防府の鯉ながし Koi-Nagashi in Hofu

防府の鯉ながし Koi-Nagashi in Hofu

[Music] Hello and welcome back to another video. I’m in Hu today, which is in the center of Yamaguchi Prefecture. And let me tell you a story. Now, if you’re in Japan at the end of April or the beginning of May, you may well see long carpshaped streamers displayed, especially in the countryside. These streamers are quite often attached to tall poles or to long ropes, and those ropes are quite often strung across rivers so that the streamers billow in the breeze. It’s a wonderful site, especially when there are large numbers of streamers altogether. Anyway, these carp streamers are known as coari and they’re displayed to pray for the healthy growth and success of children. They’re imbued with the hope that children will grow up to be strong, determined people. Anyway, here in Horu, there’s a spot where these carp streamers are displayed not in the sky, but in a river, so that it looks not like they’re flying, but they’re swimming. And this event is called Kagashi. The site is about 15 minutes by bus from the station. So, let’s go and see. All right, I’ve just got off the bus and just along from here is where the Kagashi Festival is held. It’s a beautiful rural place. You wouldn’t really think it was only 15 minutes from um HFU station by bus who feels much more out in the countryside than that. Anyway, let’s go and see the koagashi. Basically the cart streamers which are fairly obviously the centerpiece of the festival are in the Sabagawa River and over the river there is a small bridge which is the best place to see them from and then on the other side of the river across the bridge on the river bank there is the festival itself. I think I think the last time I came there were food trucks and things like that. So this time we’ll have to see. Anyway, first of all, let’s go and see the streamers. There’s not really that much more to say. After all, these are streamers in a river, and that’s really about it. So, what I’ll do is I will put a few videos in a montage. So, please enjoy them with me. One thing that I do find a little bit interesting is the fact that the river appears to be flowing towards the top of the screen. The tails of the carp streamers though are very much towards the bottom of the screen. This doesn’t really make sense because the streamers are fastened by their heads. So if the river is flowing towards the top of the screen, in other words, into the distance, then really logically the streamers should be pointing the other way round. The only thing I can think of is that it’s actually quite breezy today. And so maybe the wind is causing the ripples on the water, but the river is actually flowing towards the bottom of the screen. In other words, towards the sea. Anything else to be honest doesn’t make sense to me. But if you have any other suggestions, please do let me know. [Music] So obviously the boatman adds to the overall scenery, but apart from that, I’m not quite sure what he’s actually there for. He seems to be hucking individual carp streamers up out of the water every now and again, but to be honest, I’m not sure why. If you have any ideas, again, please do let me know. I’d be interested to hear your comments. Anyway, you can see the streamers from both sides of the river as well as from the bridge itself. I think it’s fair to say that the bridge does provide the best view. But having said that, you can get some good views and slightly more unusual views from either side of the river. [Music] I’m not sure whether it’s someone actually involved with the event or not, but someone keeps blowing soap bubbles out across the river. Surprisingly enough, the bubbles do actually sort of add to the whole scenery. It’s quite an interesting view. I bet the boatman wouldn’t be happy to get one of the bubbles in his eye, though. Oh, and speaking of the boatman, I think it is worth saying a few words of appreciation. I certainly wouldn’t want to do his job. So, Mr. Boatman, thank you and well done. Okay, I think just before I leave, one last look from the bridge is in order. So, here we are. And I will finish with the time-lapse videos I took. So, this Koi Nagashi event is held only on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of May each year. Of course, this means that if you’re coming from outside Japan, or realistically, even if you’re coming from further a field within Japan, you have to choose your dates pretty carefully, there are only three days a year when you can see this. But there’s no doubt that it is a very unusual event. In fact, none of my Japanese friends have ever heard of this. And that unusualness means that it is a very worthwhile event to try and make the effort to visit if you can. If you do happen to be in Japan at the right time of year and if you’re looking for something a little bit out of the ordinary, then I would say that this event is something you should really consider visiting. I would say that in the end you probably don’t need much more than 30 minutes to an hour here. But on the other hand, the riverbank is a great place, a very pleasant place to spend 2 or 3 hours. Anyway, if you’ve ever been to the festival, please do leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it. Anyway, uh I need to catch a bus back to the railway station now. So, I will finish by saying thank you as ever for watching the video. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it’s inspired you to pay a visit to HFU. Even if the Koagashi Festival isn’t taking place when you’re here, there are still plenty of things to do. So, it’s a good little place to visit actually. Anyway, thank you very much for watching the video. I hope to see you again in another video very soon. But for now, from HFU, from the Sabah Gawa River, goodbye. [Music]

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