People admire the harvest moon,taking a tea-ceremony at some temples. Also people put japanese-pampas-grass or puddings etc to that moon.
Uneme-Festival(采女祭り） was also taken place on that night at Uneme-Shrine(采女神社） in Nara city, floating two boats on Sarusawa-pond.
Before boarding boats, they parade in clothes of those days from 5:00 p.m.
Thank you. Volunteers.
One of boats has a head like this, a dragon or ?
After sunset and began the dark. The harvest moon already has risen in the east.
The torch lights on the surface of the pond.
The boat slides silently with the tune of Gagaku under the harvest moon.
Uneme-Shrine stands at side of Sarusawa-pond. But oddly enough, the shrine shows it's back to the pond.
According to "Yamato-monogatari "( The tale of Yamato. Nara is called Yamato. This story
was written in around 10th century)
There was a very beautiful Uneme( Uneme is occupation and is maidservant to take care of a Emperor) in Nara period. The capital of Japan was in Nara city in 8century. She was favored specially by a Emperor but the Emperor changed his mind. So she was very sad and committed suicide by throwing herself into Sarusawa-pond.People build Uneme-shrine beside Sarusawa-pond to comfort her spirit. But the shrine couldn't watch the pond that she threw herself into and showed its back to the pond in one night.
This small shrine (Uneme-shrine ) shows its back to the Torii.
* * *
At daybreak
An amateur cameraman muttered " The sun would rise around two five-storied-pagodas in high summer" when I was taking this. So Time flies. May the coming months bring us happiness!
This post is linked our world
