祭りの意味｜The Meaning of Festivals

昔はどこの街でもお祭りがあった。最近は担い手も少なく、コロナで縮小している祭りも多いようだ。先日都内のあるお祭りの会合があった。20歳代から70歳代までの町内の人が何回か集まり、役割分担をして準備を行う。集まると祭りの話だけでなく、地域の歴史や祖先の人のいわれなどに話が膨らむ。「お話を聞くと自分の知らないことがまだまだあるのです」と参加者の方は言う。地域コミュニティの大切さは改めて認識されつつあるけれど、祭りのような軸になるイベントは大切だ。とはいっても新しく祭りを始めても定着させるのは難しい。古くから続く祭りは単に守るのではなく、コミュニティ形成にうまく利用しながら盛り上がるといいのだろうなぁ。（絵と文：サカキテツ朗）

2023/03/07

In the past, there were festivals in every town. These days, there are fewer bearers and many festivals are being reduced in corona. The other day there was a meeting of one of the festivals in Tokyo. People in the town, ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s, gather several times to share roles and make preparations for the festival. When they get together, they not only talk about the festival, but also about the history of the community and the stories of their ancestors. When I listened to the stories, one participant said, "there is so much more that I don't know." The importance of local communities is being recognized once again, and it is important to have events like festivals that serve as the axis of such communities. If you start a new festival, it is difficult to make it take root. It would be good if the festivals that have been going on for a long time are not simply preserved, but are used to build the community and to make it more lively. -Text and illustration by Ted Sakaki

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