To The Four Gates. . . MOTOCOII!!

I’m in a crowd of around three thousand cheering Japanese. It’s 2:14 and I’m watching a performance (the fourth one today) that hasn’t changed in 370 years. The crowd enters into a call and response cheer of motocoii , motocoii. . . . MOTOCOII! MOTOCOII! (come back, come back), and with it the taiko drums start up again with a violent torrent of heart pounding theatrics. A giant two ton float carried on the backs of sixty some Japanese men all singing their town's anthem comes crashing into the center arena. The men cheer to each other and spin the two ton hand made float 360 degrees with surprising speed. Then with great effort they hoist the float of the shachihoko (golden dragon carp) over their heads, and with a one, two, three . . . they throw the float, with children drummers still onboard, four feet into the air. Their hands shoot up in unison and the crowd goes ballistic. They chant and spin more and begin to take their leave. The masses scream MOTOCOII MOTOCOII!!! The group returns and throws the two-ton float three more times before rhythmically moving on to the next free demonstration.

That was just one of my experiences over the past twenty four hours of body punishing wonder that is Kunchi. Kunchi is a 370 year old Shinto festival that was created to expose illegal Christians in Japan, and also to celebrate the fall harvest. My Kunchi experiences started at 9:15 last night. Danny and I went to Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki’s largest Shinto shrine, to spend the night in possibly the most important ticket line of my life. The seats to the first performances of Kunchi were sold out many months ago for hundreds of dollars each, but like many concerts they reserve some tickets to sell at the door. So, 15 other JASIN students and I spent the night under four magnificent stone Shinto spirit gates all to get the FREE 5a.m. public seating. My night passed quickly. Most of my time was spent wandering lost in thought through the inner garden of the shrine. This garden was a green mass of gnarled trees, coy ponds, and chirping crickets that overlooked the fluorescent glow of the buzzing Nagasaki nightlife. 5 a.m. was announced with fireworks and drums. A short parade of priests lead us to our free vantage point under the huge doors at the top of a long flight of cobble stone steps. In actuality I had a very poor view of the opening performances, but the exuberance of the crowd, and the heart pounding drums and cheers made up for my less than desirable point of view.

The festival opened with the Celebration Boat float and traditional sword dance. Incredible to say the least, and the float ended it's fourth cycle of spinning and charging forward by releasing a flock of white doves. Danny and I decided to go home for a bit, try to sleep, and get up later for the town center performances that would be easier to see. I couldn’t sleep at all. The drumming combined with the festive colors of silk kimonos and beauty of the Japanese traditions picked me up and didn’t put me down until about an hour ago. We saw two other traditional dances and two more float performances today. The first float I described is the local favorite. Kunchi is not a Nagasaki only festival. In truth it happens all over Japan, but Nagasaki’s Kunchi is rumored to be more intense and diverse than any of the others. The most famous of all Kunchi performances is the Chinese Dragon float. This float is a massive dragonhead of wood and neon paint that has a snaking body supported by poles carried by men dressed in purple and gold robes. The pole bearers move the beast with surprising realism. Just ahead of the head a man in all golden robes carries a spinning golden ball. This “dragon ball” represents desire and physical needs. The dragon eternally peruses its desires but never catches them. Interestingly enough Kunchi is also a festival of fertility. The Dragon dance is an incredibly fast performance involving each man on the dragon dashing about in serpentine patterns after this golden figure, as a band of thirty people plays strange horns that sound like elephant screams, drums, and cymbals. Today truly was breathtaking. It is highly doubtful that my words can accurately describe the spectacle and wonder I threw myself into today. Kunchi will continue for the next two days. I hope to see the other five performances I missed. On the slightly materialistic side, every performance group has a bandanna that is unique to this year. They throw some of these into the crowd, but the shrine also sells a complete set of all of this year’s bandannas. For those of you that know me. . . this was a mandatory purchase. So my first souvenirs from Japan are seven beautiful bandannas.

One moment that really stuck out in the mass of incredible moments is a stunning example of Japanese kindness and spirit. Danny and I were on our way to get some water before we sat in line all night. Just outside of the convenience store a middle aged Japanese man stopped us and asked if we were Americans and were we here for Kunchi. We said yes, and he proceeded to gently but intensely insist on buying us beers in celebration. So for the next hour we sipped Asashi dry, and talked of our studies, lives, and the meaning of Kunchi. Our friend tried to buy us multiple more beers, and became very chummy with us as he drank more. We eventually parted ways to go stand in line. I find that level of generosity towards guests astonishing. I can’t imagine someone in the states just pulling me off the streets and saying, “are you here for the Honey Festival? LETS DRINK TOGETHER! WELCOME!” This country is full of that incredible kindness and generosity.

I’m deathly tired, and need to do homework. I’ve posted more pictures on flickr. Please, enjoy, and know that I wish that all of my friends and family back home could have experienced the past 27 hours with me.