12.22 (but reflecting on 11.13.22)
It’s not everyday you come across a large picture of yourself in Okayama/Hiroshima/Kagawa newspapers. Alas, you can just call me the next celebrity of Yakage Town–not only was my Edo-period samurai self printed too largely in the Sanyo Shinbun, but also in the town monthly magazine and apparently local TV clips. “But why?” you ask…come along to hear about Yakage’s GREATEST pride and joy, the one, the only….DAIMYO GYORETSU.
Daimyo Gyoretsu translates to “the nobleman’s march” and comes from Japan’s Edo Period. Edo Japan was ruled under the Tokugawa shogunate (a military government system) who required all daimyos, essentially regional landlords/noblemen, to travel to the Edo capital and live under the Tokugawa’s direct watch for three years at a time. This called for month long journeys from their home to Edo, which of course meant a need for many overnight stays. And so came about the creation of post-towns along the main roads…and Yakage was a famous, hot-spot post-town used by 14 of 42 noblemen from the Kyushu, Chuo, and Hiroshima regions.
And these marches were no joke…a daimyo's march would have about 600-800 subjects carrying his goods, so while the nobleman and his close circle would stay at the fancy lodge (in Yakage, the Honjin, which is this gorgeous machiya I get to volunteer at) the whole town would open up their homes to accommodate all his other folk. It’s fun to think about how Yakage’s amazing hospitality can be traced back years and years ago.
Anyways, 2022. The Sanyo Newspaper. Me, a celebrity. Me, a snotty sounding blog writer at this current moment.
Due to the significance the Daimyo Gyoretsus had on Yakage’s development and identity, they host their biggest matsuri (aka festival/celebration) in November to re-enact a nobleman’s march. This matsuri has been going since 1975, but due to COVID this year’s was the first in 3 years. And I was lucky enough to be recruited as a participant!
What did this entail? Well, among many things:
1. Dressing up as a role called the seki-barai that looks like a combination of Tof from Avatar the Last Airbender and a mushroom…my pantaloons game was on POINT
2. Getting to lead and tempo the march for 800 meters by clanking large metal poles…I suppose it’s the equivalent to a drummer boy? It made me feel like the Durmstrang students when they entered Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament.
3. Taking lots and lots and lots of pictures with the random people that gathered along the road to watch our procession. Is this what it feels like to be Ryan Gosling?
Even before arriving in Yakage, the one thing I knew about the town was how much it loved their Daimyo Gyoretsu. Not only were the few Youtube videos clips of Yakage focused only on past daimyo festivals, but the town even sports daimyo characters from its sewage circles to its souvenir gift wrapping to its town rice crackers! So, I got that it was a big deal. But! I didn’t realize just how big of a deal it was until actually participating in the festival. The Daimyo Gyoretsu is truly Yakage's pride and soul. Seeing so many townspeople come together to help dress us, to do our makeup, to run the practice rehearsals…there was such a strong stream of pride running through the Yakage streets that day.
And throughout the festival, I felt my own stream of pride when seeing how many people not only recognized me, but enthusiastically cheered me on…it made me reflect on the initial challenge of coming to a new place and having to really put myself “out there” to go from being a nobody to a somebody. From preschool students to elementary school students to Yakuba people to library people to cafe friends to eikaiwa friends…so many people waved to me and even sent me pictures they took of me after the march :,) It was the first time having this overwhelming sense that I was truly accepted and was no longer just another temporary gaikokujin in Yakage. I felt like I could finally have the right to say I live in Yakage.
Thinking about this now, perhaps I should have felt more gratitude than pride for myself during the festival; my Yakage community made it/makes it so easy for me to feel at home here. And as December and 2022 conclude, there are only 6 more months left of my Yakage life, which is unbelievable. I find myself trying to balance the whole “don’t think about the end already…you still have half a year!” and the “Kai, time’s going to fly like a bird and you’ll be back in the states before you know it” thoughts but it’s difficult! So, for the time being I’m just trying to be as present and intentional each day, each moment, each interaction, even each bite. And maybe this is a way to approach life in general, not just when I’m a fellow in Ghibli-esque middle of nowhere Japan. Food for thought, perhaps?
the makeup station...my friend Kyoko was the main noblewoman so she had to dress her face extra extra.
getting ready with costumes!
waiting before the march sporting awesome looking rain ponchos!!
taking the official group photo that will go down in yakage history......
the *interesting* poses they made us do at our photoshoot
a normal picture
but don't we actually look like Tof!?
protectors of Japan's biggest treasure: the vending machine
a shot my friend took for me while we were marching!
look ma! I made it!
a video to convey the festival/procession a little better
