World 4-H Citizenship - Museum and Shamisen

I went to my first museum today, Karatsu-jinja Shrine/Hikiyama Float Exhibition Hall. This is a pamphlet from the museum. It houses all 14 of the floats for the Karatsu Kunchi, which is an autumn festival that takes place annually over 3 days from November 2 to 4 in Karatsu City, located in the south western part of Japan.

Karatsu Kunchi is an epic event in which local people, in time with rhythmical music, pull large floats through the town, to sound of flutes and drums, shouting the traditional prompting, "Enya! Enya!" Huge helmets or lions decorate the base of the floats, known as Hikiyama, which are 6 yards high and weigh from 2 to 5 tons.

The basic structure of each Hikiyama is made from wood, and topped with a large decoration made from clay or wood. The surface is covered with different types of lacquer and finished with gold and silver leaf. It is said that each neighborhood spent enormous sums of money on the floats that took 2 to 3 years to complete. The 14 Hikiyama that are still used today were offered to Karatsu Shrine between 1819 and 1876. Lit by lanterns on an autumn evening, the Hikiyama create a magical scene.

Also, at the museum today I learned to play a Japanese "guitar"... it is a called a shamisen. The last picture is of the "pick" you strum with. Which is difficult to hold, due to the fact that you hold your wrist at a 90 degree angle and the rule is that you can't move your wrist while you strum(actually, you press really hard on the strings, like a whacking motion). Also, this "pick" is $2,000. It is owned by a girl who is the teachers daughter and she is one of the girls who taught me. I did 2 videos of me and one of her.

This instrument is twangy, loud, and the sound is... "interesting" when anyone plays it, especially 6 girls at the same time. (to see and hear the shamisen being played click on the 2nd link on the right hand side of my blog)