Last Sunday, I went to Fuji City. First I had an early lunch with a friend, then attended an afternoon of drums, singing, dance, and a play involving dragons.
This was great - and so Japanese! The performers were all ages, from the little bitties to the very old. I wish everyone could experience this show.
Mt. Fuji view from Fuji City
The Anjin Festival celebrates the launching of the first western-style Japanese ships in 1604. Anjin Miura (English name - William Adams) was an English navigation officer, who drifted ashore in Japan in 1600. He made great efforts to promote international trade, including building Japan's first western-style sailing ship on the orders of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Anjin was known as the Blue-Eyed Samurai.
One of the festival events was the Taiko competition in Nagisa Park. Taiko is the Japanese drumming that has been part of the Japanese culture for centuries. Taiko drumming isn't for sissies. It's a very energetic, aerobic, work out. The event was scheduled to last three hours.
Just before 8:00 pm, phone alarms (earthquake warning) started going off. Two days before this event there was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in southern Japan, within the Nankai Trough. This trough includes the area where I live. As a result, the Japanese government issued a mega-quake advisory, the day before the taiko event.
The earthquake warning that evening was for an earthquake in Kanagawa Prefecture, next to Shizuoka Prefecture. We didn't feel the earthquake at the event, but it spooked everyone and the taiko was canceled at that time, so we took the train home.
Life in Japan is never dull.
