Riding the mikoshi
This is funny news from Shitamachi (lit. “downtown”), the old part of Tokyo. A bearer was arrested Sunday for riding on a mikoshi (portable shrine) at Asakusa Shrine, despite an organizers’ ban on such behavior, on the last day of the three-day Sanja matsuri festival held in Asakusa, Tokyo.
During the festival’s climax, called the Honja-mikoshi togyo (the passage of sacred palanquins of the head shrine), mikoshi bearers started jumping onto them. Several men in their groups’ happi coats began jumping onto the mikoshi, while other bearers and spectators shouted “They rode on them!” throwing the whole area into uproar. The bearers on the mikoshi continued striking aggressive poses while shouting “banzai” and waving folding fans.
That is really the funny attitude of people in “downtown” Tokyo…
As with most things in Tokyo, there is another side to this story. The guys who have made it their tradition to ride the mikoshi are mostly members of organized crime groups, or yakuza. This was one reason the police wanted to ban the practice. These guys show up at festivals, dressed in next to nothing, and show off their body tatoos. Pretty intimidating.
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