Winter holds sway!
Deep in winter’s heart, when the cold is strongest and darkness holds sway – the Japanese heart yearns for spring and the resumption of the rural rhythm – the farmer’s plow is safely at rest in the shed, the plow horses (now tractors) sit idle, rice fields covered in a blanket of snow, and fishing boats bob slowly in their ice-caked moorings.
But!
The promise of another season hasn’t died! The taiko (太鼓) drums beat in earnest as if the cold could be driven away- and the shinobue (篠笛- Japanese bamboo flute) trills an eagerness that dares defy the oppressive cold and darkness of the North. It’s time for the Enburi Festival of Aomori! (えんぶり)
Enburi Festival (えんぶり)
You can read about the Enburi Festival of Hachinoe, Aomori Japan in detail here, but I wanted to describe it for you from an uneducated outsider’s perspective. Like all Japanese festivals it is wall-to-wall with people, only, all of them are VERY bundled up! It is cold, not just chilly, but COLD! A full clear moon means no cloud cover to even pretend to hold any heat, and the light-to-moderate breeze strips any pretense of heat you might have had left (did I mention it was cold…?) Being from Alaska, our family was prepared for it and had a wonderful time – but if you attend, please dress appropriately to ensure you last the night!
Street Food!
Like any Japanese festival, you first notice the street food vendors. There are stalls with yakitori, basically Japanese-style shish-kabobs, with offerings of various parts of chicken, pork, beef, duck, and some other odds-and-ends you will certainly want to try. I’m not saying you will like all of them… but hey, you need to check the box! Beer and sake flow in abundance and there was even one stall with American-style coffee (for three bucks a thimble-full…). But the highlight of all this variety was the candy-covered apples! Similar to the caramel apples back in the States, except it is a harder candy coating that is marvelous. Aomori is the Japanese capital of apple cultivation and I am sure this is one way they get rid of the last of their stock – amazingly delicious!
Enburi dance
The actual ‘Enburi’ part of the Enburi Festival is a series of dances performed by the Enburi troupe. Yes, an actual traveling troupe that goes around Northern Japan putting on this performance! It very much reminded me of the medieval performing troops of old Europe. Same light-hearted gaiety, same community-minded spirit in the audience as they gather with friends and family to watch the ‘strange’ traveling troupe (never mind the weird gaijin family…!).
The dances will seem weirdly familiar. They evoke that same storytelling style of indigenous peoples throughout the world. I was struck with the similarity between these dances and the Alaskan Native people’s dances – a rhythmic, ceremonial, homage to the local culture and daily life. Shouldn’t be surprising as much of the Alaskan Native culture draws from their roots in Northern Asia before they crossed over into Alaska.
The Enburi itself is an enormous hat worn by the main dancers, modeled off a horse’s head, and draws on the cultural traditions of plow/farm horses that Northern Japan is famous for. Other dances include several kids’ dances and feature amazing performances from kids so very young!
Ebisu-mai
The highlight for me was the Ebisu-mai dance. An older male dancer embodies the ancient Shinto god Ebisu and goes fishing for tai – the large red sea bream fish that embodies good luck. After several misadventures, the lovable old god catches the fish and presents it to the crowd – granting them good luck in the coming fishing season!
Overall, an incredible evening! Not too ‘polished’ and formal to be off-putting, kids were attending in abundance and sang along with many of the known songs, but still put together very nicely for a community and cultural experience like no other!
