Ouchi-Juku's "Hange Matsuri"

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to this local festival in Shimogo's traditional Edo village, Ouchi Juku. Luckier still that it was while I was at work in the Board of Education and I was taken by the boss, Mr.Muroi. We even got to go for soba noodles afterwards!

This festival is apparently about 800 years old and features an "oni" demon type figure and numerous shinto priests and many children. They started at the shrine in the woods and walked through the centre of the village followed by traditional musicians (on a cart that was pulled by about 20 elementary school students!)

The kids who live in this area were very pleased to get the morning off school (as was I) but seemed to treat the festival as a bit of a chore. It's interesting for me to imagine all of their ancestors from the past centuries taking part in the same festival as children, in a village that won't have looked too different from how it looks now. I can't think of many local festivals at home that have remained the same for many years like this, except for some May-Pole dances that I saw when I was young.