That Festival Look – Nagashima Headwear
One thing that always attracted me to the festivals of Japan was the flair and the fashion sense of the participants. We’re used to seeing young women dressing up independently and making an effort to look fashionable and many young men go to quite some lengths to establish their own character and express themselves through the way they dress. Men, and especially older men don’t have that many chances though, at least not here in Japan. So despite the uniforms worn by people taking part in the many festivals there’s one point where everyone looks completely different: the head scarf! There are endless variations in colors, materials, styles and patterns. Usually it is a short hand towel or a classic Japanese tenugui (long handkerchief) tied in some way that I fail at replicating myself. Have a look at some of these great looking men who took part in the Nagashima Yakumo Jinja Reitaisai (previously blogged about here). I have only tried this look once for a festival and it was a typical said looking western style knot. I should learn to tie them up like these handsome guys! Keep an eye out for the head gear the next time you visit a festival in Japan!
Those are some serious knots, and might only look right on a Japanese person. Kinda reminds me of the first time I went in an onsen: seriously studied what to do beforehand, so dutifully dunked the washcloth in the water, folded and neatly popped on my head. Later some old ladies paddled over to my friend and thought it was hysterical that I had a towel on my head!
Some things just don’t work with gaijin, no matter how hard we try.
Haha… that’s a great story… I think the little towel on the head is an old man thing actually! (^-^;)