Minakuchi Hikiyama Matsuri - Feeling part of Japan

April 20, 2023. Seven months since my arrival in Kyoto. I will never forget this day. It was one of those rare moments in which I truly felt of belonging to this wonderful, but complicated, country.

As a tourist it is really difficult, if not impossible, to perceive and understand some social aspects of Japan and its people. Japan is a country that demands a lot... People who have moved to live here can understand this; I call it a "Partial and Detached Inclusion" that, as a foreigner, you can experience in Japan.

As a Westerner, and not only, I believe that starting belonging to this country is an almost unachievable goal, and attempting to pursue it, at times, could also bring to several side effects.

If I had to represent it with an image I would use a set of circles, one inside the other. The last, the most internal ones, represent the essence of Japan, the sense of belonging to something that cannot be touched, but only felt. As a 外人 (Gaijin - foreigner), you can feel that you are not part of that innermost circle and you will not be part of it for most of the time.

Today, however, I am glad to tell you about the day I managed to enter inside that circle, feeling in the "right" place, proud and happy.

At that time I was working at a tourist association in the city of Koka, Shiga prefecture, and I was in charge of bringing some suggestions to increase the number of foreign tourists to less famous, but equally wonderful, areas of Japan. I was lucky enough to work with a couple of incredible people who gave me the opportunity to travel and learn about what the real Japan represents to me. I will dedicate a separate article to this experience :)

April 20, 2023 - Minakuchi Hikiyama Festival:

That day I was given the opportunity to attend a 祭り (Matsuri - Festival) at the local town where I was working. The best way to immerse yourself in the local culture in Japan is definitely to attend a festival. The Hikiyama Matsuri held in April is a famous festival in the area where colorful and decorated floats (Hikiyama) parade through the streets, celebrating the deities. Local people also move a portable shrine (mikoshi) stopping at the main religious place and finally reaching Minakuchi Shrine (神社). Indeed, Hikiyama means: float.

I participated in the festival because I was responsible, among other things, for sponsoring local events on English-language social channels, photographing and enjoying the local customs.

I forgot to tell you that I was working two hours by train from Kyoto, in a very small city where I was, literally, the only foreigner (at least Western). Generally speaking, foreigners in Japan are easily recognizable; however, the majority, of Asian people (mostly Chinese), due to obvious physical similarities, are not identified and recognized as foreigners at first sight.

I do. Italian, 1.90 m tall, I've always drawn attention. This issue, for the most part, has never bothered me at all, on the contrary, it has allowed me to intrigue people and boost more opportunities for conversation.

Arriving at the festival site, after a short tour of photographs and a quick lunch break, I stopped by the central square where the celebration with the floats around the city would begin. As mentioned, it was difficult to go unnoticed and word quickly got around about who I was and what I was doing there, and the Mayor of the city and some other well-known local people approached me to ask me to do an interview on local television.

Let me start by saying that at the time I spoke little Japanese (a little better now), but there was no way to have conversations in English. I mentioned it and, obviously, they cheered me up by saying that I could do the interview in English. 嘘でした　笑！(Spoiler: it was a lie). The kind girl who approached me for the interview asked me (a gentle polite request given the difficulty) if it was possible to do it in Japanese and so we did it.

I got used to managing the frustration of not understanding and not being able to express myself properly. If you don't learn how to manage it, it becomes harder. I got used to making a fool of myself, but I prefer to not get the local people into trouble. It's something I believe in, since it is correct I have to be the one to adapt to the local culture and not vice versa. Many times it was very stressful since I would have loved to get along more easily. I am not native English speaker, therefore English would have been the second language for both of us. But at that time, I had a mindset that no difficulty would have stopped me.

Once the interview was over, a local lady, who knew my manager, proposed that I join the Festival, helping local people in moving the portable sanctuary across the city. I was super excited.

I had an elegant suit, it was quite hot, but I imagined a half-hour procession and I liked the idea. I discovered later (at the end) that the route would last 5 hours. Crazy, I had no idea. Just as I had no idea that it would have been one of the most fulfilling day of my life.

Wearing the local costume, we all set off for the celebration together!

The most beautiful thing I witnessed was the Cohesion. Asian countries, especially Japan, are known for their propensity to collectivism, the importance of harmony and the well-being of the group over the interests of the individual. I clearly felt that feeling that day.

We walked, pulling the float for several hours, stopping from house to house while receiving gifts, mostly prayers or bottles of sake to pray and celebrate together. It was incredible. In front of the houses full of families and children, we shook the float energetically (also breaking some ornaments) and sang to celebrate and gave thanks for all the beautiful things in life.

5 hours yelling and cheering the group on while singing "Wasshoi". The word 'wasshoi' (和 緒 一) consists of two units: 和 (wa) and 一 緒 (Issho). 和 (wa) denotes 'harmony and peace' and is also used in the meaning of 'Japanese'. 一 緒 (Issho) contains the character for 'one' (一) and the character 緒 (sho), which can mean 'thread' or, metaphorically, 'something that connects spirits'. So 一 緒 points of being together, linked by the same belief. "Wasshoi" (和 緒 一) creates the image of harmonious cooperation. It’s a tradition to repeat this phrase with the intent of bringing Peace and cheering each other on.

Every hour, we stopped to rest and eat something together. We were taking a break while praying in front of the various sanctuaries of the city.

Ok, I am going to be honest with You, it was more of a way to get drunk by drinking sake and beer. I earned respect by standing until the end of the celebration, that day.

I remember, during one of these breaks, a gentleman was very curious to see me there and he found the "courage" to come and talk to me, asking me if I spoke Japanese :). I told him yes, a little bit, and we exchanged a few quick words. He then returned to his group of friends and proudly said, "The 外人さん (Gaijin san) speaks Japanese, he's good."

N.B: Gaijin san does not have a bad meaning :)

Cultural barriers are overcome through curiosity. Representing an ethnic minority in a country (like me, as a European, in Japan) provides you a responsibility, but also an enormous opportunity. Studying Japanese allowed me to create small connections that brought a simple result for both parties: a smile. A moment of pride and joy in sharing a moment and making the local population think: "Wow not bad, that boy is here among us, he works here, takes part in the festival with us and speaks a little bit of Japanese. Great, so cool! Smile.

We finished the celebration tour and entered the main sanctuary for the final celebration. It was evening, the lights of the floats were enchanting. We did a few final laps among the people who were applauding, exhausted, but happy. We started to raise the members of the group to the sky, all together, until it was my time to be thrown up to the sky along with the choir of イタリア, イタリア(Italy, Italy!).

7 months in Japan, and that was the first time I truly felt part of the group. It lasted a moment, but it was special, and it is a memory that I will always carry with me because it is the result of hard work, the desire to get involved and questioned in a distant country, which demands a lot, but, sometimes, it repays you for everything.

We ended the day having dinner all together, talking and laughing, happy. I catched the last train of the day to Kyoto, after receiving a nice bottle of sake as a gift from a local guy I spent the day with.

I was exhausted, but truly happy. On the return train I talked to my brother for a while. I felt to belong to Japan, for the first time.

Marco