I found the Saturday to be particularly enjoyable with sparrow dance parades taking place at various venues around the city. The dances were accompanied by Sendai’s trademark Yamaboko floats or chariots. It made for a great vibe. Heading into the night the main parade was pumping. The night lights, the lively traditional music and the dancers gave a true festival atmosphere. Sendai’s entertainment district on Kokubucho street was parallel to the main parade which made for a smooth transition from traditional festival to night out on the town.

The weather was much better on the

Sunday. I headed to the same main street, hustled into a good spot and awaited the loud bang of the samu

rai’s replica muskets. The main event on the Sunday is a showcase of people dressed in samurai armor shooting off replica muskets. Apparently, the original festival celebrated 350 years ago included displays of military might, this seemingly has become a thing at the current festival too. I heard from a friend

that the man leading the squad of musketeers was Date Masamune’s heir, however you’ll have to fact-check me on that. People dressed in Samurai armor paraded the street, some put on acts for the people while others posed for pictures. I was informed by an adjacent Obaachan that not all of the people in the padescendants of Sendai’s samurai families.

Sparrow dancers were also present and at around 5pm the festival had ended. Overall, the festival is awesome. The sparrow dance is great to watch. For me the Saturday night was the most enjoyable with the traditional music and dancers at night truly creating a party and festival atmosphere. Highly recommend this festival. The Saturday night parade and the Sunday afternoon musket display are the highlights of this festival. Also, in general if you haven’t been, Sendai is a great city to visit!

Geibikei Gorge

Written and photograped by Brooke DalGleish

If you’re looking for a peaceful and relaxing

getaway, try considering Geibikei gorge!

Geibikei is on the Satetsu River in the city

of Ichinoseki in Iwate. It has been called a

National Place of Scenic Beauty and a Natural Monument since 1923. In 1927, it was also selected as one of the 100 Landscapes of Japan. Geibi means “lion’s nose” which can be seen in the limestone rock. For

about 1,800yen, you can take a 90 minute boat ride down the gorge and take in the

beautiful views and enjoy feeding the fish.

In the middle of the boat ride, people try to throw fortune stones into a small cave across the river. Each stone represents a different kind of good fortune. Some fortunes are for, “relations”, “love”, “money”, and ”health’’.