SEPT. 2005

No.50

LIVING GUIDE MORIOKA
MORIOKA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION
e-mail moriintl@eins.rnac.ne.jp
MORIOKA CITY HALL 6F, 12-2 UCHIMARU, MORIOKA 020-8530
http://www.e-morioka.com/~moriintl/top.html
TEL 019-626-7524

Tsukimi (Moon Viewing)

Although not so well known as "o-hanami" or cherry blossom viewing in spring, "tsukimi(o-tsukimi)" or moon viewing is also one of the traditional Japanese customs. People admire

the beautiful full moon in mid September. Have you heard of it? The special full moon of September,called "chushu no meigetsu (mid-autumn beautiful moon)" or "jugoya (the 15th night)", will be seen
on September 19 this year. The date of tsukimi differs every year as it is based on the lunar calendar.
With the moon looking particularly bright and beautiful because of the dry air at this time of theyear, mid-September has been said to be the best time for moon viewing. Tsukimi has often beenreferred to in traditional Japanese poems, which often contain descriptions of the seasons.
【History of Tsukimi】
The custom of tsukimi dates back to ancientChina. It came to Japan during the Heian period(794~1185), when court aristocrats had banquetsand read tanka poems under the mid-autumn fullmoon. Later the custom became popular among
samurai and merchant classes as well as among
farmers, who developed the custom into an eventto celebrate the year's harvest. This is how wecelebrate tsukimi today. We also have a custom tocelebrate tsukimi on September 13 of the lunar
calendar, which is called "jusan-ya (the 13 th night)".
It's October 15 this year.
【What We Do for Tsukimi】
It depends on the local custom of each region,

have a better view of the autumn moon and be

but generally it's customary to display susuki
or Japanese pampas grass, which is believed【A Rabbit in the Moon?】
It has been said in Japan that a rabbit lives on

to have the charm against evils, tsukimi dango

the moon and is pounding steamed rice to(dumplings), crops such as potatoes and sakemake mochi, as the pattern appearing on theat a place of your house from which you cansurface of the moon look like a rabbit. There is asee the moon. You will find several kinds ofnursery song of a rabbit that is jumping to see

tsukimi dango at supermarkets around thisthe moon, and a story of a rabbit that jumps into

time of the year. Just try any dango you like.

a fireplace to help starved old couple and thenWith the summer heat gone, it's nice andgets raised to the moon. Songs and stories like

comfortable to enjoy moon viewing and songs

these probably make children believe that thereof insects. Turn off the lights, and you canis a rabbit living on the moon.

eco-friendly as well.

【“Tsukimi" Something】
You may often find menus named "tsukimi" something in Japanese restaurants. For example, tsukimi
soba (soba, buckwheat noodle, with a raw egg on top), tsukimi udon (udon, whieat noodle, with a raw
egg on top), tsukimi burger (a hamburger with a sunny side up inside), and so on. There may be more.
Tsukimi something usually have an egg on top of or in the food, probably because the yolk looks likethe moon.

UPCOMING EVENTS◆ Morioka Shohisha (Consumers) Matsuri----- 10:00~16:00, Sep.9 ~ Sep.11 at Plaza Odette
Information that is helpful in our daily lives isprovided through presentations by consumers'
groups, displays and sales of useful goods, flea
market, second-hand store and other events.
You can also join the stamp rally to get some
nice prizes. "Shohisha Matsuri" may not soundappealing, but it's fun. You will not regret.
◆ Morioka Aki Matsuri (Autumn Festival)-----Sep.14~16, Morioka Hachiman Shrine, etc.
The origin of this traditional festival dates
back to 1709, when people dedicated floats toHachiman Shrine to celebrate the completionof the capital town of Nambu (Nambu is theold name of Iwate.) The area around Hachiman
Shrine becomes very lively during the festival,
w i t h fl o a t s m a r c h i n g a n d m u s i c p l a y e d b yJapanese drums and flutes. The festival features
several events:* "Hachiman Kudari" -- Beautifully decoratedt r a d i t i o n a l fl o a t s m a r c h t h r o u g h t h e t o w n ,starting at 1:00 p.m. on Sep.14.
* Parade of floats: All the floats for the festival
march along the Odori street from 6.00p.m.,
Sep.15.
* "Yabusame: This traditional event is held in the
precincts of Hachiman Shrine on Sep.16. Archers
riding on horses compete with each other by
how many of the three arrows they shoot can hit
the target.
◆ Morioka Tezukuri Mura (Handicraft Square)
Kobo (craft centers) Matsuri----- Sep. 23~27, at Morioka Tezukuri Mura
Craftsmen will show you the techniques of thetraditional local crafts such as Nambu ironware,Nambu sembei (cracker), wooden toys and ricestraw crafts. (Nambu was the name of the clan of
this area during the Edo period.)th◆ The 17 Imonoko Matsuri----- Oct. 2, at Morioka Ice Arena
Iwate produces good imonoko (taro or aroid).
In autumn people enjoy cooking and eating
imonoko jiru --- soup of imonoko, othervegetables, meat and tofu. For this event
imonoko jiru is prepared in a large pot – twometers in diameter – and served to visitors(200yen a bowl). Ohgayu Yamabushi Kagura(kagura is the traditional Shinto dance withmusic) is also performed.
◆ Mystery Film Festival in Michinoku----- Oct. 14~16 at Eigakan Dori street and otherplaces.
D u r i n g t h e a n n u a l f e s t i v a l o v e r 3 0 fi l m s –m y s t e r y fi l m s a n d o t h e r s – a r e s c r e e n e d i nMorioka, which has more movie theaters thanany other city in the Tohoku region. Film fansfrom across Japan visit Morioka for the festival,to which mystery writers, film directors, actors
and actresses are invited. The theme for thefestival of 2005 is "detective".
th◆ The 25 morioka Sangyo (Industry) Matsuri----- Oct.20 ~25, at Kawatoku
Local foods and folk crafts will be displayed andsold. Confectioners will demonstrate how they
make local confections. Enjoy the event and findsomething new about Morioka.
**Disaster Message Board of Cell Phones**
You may have found it difficult to get connectedby cell phone when a natural disaster like anearthquake occurred. In such a case you canuse the disaster message board service tosend a message to or from the devastatedarea. The service is provided by cell phone
carriers like au, Vodaphone and NTT DoCoMo.
Find the service at the top menu of the Internetof your cell phone and see how to use it before
a disaster occurs..