School Matsuri

Spent much of the afternoon at a matsuri (festival) at the local grade school. Several parents from our local church in Kyoto have children at this school. Similar in many ways to a grade school fair in the US. There were games (Fish pond, races, golf), food booths (hot dogs, chicken wings, mochi dango (sweet sticky rice flour balls roasted on a stick and coated with a sweet sauce) teriyaki, and the kids favorite – a cracker shaped like an octopus with a thick soy sauce and mayonnaise on top, and drink booths with water, juice , soda and beer.

In the middle of the playground was a stage - performers included singing moms from the PTA, a group of hula dancers, and children Taiko drummers. (Especially notice the little girl who takes her turn at the left-hand drum below.)

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Aoi Festival Parade

An ancient festival / parade dating back more than 1000 years is held every year on May 15.

Several years of ruined grain crops and epidemics were blamed on the Kamo River deities so the Emperor sent a message with a group of people to the shrine to prayer for a bountiful harvest. The special messenger was sent on a galloping horse.

This became an annual ritual and we got to see it today. It is called the Aoi festival because aoi leaves - a type of Japanese hollyhock - are used to decorate the horses, riders, walkers, umbrellas and much more.