Mifune Matsuri

I was really fortunate to be able to participate in the Mifune Matsuri in Arashiyama, a beautiful mountain just outside of Kyoto that attracts loads of tourists, and for good reason. The mountain and the river are gorgeous, especially in fall, and the mountain park boasts a bunch of semi-tame monkeys. However, this annual festival involves several of the old guilds of Kyoto getting on boats and paying their respects to the local god, and I got to do more than watch from the shore. I got to be on a boat!


For this honor, I must thank my dear friend Irena, who has lived in Japan for five years and has been my traveling companion and guide many a time. She has studied the shakuhachi, the bamboo flute, since her first year here, and her teacher happens to belong to an old shakuhachi family who has the honor of being one of the guilds represented. She brought me along as her guest, but more importantly, she brought her shakuhachi in order to play for the god himself. She also dressed up and looked absolutely lovely.


We arrived at the river in Arashiyama and boarded the small boat with her teacher, his son and wife, and two other students and their wives. We were ferried around by a pole-wielding water master, who kept us from going too far out of range and largely from hitting other boats. At first, we watched the procession of the god, represented by a decorative box that is lovingly handled by several Shinto priests from carriage into the special boat.






The boats filed into order to pay their respects. Other guilds included the fan, kimono, paper, and the ever popular sake guild. While other guilds offered their wares to the god and his priests, the shakuhachi guild, once we approached and stood alongside the god boat, played him a song. In fact, they broke out their instruments and played a song periodically throughout the afternoon, especially after we had received an offering from the sake guild :-)






After the festival was over, we drank tea and ate traditional sweets in a pavilion for the participants, and then parted ways. I really enjoyed meeting Rena’s teacher and his family, who have become her Japanese family.