Random night shot.. 11

Maruyamacho 10 chome. These lights reminded me of the super high watt ones that street food vendors use, hard to look at but great for shooting..

Festival Lanterns in Maruyamacho..

My last summer festival post, I promise..

Took me a while to work it out, but the lanterns which adorn the streets of each locale at festival time are actually sponsored by the shops and vendors that live in each area. This particular Maruyamacho matsuri base, which was in a tiny little park in the middle of the love hotel district, had lanterns with the names of many love hotels and small restaurants which populate the area. Most noteable of which was the lantern from "2 Sweet Ass", which despite the fact that it could easily be well suited as the name of a love hotel, is actually a restaurant!!

The Shibuya Matsuri..

More of the same really, but interesting nonetheless. Last Sunday all of the local Shibuya festival clans converged on Dogenzaka to hoist the Omikoshi one last time. Young and old come together to celebrate this age old tradition whos purpose was once to promote an abundant harvest of rice.

Maruyamacho Matsuri '08

Well into the late evening through both Saturday and Sunday night, groups of jubilant locals carried different Omikoshi through the streets of my neighbourhood. Chanting and whistling and ocassionally even shouting made it impossible to focus on anything other than this wonderful celebration. I am told that up until the Meiji period, the rooster that adorns the top of the mobile Shinto shrine was actually a phallic symbol, which actually does make sense as the matsuri is meant to be some kind of fertility festival. Western influence put paid to the phallas and now we have a different kind of cock! Maruyamacho is also meant to be the last shitamachi (old town) areas on Shibuya, and if the energy of these locals is anything to go by, things won't be changing too much around here real soon..

Shibuya Matsuri

Some scenes from down the hill from today's matsuri, mikoshi everywhere!