Mikoshi Parade

On October 19th the 32nd annual Mikoshi Parade was held here in Yokosuka. The Parade started out in town and ended here on base. Here is the beginning of the parade. This guy with his big twirly stick was bobbing up and down hollering out something. The good news about that was this parade was going to be a lot different than the Samurai Parade.

The first part of the parade included trucks or platforms that were pushed or pulled down the street. They carried Japanese people playing drums and flutes. Not a silent parade this time.


Oh my heavens here come the spooky undulating dragons. I realize that it was a person with a mask on but the way they undulated their body was truly strange and disturbing!
Come to find out the dragons were supposed to be chasing away evil spirits

Instead of scaring away evil spirits they terrified American children! Do you see the small head between the dragon's jaws? That is my friend's son!!!!!!!!!! As this dragon approached her daughter was terrified and started screaming. This didn't deter the dragon instead I guess the Japanese person thought they had to make the son scream as well. So with this monster's jaws around his little head the little boy began screaming in terror as well. Not a favorite part of the parade.


Mikoshi are portable shrines that resemble miniature buildings with pillars, a veranda and a railing. Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle of divine spirits. The mikoshi is taken to a special place and the god is released by a priest. However for this festival no deities were said to be enclosed in the shrines.

Above is an example of the Mikoshi - does the guy on the end look tired or what! There were more than 9,000 participants in the parade and 74 Mikoshi. The carriers of the Mikoshi don't just walk for miles they dance carrying the poles. While dancing they are chanting and some revelers bang on the side of the mikoshi to wake the deity.

Dylan loved by the locals!

The Mikoshi looks off balance right? It is because the people carrying the Mikoshi were dancing as I had mentioned before. There was also a daring group who though it was past noon and they had started at 9am were doing full squats down to the ground and back up as they carried the mikoshi !!!! Oh my goodness

You know how many Americans think clowns are scary try these guys! Look at the one on the right side of the picture - do you see the dark lines where the nose is located? You might think these are strangely shaped nostrils not so. It is HAIR coming out of the nostril holes and a lot of it!!!!!!!!! How gross is that. Click on the picture to make it larger allowing you a better view of the one in the float.

I am thinking clowns are awesome after this parade besides I doubt they would try to eat children's heads during a parade

parade goers

Ok these next two pictures are so sweet! The two boys were feeding each other raisins. Eli started it by picking up some of Dylan's raisins and feeding them to him. Dylan then decided he should return the favor and fed some to Eli :)

The base even had a Mikoshi carried by sailors wearing the traditional hoppi coats thankfully they all had shorts or pants on with them unlike some Japanese we saw

A very interesting cultural experience and a parade that kept Dylan's attention longer than our first one. Though we were both about sick of drums and chants by the time the Navy Mikoshi came around.