Learn about the Top 5 festivals in Japan
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| Talking Japanese Culture, Season 1, Lesson 15 – |
| Top 5 Festivals in Japan |
| [INTRO] |
| Hello, and welcome to JapanesePod101.com. |
| I’m Eric. |
| In this lesson we will talk about the "Top 5 festivals in Japan". |
| === |
| The first topic (on the list) is about one of the most |
| popular and colorful summer festivals held in |
| Aomori city, called the (J: Aomori Nebuta Matsuri). |
| When this festival begins in August, tens of |
| thousands of people parade around the city with |
| giant paper lanterns in the shape of various |
| legendary characters and gods. |
| Ahead of each lantern, dancers in traditional |
| costumes jump wildly to Japanese drum and |
| flute music, making the parade very |
| exciting and upbeat. |
| === |
| The next topic (on the list) is about the Sapporo Snow |
| Festival in Hokkaido (J: Sapporo Yuki Matsuri). |
| This is one of the biggest winter festivals in Japan and is held in February. During this time, the city of |
| Sapporo becomes the stage for the big snow |
| statue contest. |
| You will see a number of huge and beautiful snow |
| sculptures such as famous people, landmarks, |
| and scenes from popular movies. |
| With a project this big, Japan’s Self-Defense Force |
| and citizen volunteers spend a month to shape |
| some 32,000 tons of snow into an icy art. |
| === |
| The next topic (on the list) is about Japan’s most |
| historical festival in Kyoto, called Gion Festival |
| (J: Gion Matsuri). |
| The festival runs the entire month of July, but the |
| biggest event is the ground procession of floats |
| called (J: Yamahoko Junkō). |
| These floats are known as “moving museums” for |
| their elaborate decoration with tapestries and |
| ornaments that are all built without using nails. |
| The highlight of the parade is the scene that happens at narrow corners when the floats make a 90-degree turn. This elaborate technique is called |
| (J: Tsuji Mawashi). |
| === |
| The next topic (on the list) is about a traditional |
| summer dance festival in Tokushima, called |
| Awa Dance Festival (J: Awa Odori). |
| This festival takes place during the Buddhist festival |
| period in summer. This period, during which the |
| spirits of the dead are believed to return to this |
| world, is called (J: Obon). |
| As part of the Obon festival, dancers wear |
| traditional costumes and chant aloud as they |
| parade through the streets. |
| Normally the male dancers move around in a very |
| dynamic way, while the female dancers parade in an elegant style, taking tiptoe steps. |
| === |
| The last topic (on the list) is about a great bonfire |
| called (J: Gozan no Okuribi) or (Daimonji no Okuribi). |
| This bonfire, held in Kyoto on August 16th every |
| year, is a festival like no other in the world. |
| To mark the end of Obon, people in Kyoto light giant |
| bonfires on five mountains surrounding the city |
| to send the souls of their ancestors back to |
| where they belong. |
| The biggest bonfire is the Chinese letter “big”, |
| which is set alight at 8pm on Mt. Daimonji. After |
| that, other letters are set alight every 5 minutes. |
| This bonfire showcases the classic culture of Kyoto |
| and announces the end of the summer. |
| === |
| That’s all we have for this lesson. |
| Japanese festivals are all very unique and culturally significant. |
| Have you seen any of those festivals? How did you like them? |
| Leave us a comment and let us know! |
| Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time. Until then, bye! |
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