Summer Festival Compilation + References
Here is a compilation of the summer festival illustrations by Rurutea in 2023! Below the translations are links to the original tweets and some notes and references about the festivals. Please take a look at those links if you’d like to learn more!
The captions for each image are below the image.
References & Notes
Morioka Sansa Odori (dance) Festival
盛岡さんさ踊り (morioka sansa odori)
Go to https://visitiwate.com/article/4764 to read more.
The Morioka Sansa Odori Festival is held from August 1st to the 4th, and “is one of the Five Great Festivals of Tohoku” (visitiwate.com).
Aomori Nebuta Festival
青森ねぶた祭 (aomori nebuta matsuri)
According to Wikipedia, Rasserā is a shortened dialectal version of irrasshai (what they say when you enter a store/restaurant), chanted to invite people to watch or join in.
Nebuta apparently means "nighttime festival in Tohoku" as well (jisho.org). This particular festival is held from August 2nd to August 7th.
Akita Kantō Festival
秋田竿燈祭り (akita kantou matsuri)
Sources seemed to vary but this festival is held from August 3rd to either August 6th or 7th.
"Around 200 bamboo poles 5 to 12 metres long, bearing 24 or 46 lanterns, topped with gohei, and weighing up to 50 kilograms, are carried through the streets by night on the palms, foreheads, shoulders, or lower backs of the celebrants" (Wikipedia).
Fukushima Waraji Festival
福島わらじまつり (fukushima waraji matsuri)
Official festival website: https://waraji.co.jp/en/#
Video where I confirmed the song lyrics (also seems to be official): YouTube
This festival takes place over 3 days, over the weekend starting from the first Friday in August.
Waraji means "straw sandal". You can read the link above to learn about the reasoning and history behind the festival.
I've been unable to easily ascertain the meaning of this phrase (korashonosho), but it's a lyric in the festival's song. One guess I have is, "Hey, midsummer's heat!" but it could also be a chant to hype people up w/o any particular meaning, like some other summer festivals.
こら (kora) = hey (Jisho)
暑 (sho) = heat, midsummer (Jisho)
の (no) = usually a noun modifier
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival
山形花笠まつり (yamagata hanagasa matsuri)
Official site of the festival: https://hanagasa.jp/_lang/en/
The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is held every year from August 5th to the 7th.
Hanagasa means a "type of conical hat adorned with flowers (used in Japanese traditional performing arts)" (Jisho.org). It is the circular things they're holding with the orange/red circles (safflowers).
About the chant 「ヤッショ、マカショ。」(yassho makasho)
It "..is an embellishment to enliven the mood of the song and the singers. It does not have any particular meaning."
As for "Choi choi" (チョイチョイ) , it seems to refer to a specific step (10) of one of the dances, and I only see it on the Japanese page: https://hanagasa.jp/dance/.
As an onomatopoeia, it can mean either lightly moving or effortlessly (Jisho.org).
Sendai Tanabata Festival
仙台七夕まつり (sendai tanabata matsuri)
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata#Sendai_festival
Official site: https://www.sendaitanabata.com/en
(Which wouldn’t load the day I did the translation, hence why it wasn’t originally mentioned.)
Even though Tanabata is typically celebrated July 7 (7/7) the Sendai one is held in the beginning of August (Aug 6-8) like the other summer festivals being featured. The official page for the Sendai festival says the July 7 holiday date is based on the old Chinese calendar.
It also says, “The Sendai Tanabata Festival, however is held from August 6 to 8, based on a calendar that is one month later than the old Chinese calendar, in order to keep to the seasonality of the old festival.”
