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On October 8th a group of CHIC members met up with some friends from
the volunteer group NICE and headed off to the tiny village of Seinaiji
in Nagano prefecture to watch the spectacular annual firework display
and to do some volunteer work as well. Seinaiji, like many mountain villages,
has watched its young people disappearing to the cities, with the result
that the population is aging and dwindling fast. But they've hit on a
novel way to bring back the young folk - they have given them some land
and a tumbled down summer house! NICE members are busy clearing the land
and renovating the house to turn it into a weekend getaway. Some of us
helped clear the overgrown veggie patches to prepare for spring veggie
planting so that there will lots of homegrown produce for members as well.
Some of the handymen set to work making benches and tables for the
outdoor eating area which is surrounded on three sides by glorious wooded
hills with not another dwelling in sight. Masa was gourmet chef and planned
dinner, breakfast and lunch menus for us all. The intrepid amongst the
CHIC members braved the plummeting temperatures to sleep in the upstairs
tatami room of the summer house and they survived to tell the tale even
though the open fire from downstairs sent clouds of smoke billowing up
to the sleeping quarters!
The rest of the crew were billeted in homestays around the village. This
was also a wonderful experience as the families put on a feast for dinner
on Sunday night to celebrate the annual firework fun. This event goes
back two hundred years and is something of a rite of passage for the men
of the district. It is unique in that the fireworks are all hand-made
by the villagers, and the resulting spectacle is unlike anything you have
ever seen before. Four wooden towers are built on the large forecourt
of the temple for this quirky some may even say crazy event! Fireworks
whiz and bang and whirl on or between the towers and every now and again
one of the participants holds a huge showering rocket which nearly knocks
him senseless as it explodes and rains down sparks on the rest of the
crew who dance underneath it. How they weren't all burnt alive is a mystery!
The entire village and many rellies from near and far turn out annually
to watch the spectacle, all seated in an amphitheatre around the square.
Huge commercial sky rockets provided a regular 'oooh' and 'ahhh' factor
as they burst in silvers, pinks, blues, greens, reds and golds in the
sky above us, but it was definitely the hand-made fireworks that stole
the show! Hitoshi is all for signing up as a participant next year! Next
morning at 8am precisely, (a tad early for most city visitors!) the entire
village and visitors assembled again to dismantle the towers and clear
away the debris. All spick and span by 8.30am, so after tea and cakes
in the home of one of the NICE members, it was back to the summer house
for some more manual labour. On the way home, we stopped for a nice long
soak in an Onsen.
Thanks to Kyoko who organised the event!
Nicola
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