December 13, 2002
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Hagoita Ichi - Battledore Market 12/2002
The "Hagoita Ichi" or Battledore Market was held in Asakusa this week. This is a yearly event, and takes place at the same location as does the Ground Cherry Market, of which I sent pictures during the summer. I will just get you into the gates this time, and explain about Battledores later. The main gate is a minute's walk from the subway station (Ginza Line), and after you duck under the huge lantern, you will find yourself on a lively shopping street, with a colorful sign to advertise the Battledore Market (see the sheep in the distance to feel as if you are really strolling along with the crowds!), and an oversized sheep shingle which is all ready to welcome in the new Year of the Sheep.
Ok, now that we are inside the shrine grounds, let's check out the battledore booths. A battledore is actually a paddle shaped flat piece of wood used to bat a feathered "bird" back and forth, something like badminton. Most of these particular battledores are, as you can see, highly decorated, and are used only for ornaments at New Year's. I suppose New Year's time was the only vacation available during which one could play in the olden days.... Flying kites is also a popular pastime. There are many different booths offering battledores from around $15.00 all the way up to "if you have to ask, you can't afford it!"
There are many types of designs, most of which are taken from traditional Kabuki plays, but others are taken from famous figures from the past year. As you can see, Harry Potter is very popular here, as is Mr. D. Beckham! Another battledore was graced with a rendition of a dorky seal christened "Tama-chan," who wandered into Tokyo Bay and has been hanging around the local rivers.
I had heard from the man at the rice-ball booth (Rice balls will be served later.) that some Geishas might be showing up, but later in the afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised when another shopper made a special effort to let me know that there were indeed Geishas present, but by the time I located them, they seemed to have finished posing for the crowds and were on their way out. I tried to chase after them inconspicuously, but all I could photograph were their backs, which is actually not a bad thing, as a kimono cut low in the back is considered to be extremely sexy. Go figure. I thought that taking only this kind of erotic picture to be a bit indecent, and decided to go for a facial shot. To accomplish this, however, I had to get in front of the ladies, which was no simple matter considering that I had to elbow past a crowd of fellow shutterbugs. As they exited stage right down one alley of battledore booths, I bore starboard down a parallel alley to head them off at the pass! Ah, success! They even stopped for another photo op, so I could get some "decent" shots.
I realize that everyone probably prefers Christmas cookies, but a promise is a promise! Here are your freshly grilled rice balls, one stick for 100 yen, pretty cheap. You have a selection of mugwort with azuki bean paste, seaweed, sweet soy sauce and regular soy sauce. Although I can recommend all flavors as delectable, I bought one of the soy sauce persuasion. A small purchase also works wonders when one desires permission to photograph the wares.
The theme of the next few of pictures is "Hane," literally feathers, but in reality, birds. They are made of the large seed of a certain tree, I forget which (Nara? Now what was that in English....My dictionary says Japanese Oak, but these particular seeds bear little resemblance to acorns. But I digress...) Anyhow, attached to these tough, weighty seeds are dyed feathers which are batted back and forth with the battledores as in battleminton.
I find the colors very pretty, but did not bring any home, as I am in the process of attempting to decrease our possessions in preparation for moving. The price of $10 for a "bundle" also helps me to keep my wallet tucked away. Maybe next year....
When the vendors package the hane up for you to take home, they put them in plastic bags that they inflate by blowing up like balloons so that the feathers are not ruffled in transit. The lady in the picture is giving a demonstration.
The picture is of a gentleman who has it and is flaunting it. Wonder what line of work he is in?
I did not buy anything, but some did. At these prices it is a tough decision. The vendors do their best to get those wallets out into the open (Hey, this is made of real silk!) and the vendees make their choices with care. For a small battledore one would have to fork over about $40, and the larger ones, who knows? Shopping around is no help, either, as all of the vendors seem to have agreed on common nonnegotiable prices beforehand.
Nice to look at, gee, I'm sighing...I just take the pictures while others are buying!
Here are some nice battledore (fancy badminton rackets) shots... at least I liked them. The one with three figures portrays a story called Kanjincho, in which the bodyguard Benkei helps his master Yoshitsune to slip through a checkpoint by doing an amazingly clever imitation of a priest, thus supposedly fooling the local official Togashi. To make the ruse more convincing, Benkei actually beats Yoshitsune, his lord. Togashi sees through the ruse, but is so moved by Benkei's performance that he allows them to pass and must commit ritual suicide to atone for his miss.
Hmmm......atone for his miss? Is that proper Englisch? I am allowed to say that in Japanese, but in English it sounds doubtful. So much for the rantings of a brain divided.
The pigeons are flying home to rest and the sun is going down over Asakusa.
