Fall Festival, or あきまつり for Kindergarteners

I love the Fall Festival, or あきまつり, my daughter's school puts on every year. She goes to a bilingual Japanese-English school here in Michigan now, which is connected to the Japanese immersion preschool she went to for two years. Anyway, at the fall festival, all of the kids get to wear kimono or happi coats and carry around an omikoshi outside, chanting 'wasshoi, wasshoi.' I think that means heave-ho or something like that. An omikoshi is the thing you see in the picture below. It's like a portable Shinto shrine, but the teachers don't exactly delve into the details of what it is. They say, 'Hey kids, let's decorate the omikoshi!! Ok, now let's carry it!' It's lots of fun.

Akimatsuri - Fall Festival

This week in Japanese Preschool, my daughter enjoyed the あきまつり "akimatsuri", or Fall Festival. Almost every child had a parent in attendance, too. Lots of kids wore ゆかた "yukata" (summer cotton kimono) or はっぴ "happi" (little festival coat) with headbands. To start out the festivities, the children carried a cute, preschool-y おみこし "omikoshi" (explanation) through the hallways, shouting "wasshoi, wasshoi" (heave-ho, heave-ho). Here is a typical picture (not mine) of the activity below:

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Then, they did an おどり "odori" (dance) to some crazy festival music, holding hands in a big circle. Finally, they went around the gym to several set up game stations, like fishing with a magnet, bowling, putting an acorn through a maze, catching waterballoons with a paperclip, making masks, etc. Oh yeah, and there was yummy festival food! If you have an Anime Club or Japan Club at your school, consider holding a "Natsu Matsuri" (Summer Festival) at the end of the school year to celebrate your club. Keep it simple your first time, though. You can do it!