Shimokita Tengu Matsuri
The Shimokita Tengu Matsuri, or Long Red-nosed Goblins Festival, is held for 3 days in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo that is located just minutes from Shibuya Station. The festivities include bean throwing, a parade and drumming.
The parade is held on the second day with Tengu (men with long red-nosed masks) marching through the streets and throwing beans. This year, it was held on January 31, 2009.
Tengu is the Japanese god of mischief and patron saint of the martial arts and is sometimes referred to as “The Slayer of Vanity”.
Beans are also thrown during the parade. Bean throwing is also called “mamemaki”, which is normally held during Setsubun on February 3. Parade-goers try to catch the beans, thrown in packets or individually as pictured below.
During the festival, I ran into Samurai Dave (pictured in the brown hat talking to the host), a famous Japan blogger and YouTuber. You can find his blog in my blogroll to the right.
The parade ended at Shinryuji Temple. Finally pictured below are some of the packets containing beans that I caught (which is tough when you also holding a camera).
下北沢 (Shimo-kitazawa) is a nice area. And the Tengu Festival is fun.
You met another blogger? How did you recognize him? Did you speak with him?
TokyoFive, thanks for commenting – the Tengu Festival was fun indeed.
> You met another blogger? How did you recognize him? Did you speak with him?
I recognized him from his YouTube videos (his username is RoninDave), and we had a long chat. He attends many festivals and cultural events around Tokyo and Japan.
He also subscribed to my YouTube channel (I was already subscribed to his).
Pingback: Kids Mamemaki « Quirky Japan Blog
Pingback: Year In Review: Festivals « Konnichiwa