More foreigners than locals for Chishikiji's annual Ceremony
長野マラソンの関係もあって、今週末は亀清旅館で外国人のお客様が多いです。土曜日はちょうど、地元の知識寺（重要文化財となっている十一面観音で有名）の年に一度の祭でした。私が獅子笛をやらせて頂いている上山田神楽保存会の獅子舞もありました。お客さんに声をかけて、十数人が来てくれました。思い切りローカルな、完全に観光じゃない祭ですが、だからこそ海外から来た旅行者は喜んだ。尚且つ、地元の方々も、「外国から態々見に来てくれた」と嬉しかったみたいで、物凄く親切だった。
その後、亀清に戻って、お客さん12人でお昼の宴会を開きました。芸者さんは二人を呼んで、亀清なりのＬｕｎｃｈ ｗｉｔｈ ａ Ｇｅｉｓｈａの実施が出来ました。普段は芸者さんに会う機会がなかなかないけど、今回はゆっくりと芸を見て、踊りに参加して、ゲームも一緒にやって、そして色々と質問しながらお話をして、最後は一緒に記念写真も撮りました。
外国人観光客。地元の人々との文化。そのふれあい場面は我々旅館の役割。今回は最適でした。
With the Nagano Olympics on Sunday, we had the honor of hosting several groups of foreigners this weekend. Saturday happened to be the day of our local temple, Chishikiji's annual festival. The Okagura lion dance group that I play the flute for performed at the festival, too. I invited our guests from overseas, and more than a dozen showed up at the temple to see the very, very "local" and non-touristy ceremony. The guests loved it because it was so genuine. And the local people enjoyed sharing their traditional festival with these people from overseas.
We then returned to Kamesei where we put on a lunch banquet for one of the groups. It was our "Lunch with a Geisha" banquet, so we had Harugoma-san on shamisen and Tamako-san for dancing. (I even got roped into playing taiko drums!) You don't get an opportunity to meet geisha ladies very often, and the guests immensely enjoyed watching them perform some songs, then getting up and dancing with them, playing some drinking games with them, and talking / getting to ask questions and finally, take pictures.
Travellers from overseas. Local people and traditions. Connecting the two together. That is the job of us ryokans. And this weekend was a perfect connection.
Kenny 'n Tet-chan at Chishikiji
Can't be the Geisha
Dancing with the Geisha
