Tokyobling's Blog

Fukagawa Water Festival 2014

Posted in Japanese Traditions, People, Places by tokyobling on August 27, 2014

I took so many photos at the grand, once every three years, Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri a couple of weeks ago. This year I wasn’t about to get as close as last time I visited the festival and got doused in water, ruining my camera. So, here’s a few of the second-best shots, as close as i dared going. I visited on the Saturday of the festival while the main event was on the Sunday, so I missed the fire department and their big hoses for showing the omikoshi and the people underneath!

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  1. remszi said, on August 27, 2014 at 4:57 am

    These “second-best” shots are still fantastic! 🙂 I love the last one with the splashing water against the sky.

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    • tokyobling said, on August 27, 2014 at 7:10 am

      Thank you Remszi! You are too kind. Next time I go I will try to get closer. Maybe with a water proof camera?

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  2. tokyo5 said, on August 27, 2014 at 6:17 am

    I am a member of one of the groups that carry a mikoshi in this festival every three years.

    Here’s my posts, with photos that my wife took while I helped carry the shrine:
    http://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/water-throwing-festival-2014/

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    • tokyobling said, on August 27, 2014 at 7:10 am

      Otsukaresama! Well done! I saw a couple of foreigners underneath omikoshi, maybe I saw you! (^-^)

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      • tokyo5 said, on August 28, 2014 at 1:29 am

        Yeah, the number of foreigners who participate increases every time this festival is held!

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        • tokyobling said, on August 28, 2014 at 5:17 am

          I did my tour of duty this year as well (at a different festival). My body still bears the wounds to prove it! (^-^)

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  3. Junko said, on August 27, 2014 at 3:08 pm

    How fun and refreshing! You need to be equipped with an underwater camera next time so that you can get super close to them! These days in America ice bucket challenge is a boom all of a sudden. Maybe someone got the idea from this Fukagawa festival, who knows?

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  4. Timi said, on August 30, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    Haha, no matter how cool you are on a fest, you can never be as cool as a kid with a water gun 😀 don’t take it on your hearts ^ – ^; Love all of this.

    And on that water challange thing..we have an easter tradition here, that guys go around and spray perfume on the girls, who give them painted eggs in exchange. But the original tradition was that every easter the guys would go around in the village and pour buckets of water on each girl 😀 so we had that before it was cool? 😀

    This is one old pic: http://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02115/html/img/2-607b.jpg
    And this is somewhat newer – cause it still happens 😀 :http://krisztinakonyhaja.cafeblog.hu/files/2014/04/00r1es0e1.jpg

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    • tokyobling said, on September 2, 2014 at 5:48 am

      Exactly! I just posted more pictures of him today by the way.

      I am so happy to see that parts of old Hungary still survives! May it last for many centuries or even millennia still! (^O^)

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