Small children are giggling and running about in their sky-blue happi coats, while the adults watch like eagles over them and patiently wait for things to get underway.

And there l am. in the same sky-blue happi coat, I am waiting too. It is my sixth time to participate in this festival‐the historical Narumi Festival.

We are all gathered around a big, tall wooden structure called a dashi. Beautifully
decorated, the crimson red and ocean blue cloth on the sides depict majestic cranes in flight. This festival consists of the dashis from the four districts of Narurmi:Tange, Kitaura, Hanai, and Kinomoto. In this part of town, the dashi is the one for Hanai. The men, who are to carry the dashi around on their shoulders, are chattering away beside it. Inside, the young musicians wait with their drums and flutes. On top, some men sit. Their job is to purify by throwing salt from above. For those that get too close to the dashi, you’ll get purified too. My camera and l know this too well.

The first part starts around noon. The dashi's ropes get pulled out and festival goers grip it tight. The men lift the dashi upon their shoulders and soon, the crowd's chants of “wasshoi'' are heard across the neighbourhood. We weave our way around the narrow streets before finding ourselves at the bottom of the hill that leads up to Narumi Shrine. We are ready to take the reins. In a massive surge of energy, we pull and lift the dashi up the steep hill, and it arrives safely at the foot of the shrine. It is soon joined by the three other dashis. The men for each of their dashi then take their turns to spin their heavy dashi around. This year, I heard one of the men yell“ kimochi ii!''(“this feels good!''), but his face told a different story.

he next part happens at night. The locals spill out from the shrine onto the empty streets. Under the dark night sky, the dashis wander up the main street. The flickering orange glow of the lanterns brighten up the people’s faces. We gather around each dashi, waiting for the next spectacle. Then, one by one, the men supporting each dashi take their turns to demonstrate their power and might. Lifting the dashi on their shoulders once again, they spin them around as many times as they can while the crowd cheer with their own power and might.

Finally, we take the dashi out for one last wander around the narrow streets of our district before we tuck them away for the evening and the year.

The Narumi Festival is held in Narumi Town, Midori Ward, Nagoya City on the second Sunday in October. Narumi itself is easily accessible thanks to the local Narumi Meitetsu Station and is only a mere 15 minutes from Nagoya Station. Narumi is sprinkled with an assortment of temples and of course, Narumi Shrine, which is a 12-minute walk from the station. I love Narumi and Narumi Festival. It is so calm and welcoming. In my opinion, Narumi is a hidden gem of Nagoya, so why don't you pop by for a visit?

Writer by Sally Jones