Tomoko
Local Festivals
Festivals excite and entertain people, don't they? I am looking forward to this weekend, for a festival is to be held in my town! It is called the Saioh-matsuri Festival and it is the biggest event of the year in Meiwa. Saioh is the Imperial princess who served the God of the Grand Shrine of Ise in ancient Japan of the Heian era. My town Meiwa, especially Saiku, has a long history related to the ancient Emperors of Japan. There are some excavations and a museum in Saiku. In the Saiku Historical Museum, you can see a lot of exhibitions and explore the culture of the ancient Saiku. So the Saioh and Saiku are very popular among us, and the Saioh-matsuri Festival is one of our pleasures.
Local festivals such as the Saioh-matsuri Festival, I think, have three good points.
First, they are, of course, enjoyable entertainments. At the Saioh-matsuri Festival people enjoy a beautiful parade, music, folk dance, and various performances. Also, many booths and stalls sell foods, sweets, and so on.
Secondly, local festivals unite people's hearts. As the Saioh-matsuri Festival is coming up, we can find advertisements and flags for it all over the town, and attention is paid to the big event by almost all local people. People share common feelings through a festival.
Thirdly, local festivals give you an opportunity to learn local culture. Any festival has native, unique characteristics, and most of them have come down to us through a long period of time and shaped local culture in the process. It is very important for us to learn the culture and customs of other times in our hometown. And a local festival might be a cue to do so.
Thus local festivals are of great significance. The Saioh-matsuri Festival also makes me feel my love for my hometown. Local festivals are the embodiments of love for one's home!
Sakura
This is a cherry tree along Isuzu River in Ise, Mie Prefecture. There are many cherry trees along the river. The riverside cherry blossoms are very beautiful and this place is famous with local people. Of course I went there to see them with my friend at the beginning of this month, and I took this photograph with my mobile phone which includes a camera. Don't you think I am a good photographer?
Kyoto is wonderful!
Have you been to Kyoto? I visited Kyoto the other day. Kyoto is a historical city and has many famous buildings such as Kinkakuji and Nijoujou. I went to Kiyomizu Temple to see cherry blossoms. They were not in full bloom then, but very beautiful. There are a lot of places to go sightseeing in Kyoto! So why don't you visit there? Some interesting information about Kyoto is here.