Goodbye Tsugumi

I'm reading a book called "Goodbye Tsugumi" (confession: mainly because the author's name is "Banana Yoshimoto", and that is just fantastic) and I'm really enjoying it. It keeps surprising me with these random paragraphs of thoughts from the main character that just scream "God!". For example:

"...the ocean had always been there, in the good times as well as the bad...all I had to do was turn my head and it would be there, always the same...what on earth did people in the city turn to when they felt the need to reckon with "balance"? Maybe the moon?...but then the moon was so small and far away, and something about it felt sort of lonely, and it didn't seem like it would really help..."

The need for something constant. And not just constant, but bigger - greater than ourselves. And not just greater, but near- close- here with us. I long for the world to see that that something is there. And just as the ocean is more helpful than the moon, our God is infinitely more satisfying than the ocean.

Where do you turn when you feel the "need to reckon with balance"?

Matsuri! (Festival!)

One of the portable shrines (omikoshi)
at the shrine the night before.

Our neighborhood had their big, only-happens-every-few-years festival (Sumiyoshi Shrine Grand Festival). They had to post-pone it last summer because of the 3-11 disaster, so it was a huge deal.

They've been building these huts around the community
all summer, so I've been super curious about what would
go in them! Notice the offerings of sake, symbols of the crane and
the crest with the 3 dots, and (blurry- sorry) dragon heads. 

The dragons started at the shrine, with this big repetitive
 ceremony of mock fighting/dancing, then paraded the town.
While really fun and interesting, it sinks in how much of a
religious festival this is: we saw lots of people displaying framed
pictures of deceased family members (whether to help their spirits
travel back, or get blessings for them from the gods, or something
entirely different? I'm not sure...)

The ones with green lighting were kinda creepy...




All of the portable shrines feature this bird on top.
Our guide at the history museum said the shrine gates
(called torii; tori=bird) were originally made for
the birds to perch on. Birds are definitely an important symbol; I think they're supposed to connect the world/spirit world...

Lots of excited people, lots of mikoshi of all sizes parading
the town, lots of water being splashed on the carriers!



I woke up at 7 Sunday to the sound of drums, and looked out
window to see one of the mikoshi "parading" the river around
our little island neighborhood.



and docking right below us!





Tasty festival food, colors, music, clothes, decorations, meanings behind them, learning more about what my neighbors believe and desire... I'm still processing it all. Such an interesting weekend!