Matsuri: A Taste of Japan Close to Home
It’s been a busy week. After coming back from Puerto Rico early last Thursday, we went right back to work. We had a ton of housework to do not to mention finishing our taxes but there was no way we were missing the Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival. As part of the preparations for our upcoming Japan trip we’ve been trying to immerse ourselves as much as possible in Japanese culture. I regularly listen to several podcasts about Japan and take Japanese language classes. We watch Japanese movies and television as well as indulge in Japanese food at least once a week. (But we would probably be doing that anyway.)
The event held this past Saturday would allow us to experience a real Japanese street festival (Matsuri) or so we though. The day got off to a slow start. With all the activity and late nights over the last few days we were beat and kept hitting the snooze bar for almost an hour. We didn’t hit the road until after 9:00 am so I knew we would probably not make the parade.
We decided to take the metro into the city instead of running the risk of getting stuck in traffic or not being able to find parking nearby. For those not familiar with the District this is probably the wisest choice when venturing into the city to see the sights. The Washington DC Metro system is modern, clean and convenient. Finding your way can be a bit intimidating at first (though nowhere near as complex as the Paris metro). Metro’s website has a handy trip planner utility that gives directions to and from the closest station as well as which lines or exchanges to take for a given origin and destination address. If arriving at the city by car, you may want to look at the map of the system and find a station with parking near the Capital Beltway. On weekends the commuter parking lots are almost completely empty and parking is free.
On this day, we took the yellow line at Huntington. The station most convenient to the festival was Federal Triangle so our trip required us to change lines. By the time we reached our destination it was well after 11:00 am and the parade was over so we began to browse the stands. The first kiosk we came upon was selling official Cherry Blossom festival T-Shirts and masks of cute Japanese characters such as Hello Kitty. Nearby, a stage was set up but the performances had not yet started. Soon we heard the sound of taiko drums so we rushed over to a nearby park where a group of drummers were performing. As a drummer myself, world percussion has always been an interest of mine and watching a live Japanese drum performance was an unexpected treat. I hope to see more such performances in Japan and learn more about this art form.
By the time the taiko performance was over, a dance routine had already started on the main stage. A group of girls of varying ages clad in Kimonos twirled around to the sounds of Asian-sounding music. Interestingly only a few of the girls were of Asian descent. This seemed to be true of many of the performers, a testament to how widespread the practice of even obscure Japanese art forms has become. While kids and teenagers are into Manga and Anime, many adults and children practice dance, origami, flower arranging or martial arts. Somehow the mix of cosplayers and traditional performers did not seem out of place in a festival dedicated to a nation with such ancient traditions that has become the ultimate symbol of modernity. I can’t wait to visit and experience these contrasts for myself.
We continued down the isles of stands looking at the wares on display. Despite having initially experienced some authentic Japanese art and culture -well, as authentic as it gets on this side of the world-the rest of the festival was a mixed bag. We saw craftsmen sewing intricate silk garments for detailed figurines among stalls selling cheap plastic toys that are more likely to be made in China than Japan these days. Similarly, much of the food consisted of meat on a stick doused in teriyaki being sold as yakitori. We decided to stay away from the few stands selling sushi, as we were unsure of the freshness of the ingredients. After some searching we found a stand selling eel and chicken donburi (grilled meat over rice in a bowl), which not only seemed more authentic but a much better value. We sat in a nearby park to eat while watching a traditional archery demonstration.
At the opposite end of the festival grounds from the stage nearest to the metro station, was the J-Pop area. This was the area dedicated to Japanese popular culture and seemed to be a lot more crowded than the “traditional” area. A crowd was forming around a semicircle of stations for playing one of those dancing video games where players try to mimic the steps being performed by the characters on the screen while standing on top of an electronic pad. At the end of the street, on the J-Pop stage, a bizarre performance was taking place. A girl group dressed like the characters of the Anime Sailor Moon were singing bubble-gun pop in Japanese. Once the song was over, they proceeded to introduce themselves and give their “code names” (don’t ask).
In the end, we had a great time at the festival even though it wasn’t exactly what we expected. I guess this is often true in travel. After all, if every place we visited was always just as we imagined, what would be the point of going there? Only time will tell what the “real” Japan is like. I have no doubt there will be more than a few surprises in store for us.
