October is sometimes called "kannazuki," "month without gods." The reason is that agricultural activity, during which the gods are present, is finished this month and the gods start their winter absence. The gods arrive in spring to watch over the growing crops and to see to it that the harvest is completed safely. This all serves to show how closely the Shinto religion was associated with agriculture in Japan.
The weather in early October is at first a prolongation of September, with rain due to the "autumn front" moving up now and then, and typhoons, but as the month advances, there is less and less rain and typhoons also become scarce. The weather becomes moderate and comfortable with average daytime temperatures between 19 and 23 °C. The sky is clear and blue and the air is fresh - this is a good season. In the morning and at night there may be some chilliness in the air ("asa-samu," "yo-samu").
Aki no kure (aki no yugure), "autumn evening", is a word frequently used in Japanese poetry for this season. It expresses a sort of pathetic feeling as in this waka by Saigyo:
even though I claim
no longer to have a heart
I'm made to feel this sad beauty -
a snipe flying up from a marsh
at dusk in autumn
kokoro naki | mi ni mo aware wa | shirarekeri | shigi tatsu sawa no | aki no yugure
(See my post about Saigyo)
National holidays and events in October:
Second Monday in October: Sports Day
Established in 1964 in commemoration of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. On this day, people young and old gather to enjoy this autumn day with with athletic competition, often organized by the schools (and the parents are forced to watch).
More importantly, the pleasant temperatures in October entice people to go outside and do some hiking or walking and take care of their health after having been confined to their air-conditioned houses during the long hot summer. In Japan one speaks about "undo no aki," "autumn of physical exercise."
[Chrysanthemum exhibition]
The flower of the month is the chrysanthemum - although this is usually at its most gorgeous in November rather than October (and also despite the fact that it is already celebrated during the Double Ninth festival on September 9). The chrysanthemum was brought to Japan from China during the Nara period (8th c.), and Japan also imported the extensive Chinese chrysanthemum lore. The most important aspect is that the chrysanthemum was associated with long life: it was thought to have the power to bestow long life and exorcise evil influences. It was imbibed as an infusion in sake. The most famous Chinese poem about the quiet enjoyment of chrysanthemums is by Tao Yuanming (365-427 CE):
I built my hut in the world of men,
yet there is no noise here from wagons.
Would you know how that is possible?
With the mind detached, one's place becomes remote.
Plucking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge,
in the distance I see South Mountain.
The mountains are beautiful by evening,
birds in flight return two by two.
In these things lies a deep meaning -
I want to say it, but have forgotten the words.
(See my post "Drinking Wine" in the series "Lyric Poetry Around the World" at this blog for further details)
In Japan the chrysanthemum also became the flower of the imperial house, and thanks to its elegant simplicity and fine aroma, it became a popular flower in gardens. The chrysanthemums grown in Japan today are among the finest in the world.
[Chrysanthemum doll festival in Nihonmatsu. Dolls are being made up here with flowers - it takes a lot of work to keep them in good shape. The X at the back is the family emblem of the Niwa family which ruled Nihonmatsu in the Edo period]
Where to see chrysanthemums:
Tokyo: Shinjuku Gyoen Garden (first 2 weeks of November); Yushima Tenjin Shrine (first 3 weeks of November).
Yokohama: Sankeien Garden (late October to late November).
Kyoto: Daikakuji temple (last 3 weeks of November).
Nihonmatsu (Kiku-ningyo, "chrysanthemum dolls"): Castle grounds (whole of October and the first 3 weeks of November).
In November, temples all over Japan hold small chrysanthemum exhibitions.
[Matsutake in a shop]
Matsutake mushrooms hold the first place among the dainties of autumn (for those who can afford the high price). The earliest to come are thinly sliced for soup. Matsutake can also be cooked with rice. The most delicious ones are roasted and served with a mixture of citron, sugar and vinegar. Dobin-mushi is an autumn specialty of Kyoto, a delicate clear soup made in an individual miniature dobin (small teapot made of pottery). It contains matsutake, chicken, mitsuba (a herb, Japanese wild chervil) and ginnan (ginkgo nut). The juice of a sudachi (a small, green zesty citrus fruit) is squeezed into the dashi, which is drunk from tiny cups. The other ingredients are then fished out with chopsticks and eaten.
[Chestnuts]
Kuri, chestnuts, are also appreciated in this season. Kuri are very popular in Japan and used in many sweet confections as kinton (a puree of sweet potatoes and chestnuts). Amaguri are made in street stalls by roasting chestnuts in a tub of revolving hot pebbles. Kuri-meshi is rice cooked with small pieces of chestnuts.
October also is the start of the new brewing year for sake breweries that keep to the traditional custom of "kanzukuri," only brewing during the cold season from October to March. Many breweries hold events, such as tastings or an opening of the brewery to the public in this month. But as brewing just starts, the new sake will only be ready for tasting at the end of the year.
October is also the season of the rice harvest (sake rice takes longer to grow and may be harvested in November). You can find the "new rice" labeled as "shinmai" in rice shops and supermarkets.
[Jidai Matsuri]
Cultural festivals:
Special Autumn Opening of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Oct. 31-Nov. 4
Admission free period. 9:00-15:30.
Karasuma line subway to Imadegawa St or Marutamachi St
Kaijo Jinko-sai, Munakata Taisha, Munakata, Fukuoka on Oct. 1
The
Kaijo Jinko or Procession of Gods by the Sea is held on the first day
of the Autumn Festival of the Munakata Taisha Shrine. The Munakata
Shrine is dedicated to the guardian deity of sea traffic and consists in
fact of three shrines: Okitsumiya, Nakatsumiya and Hetsumiya, of which
the first two stand on islands before the coast. Visitors go to
Hetsumiya, the only shrine on land. During the festival, hundreds of
fishing boats decorated with flags and banners parade from Okinoshima
Island with the Okitsumiya Shrine and Oshima Island with the Nakatsumiya
Shrine to Konominato, the harbor near Hetsumiya Shrine. They escort a
barge that carries the portable shrine. It is an impressive spectacle
(Take a Nishitetsu bus for Kohnominato Hatoba at JR Togo Station of the
Kagoshima Main Line and get off at Konominato).
- When visiting the Munakata Srhine, don't miss the interesting shrine museum with its national treasures.
Mibu Kyogen (Buddhist miracle plays) at Mibu Temple, Kyoto, in the weekend which also includes Sports Day (only for 3 days, from 13:00-17:30).
See: http://www.mibudera.com/eng/pages/schedules.html
Zuiki Matsuri at Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto, from Oct. 1-5.
Harvest Thanksgiving at Kitano Tenmangu. On Oct. 1 at 13:00 sacred floats are carried to a temporary abode
(otabisho); on Oct. 4 at 13:00 they are brought back to the main shrine
by a parade of people dressed in Heian costumes. This, the Kankosai, is
the main part of the Zuiki Festival. The festival derives its name from
zuiki, or taro stalks, which are used as thatch for the roof of the
mikoshi; the miniature shrine is dressed in other vegetables as well,
and dried marigolds hang from the four corners.
Lantern festival in Nihonmatsu (Fukushima Pref.), on the first Sat., Sun., and following Mon. in October.
Annual festival of Nihonmatsu Jinja. Seven floats strung with hundreds of paper lanterns are paraded through the town. (5-minute walk from Nihonmatsu St. on the Tohoku Main Line)
Okunchi at Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki, from Oct. 7-9.
Parade of umbrella-topped floats. A Chinese-style dragon dance is also held. Okunchi is okunichi, "ninth day," the ninth day of the ninth month according to the lunar calendar, considered as a very auspicious day. Held at the Suwa Shrine and various places in town (odoricho), which are each year different (Suwa Jinja is near Suwa Jinja-mae tram stop in Nagasaki).
Hachiman Matsuri in Takayama (Gifu Pref.) from Oct. 9-10.
Annual festival of the Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine. On October 10 there is a parade of mikoshi and people in traditional costume (20 min walk from JR Takayama St.).
Otsu Matsuri at Tenson Jinja Otsu, weekend before Sports day
Parade of floats (starting at 9:00 at Tenson Jinja) through town on the Sunday; floats on view hung with lanterns the eve before. There are 13 floats with elaborate clockwork mechanisms and beautiful tapestries (Near JR Otsu St and the Tenson Shrine).
Sawara Autumn Festival, October 12-14, Sawara (Chiba Pref.)
Fourteen floats with huge moving dolls representing figures from history and legend are paraded through the city from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (From Sawara Station, walk 5 minutes to Omatsuri Hiroba and Nigiwai Hiroba).
[Ushi Matsuri (Bull Festival), Koryuji, Kyoto, on Oct. 10. In the evening (20:30-) the Madara deity riding a bull enters the temple grounds, accompanied by Nio (Deva Kings) and people dressed in ancient costume. The deity then reads Buddhist sutras from a stage, with the Deva Kings as a chorus. When finished, all quickly flee the scene. Unfortunately, this ancient festival seems to have been indefinitely postponed, due to the difficulty of obtaining a suitable ox (in the past, farmers used oxen instead of tractors!)]
Kamogawa odori, Kyoto, Mid Oct. - mid Nov.
Autumn dances by the geisha of Pontocho.
Nijugo Bosatsu Oneri Kuyo, Sokujoin, Sennyuji, Kyoto, on Second Sunday of Oct. 25 children
enact the descent of Amida with 25 Bosatsu to welcome souls into
Paradise.
Nada Fighting Festival, Himeji, 14-15 October
One of the
Kansai's boisterous fighting festivals, which is believed to please the
gods. Young men in loin cloths carrying portable shrines battle to reach
the bell in the courtyard of the Matsubara Shrine.
Doburoku Festival, Shirakawago (Gifu Pref.), Oct. 14-19
Harvest festival. Visitors can enjoy doboroku, a milky-white home-brewed sake.
Nagoya Festival, Nagoya, mid-October
Nagoya's
biggest festival. Parade of large floats with people dressed in period
costumes and down Otsu dori celebrates Japan's three unifiers of the
late 16th c: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. There
is also yabusame (horseback archery) in the Atsuta Shrine.
Kiyomizu Danchi Pottery Fair, Yamashina, Kyoto, 3rd Friday, Sat and Sun of Oct
The
famous Kiyomizu pottery kilns have been relocated from Gojozaka to a
rather matter-of-fact area in Yamashina (thanks to the growth of the
city), but at the fair more than 100 shops offer their wares at
discounts of up to 50% (Kiyomizu Danchi, Keihan Bus 29 from JR Yamashina
St).
Kawagoe Matsuri, Kawagoe, 3rd weekend in October.
Parade
of tall floats and mikoshi, which end up taking part in a hikkawase
ceremony in which they are crashed in to each other. The full festival
only takes place once every two years.
Autumn Festival, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko (Tochigi Pref.) on Oct 16 and 17.
Also called Sennin Musha Gyortesu or Procession of a Thousand warriors.
Reneacts the 1617 procession in which the remains of Tokugawa ieyasu
were brought from Kunozan in Shizuoka to Nikko.
Kinryu no Mai, Tokyo Golden Dragon Dance, on October 18, commemorating
Sensoji Temple's founding legend, at 11:30, 14:00 and 15:30. Sensoji
Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo.
Jidai Matsuri, Heian Shrine, Kyoto, on Oct. 22
A modern festival, as it only started in 1895. Features a procession of people dressed in historical costume or representing historical personages, working back from the Meiji Restoration to the Heian period. Starts at noon at the Imperial palace after which the parade winds its way through the city to the Heian Shrine.
Kurama Fire Festival (Hi-Matsuri), Yuki Shrine, Kurama, Kyoto, on Oct. 22
At nightfall, two mikoshi of the Yuki Shrine (belonging to Kuramadera) are paraded among crowds holding torches. The whole area is transformed into a sea of fire. The Yuki shrine was built in 940 for the protection of the capital. It
is famous for its lion guardian dogs, one open mouthed, the other with
the mouth closed, resembling Deva Kings. In 940, the deity was
transported here at night from the Imperial Palace by young men carrying
flaming torches. Every year this event is reenacted in the village.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons, as well as my own stock