Gangara Hi Matsuri
Japan
- Osaka, IkedaPosted on August 24, 2009 by Stefan
Filed under Gallery, Life, Gangara Hi Matsuri, Ikeda, Matsuri, Osaka
I had a busy afternoon today sorting out my japan-visa and doing some shopping for electric supplies. But after that i was free to indulge myself with another colorful festival here in Japan. Today it was the Gangara Hi (Hi=japanese for fire) Matsuri in Ikeda, a suburb or Osaka to the north.
Gangara is an event that has been held for over 350 years on the 24th of August. Up to 4 meters long Torches are paraded through the streets of Ikeda City. 4 meters doesn’t sound like much, but it’s tall enough to give the low hanging telephone and electricity lines in the streets a good roasting! The torchlight procession starts around 7pm at the Atago Shrine on Mount Satsuki and proceeds all the way down to the park in front of Ikeda station around 20:30 before turning back up to Mt. Satsuki. On the same evening, Kanjis (Japanese characters) of the Dai-monji and Dai-ichimonji are painted with fires on the south and west side of the mount representing prayers for inner composure and world peace.
The festival is relatively small (although there were quite a bit of spectators waiting around Ikeda Station). There are no food stalls or anything, it’s mostly just the 6 big torches carried around the streets and it get’s a bit exhausting to keep up with the procession when you have to fight your way through the standing spectators to get your pictures. The Kurama No Hi Matsuri is a similar fire festival, although on a much bigger scale and with a bit of more tradition and scenic sights in the old mountain village.
Transport: By car is fine (parking spots are everywhere), or by train to Ikeda Station.
Websites: The official website of the Gangara matsuri is all in Japanese.
hello Stefans Blog-san,
thanks for visiting my little blog and a bigger thanks for your Gangara Hi Matsuri photos. i was actually at the Ikeda elementary school playground stage and festival area where there were many “yatai” (food stalls) and people. i love hearing live music and there was much to see and hear there as well as good food. a few years ago i saw the big torches pass by and i thought i would have time to make it from the playground stage to the torch route but then an Okinawan group came on stage and that was that. you have some beautiful photos so i know you know what you are doing but i am looking for a new camera and was wondering what kind you use. i really like the clarity of your images. a couple of years ago i saw Awa-odori and more than a few years ago i rode my bicycle from the Tokyo area to Hokkaido and could see some of the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri…and you see them all on one trip. excellent.
thanks again. kevin
Oh! – so they had foodstalls?! I didn’t noticed any during the torch procession.
I use a Nikon D90. The thing that works best for me for night photography seems to be a bright lens … f/2.0 and below. I use a dirt cheap 35mm f/1.8 on my camera (~$180) with ISO1600 and don’t use any flash. Seems to be doing an ok’ish job.
Already 1pm .. should go .. i want to see the dai-chochin matsuri in Aichi tonight
..
thanks for the INFO on your camera. i should have known is was something like a Nikon D-something. i bought a Canon Rebel SI back in March and i just don`t get the clarity i am used to with my old Canon 35mm. i have been told to try a better lens than the stock lens that came with it but to me “clear should be clear, focus should be focused” (if all the other settings are in alignment).
anyways, i will be looking forward to your Dai-chochin photos as well as looking back to your older photos and trying to figure out why you are visiting/living in Japan.
oyasumi,
kevin
Your Canon should be fine too – the specs look OK to me. Lenses do make a bit of a difference, but if i were you i would test the camera first to check if the focus really is where it should be … see http://focustestchart.com/chart.html for how to test. If the focus is a bit off then you won’t get sharp pictures and you would probably need to bring your camera to a canon repair shop where they can fix the alignment.
ok .. now back to sorting through my Dai-chochin pictures .. the matsuri was a bit of a let down … lanterns that don’t glow aren’t fun to photograph at night