This weekend (July 8th and 9th), the 16th annual Hachioji Summer Market (Natsu-no-Fubutsu Ichi) is being held near JR Hachioji Station. Along the Nishi-Hoshasen You Road (laid out from the north exit of JR Hachioji Station ) you can stroll around the Asagao-Ichi (Morning Glory Market) to see stalls selling traditional style wind chimes and local goodies. There are more traditional old-days style festival stalls selling goods or food which comes with some entertainment aspect. The entertainment can be fishing small balloons floating on a big tank of water, scooping gold fish from a big fish tank. At traditional candy stalls, people can ask for a candy made into any shape they want as shown in the upper right hand side photo. In addition, traditional paper-cutting stalls, where people can request any designs, are poplar among little kids. Hachioji is one of the few towns that still have Geisha and you can see Hachioji Geishas selling morning glory planters at the Asagao Ichi (The Morning Glory Market). It can be a good opportunity to take photos of Geisha ladies and talk to them.Last year, even Geisha shows were held at this event. Traditional dance and traditional games for Geisha parties were showcased. (I introduced a short movie of Geisha's dance recorded at this event last year. To see the post, please click here!) The annual Hachioji Summer Market a nice local seasonal event!
Now temperature went down to comfortable level in Tokyo area. October is a good season to go out for events and festivals. Then, I'd like to introduce nice local events held in Hachioji City, Tokyo next weekend. It would be fun for those who are interested in Japanese culture and history. On October 22nd, Hachioji Geisha will show their dance performance and also people can enjoy Macha tea, which is a type of tea for Tea Ceremony, served by Geisha ladies. The location of the annual event is near Hachioji Station. Hachioji City is an old town which had been prosperous with textile business since Tokugawa Shogunate era (Samurai era). The current downtown was developed along one of the oldest national roads, Rd.20 (Koshu-kaido), and it was flourishing area as an post town during the Samurai era. Therefore, there has been Geisha culture in Hachioji since old times and still it is remaining today. Now it became a rare town you can see actual Geisha Ladies. Actually the history of Hachioji area is much older. During the Middle Ages, the area was already developed under a Samurai lord, Ujiteru Hojo. He was a member of Hojo family which was one of the powerful Samurai lord families between the 15th and 16th century. There are two castle remains built by Ujiteru Hojo located in Hachioji City, which are Takiyama Castle and Hachioji Castle. To tell the truth, the Hachioji Castle was the origin of the name of the area and today it is used for the city name. On October 23rd, Annual Hojo Ujiteru Festival will be held. It features a Samurai parade as you can see in the photos above and also in the short video below. In addition, you can also enjoy demonstrations of Japanese Samurai sword and Samurai conch horns, which were used as a cue for Samurai war in the Middle Ages.
