The Kiyomori Festival on Miyajima island is held every year in March. Kiyomori (Taira-no-Kiyomori) made the impressive shrines on Miyajima,
the most famous of which is the floating Itsukushima shrine. It took ten years to complete and is the same one you can still visit today.
Apparently Kiyomori was so impressed with Miyajima Island and the power of the goddesses there that he created Itsukushima to please them.
If you have a chance to visit Itsukushima during high tide,
the shrine is at its most impressive and makes you feel like you are floating.
The Kiyomori festival is one of the most popular festivals held on the island each year. The costume parade is a romantic look back at the shogun era
and celebrate the history of Miyajima.
At the Kiyomori festival costume parade on the 21st of March this year, an American man named Turner took part by dressing up in Samurai armor.
As a foreigner dressed as a samurai participating in the parade, he got a lot of attention. Setsuo had a chance to ask him what he thought of being a
part of the parade this year.
Why dress up in Samurai armor at the Miyajima Kiyomori festival?
To be honest, I had nothing to do for the holiday, and
it sounded like fun - a chance to return to Miyajima
on a nice day. I've dressed up as a European knight
before, and I wanted to know how complicated Samurai
armor would be to put on and walk around in all day.
You feel strong when wearing it, the weight of the armor was comfortable and
it makes you feel more powerful. I was surprised how easy it was to wear.
It was a great day out, the weather was perfect and there were a lot of people watching. Sometimes I was a little embarrased, because people
didn't expect to see a foreigner in the parade dressed as a Samurai. But, it was
for fun, and I enjoyed the smiles on people's faces;
many people wanted their pictures taken with the foreign
Samurai. I didn't laugh or talk, and tried to keep a
straight face for the pictures.
Some funny things happened during the parade. Despite wearing Samurai armor, many people
only spoke English to me; I thought this would be one
time they would try Japanese first. It was also funny
to see the expressions on children's faces when they
noticed I was a foreigner. At one point, a tourist also challenged me
to a swordfight.
Setsuo |
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