Fox Wedding Festival: Hanaoka, Kudamatsu.

This is probably the biggest festival in Kudamatsu; "The event of the year!" exclaims Karyo High School's Brett Plotz. The myth behind the Fox Festival is that one night, a monk at the local shrine in Hanaoka was visited in a dream (or was it???) by the spirit of a fox who begged the monk to find his body and bury it, for until his body was buried, the fox could not go to heaven. So the next morning, the monk set out for the hills and combed the forest for the fox's body, eventually finding it and burying it. In gratitude, the fox blessed the monk and the town of Hanaoka and promised them prosperity.

I'm unclear where the wedding part comes in; according to one of the old men in my English conversation class, that part was "man-made", added on later, but I'm pretty sure there's a story behind the wedding as well.


There was a long parade with many floats and drunken men carrying big litters. The tiny streets of Hanaoka were lined on both sides with many street vendors selling delicious foods like roasted chicken, pork, beef, cakes, crepes; also, they were selling some gross things like roasted octopus.


Those poor kids. These men, all wasted before-hand as is custom, would deliberately sway and stagger their way down the street, occasionally spinning the litter in a circle and then throwing it up in the air and catching it. I would've totally blown chunks if I were one of those kids in there.

Some of my students who took part in the parade by dancing and looking awesome.


The fox army, or something.


Remember Chika? She used to be in taiko (she was also in the taiko video "Miyake" which I posted sometime ago - she rules!) with me but since she moved to Yamaguchi city for boarding highschool, I don't see much of her. But this day she was face-painting ... and face-painting... and face-painting... from 9am til 4:30pm she later told me.


Some of my 7th grade girls behind me.


The wedding. The groom is in white and the bride is in green in the middle. Their identities are top secret; even they don't know who the other is. I don't know how you get chosen but it must be kind of a mixed honour; you're the centrepiece of the whole festival, but nobody knows it's you.


Awesome play. This is the scene where an evil dragon is attacking an innocent young woman.

Attacking.....aaaand....

Swallowed up. The "special effects" were amazing - the woman really looked like she was gobbled up by the dragon, which, in case you were wondering, is being manipulated by a very skilled small person inside the dragon costume.