This article is based on a visit made on Sunday, 13 May 2018.
Edit 10 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I visited the ninja museum and castle in Iga City. Afterwards, I wrapped up our excursion with a museum we passed on the way back to the train station. That would be the Danjiri Museum (だんじり会館,
Danjiri Kaikan), which is dedicated to the local Ueno Tenjin Festival.
The Ueno Tenjin Festival (上野天神祭,
Ueno Tenjin Matsuri) is held annually on 23-25 October, and dates back over 400 years. The parade procession starts from and ends at the nearby Ueno Tenman Shrine (上野天満宮,
Ueno Tenman-gu), on the east side of town. This shrine is one of over 10,000 Tenman shrines in Japan, all of which are dedicated to the soul of the 9th-century scholar
Sugawara no Michizane (菅原 道真, 845-903), posthumously deified as the god Tenjin (天神, lit. 'sky god'). In between festivals, its nine shrine floats are put on display at this museum. A video depicting and explaining the festival plays on the screens in the back of the hall every half-hour. It is narrated in Japanese without subtitles, but if you ask the staff, you can get a headset device to listen to it in English, and possibly other languages.
"Floats" used in Japanese festival parades are called
mikoshi (神輿, lit. 'divine palanquin') or
o-mikoshi (お神輿). During festivals, the
kami (for the uninitiated, a Shinto god) of a particular shrine is transferred into one of these mikoshi, effectively making them portable shrines.
Smaller mikoshi can be lifted and supported by the shoulders of carriers.
Larger mikoshi, on the other hand, need to be pulled by their supporters.
Lanterns are common decorations for mikoshi, and pretty much everywhere else, come festival time.
The Ueno Tenjin procession also includes a hundred paraders dressed in costumes with
oni masks.
Oni (鬼) are demons in Japanese folklore. They serve as the bad guys in many folktales, but for festivals, they instead protect the town from bad luck by scaring away evil spirits... and children, most likely.
Speaking of costumes, the Danjiri Kaikan is also the place where you can rent ninja costumes to dress up in for the day! This service is available from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and costs ¥1,080 per person. The colours available include black, blue, red, and pink, so historical accuracy is not as important here as is the simple fun of dressing up, which has its merit I'll admit. It's popular with the kids, although I'm sure there are adult sizes available as well.
I would have been willing to try on a ninja costume, but it was late, it was rainy, and I had a bus to catch. So, in contrast to the complicated train journey we took on the way up, the bus was a one-shot, ninety-minute (actually two hours with highway traffic) hop back to Kyoto Station. With barely anybody else on board, it was just what I needed to dry off and relax as we drove through the other ninja town, Koka, and on the Meishin Expressway back to Kyoto. Indeed I would have taken a bus into Iga-Ueno also, but A) its only viable departure time wouldn't have worked out as well, and B) I had a Japan Rail Pass and wanted to use it. Bit of a short day, but I've got lots more coming on Kyoto itself. All this and a new Know Your Trains, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Hours: Open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time. Closed on one day in the 2nd or 3rd weekend in April, 23-25 October, and 29 December-1 January.
Costs: ¥600.
Address: 122-4 Ueno Marunouchi, Iga-shi, Mie-ken 〒518-0873
Access: Danjiri Kaikan is five minutes on foot from Ueno-shi Station.
Directions:
From the exit of Ueno-shi Station, head across the parking lot, turn
left, and cross the tracks. The museum is at the corner of the second traffic light, on the right side.
Website:
(Japanese)
