SHIZUOKA MATSURI 2009

I know it is the Holy Week, but let me first post something of interest: the SHIZUOKA MATSURI.  This is the 53rd time this city that I am living in (for the last week before my transfer to Kamakura after Easter) is doing this matsuri (festival).  It was started to commemorate the coming in of people who had to show loyalty to Ieyasu Tokugawa when the cherry blossoms were just blooming.  He was  the ruler in the 17th century who was responsible in uniting Japan to what it is today.  When he retired, he went back to the place where he was educated and built a castle in the middle of a city that his influence built.  

What gives me the perks in this matsuri is its spirit.  When I transferred here to Shizuoka a year ago, it was the 2nd day of the festival, normally held on the 1st weekend of April.  This matsuri immediately made me feel at home in a place I once thought was so far away.  Maybe because the matsuri itself is like the fiesta of the Philippines.  There is the historical parade.  There are a lot of performances on the main stage done by different students and groups in the city.  Then, there is also the street dance in the evening -- which is actually a uniform choreography for all participating groups, and they are judged according to their overall presentation.  Of course, the traditional factors are still around, and these strengthen their identity. 

This is one matsuri I am going to miss when I leave Shizuoka next week.  I tried to make a movie out of it, and this is my first attempt.