Since the end of the Heian period, the Yamashina family has inherited the "Yamashina School of Emondo," a family profession in Kyoto that is responsible for the tailoring and wearing of court attire for the nobility. Tokichika Yamashina, the young head of the family, who is in his 30th generation since the founder, will unravel the occasional events that have taken place at the Imperial Court and in the society of the nobility, as well as the culture that has been handed down through the ages, along with costumes and ancient documents remaining in the Yamashina family.

My grandfather was a classmate of the writer Yukio Mishima at Gakushuin Senior High School.

This year (Reiwa 7) marks the 100th anniversary of the Showa era and the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. As the lingering heat of August approaches, I recall the times I used to listen to my grandparents talk about the prewar period. My grandfather was born in 14, and as the Showa era began, he grew older in his school year. Yukio Mishima, whose birth would have been 100 years ago this year, was my grandfather's classmate at Gakushuin Senior High School.

Visiting my grandfather's house after school in junior high and high school and listening to his various stories allowed me to experience the flow and breath of the times in a natural way. At first, I wasn't particularly conscious of it, but I feel that it was an irreplaceable and valuable time to face the footsteps of my ancestors and think about how they connect to the present day. I've begun to think that I might one day be able to compile the stories my grandfather passed down to me in some other form.

Ancestor's diary describes the Gozan no Okuribi festival in the past

Now, one of the famous Obon events in Kyoto is the bonfire. On the day of the bonfire the year after my grandfather passed away, I had the opportunity to appear on a nationally broadcasted program that was broadcasting the bonfire live. By coincidence, the location for the broadcast was Seijoka-in, our family temple, and I felt that it was a sign of my ancestors' guidance, so as I thought back on my grandfather, I felt even more strongly about the bonfire lights than usual. I found some records from my ancestors that are useful in thinking about how this custom of bonfires has developed, so I would like to share a few of them here.

"Gotokyoki" - entry for July 1571, 7 (Genki 17)

``The Awataguchi Furyu turned away to Yoshida, then turned away to Kuremo Yoshida, Otorō-kei Ariyuki, Nimenkata Dairyaku Ariyuki, Unprecedented Surprise Gotoya, Kyobe Tsuchiyuki Crowd, Shiodori Ariyuki (abbreviated).''

It is written that "When I heard that Furyu had headed to Mt. Yoshida from Awataguchi, I went to see what was happening and found about 20 large lanterns, each measuring two ken (approximately 3.6 meters) square." While lighting many lanterns like the Manto-e festival around Obon was already a custom, it is clear that lanterns of unprecedented size were beginning to be made. The desire and actions of the people at the time to bring such conspicuous lanterns to the top of the mountain seem to be the origins of the send-off bonfires that continue to this day.

The culture of enjoying Obon lanterns flourished even within the Imperial Court.

This culture of enjoying lanterns during Obon seems to have flourished even within the Imperial Court. In the late Muromachi period, the custom of lighting elaborate lanterns with themes such as historical events, waka poetry, and natural scenery began to emerge, and throughout the Edo period, it became an event in which court ladies and noble families would present lanterns to the Imperial Court. Below, we will look at diary entries about lanterns presented at Obon at the Imperial Court.

"Gotokyoki" entry for July 11, 1568 (Eiroku 7)

"To the Konoe-dono, a private promise has been made to take the lantern and present it to the heart of the Queen Mother of the West, and it has been presented to the Imperial Court."

15th day article

``Ariyuki Gotoro, who came to celebrate Kurekori, attended the ceremony and served the sake cup.''

16th day article

"The lanterns of the Imperial Court are returned to us. When the autumn leaves of the Tatsuta River flow in disorder, we cross the river and feel a deep sense of ecstasy."

During the three days of Obon, lanterns are presented to the Imperial Palace on July 7th, and on the 14th, lanterns from each household are displayed and displayed, and a sacred sake cup is exchanged, followed by a return lantern on the 15th. The lanterns featured here are themed around the Chinese fairy Queen Mother of the West and a waka poem from the Kokinshu anthology that describes the autumn leaves of the Tatsuta River.

It also seems that the lanterns returned from the Imperial Palace were not those donated by one's own family, but rather those donated by other families, which was a kind of gift-exchange treat, and this is also mentioned in the memoirs of the end of the Edo period told by my ancestor (Kotonawa), five generations before me.

During Obon, nobles would give each other gifts of "lotus rice," which was steamed glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves.

A closer look at the diary reveals that it was customary for noble families to exchange gifts of "lotus rice," made by wrapping glutinous rice in lotus leaves and steaming it during the Obon period, and to offer it as an offering or eat it as a family. Using the lotus, a plant connected to Buddhism, and eating rice that has absorbed its fragrance is quite tasteful. It is intriguing that people in the past included such creative and ingenious elements of entertainment in the Obon ceremony, a memorial service for ancestors. It seems that they thought that welcoming their ancestors in a lively manner and making them happy would lead to a memorial service.

I myself am involved in "Kemari," a part of the noble culture.

Also, thanks to the many stories I heard from my grandfather, I have been involved in the sport of kemari myself. During the Edo period, kemari was not only popular at the Imperial Court, but was also played in the provinces and among the general public. However, during the Meiji period, the tradition of kemari came into danger.

The Kemari Preservation Society, which is based in Kyoto and has been passing down the traditions of Kemari, was established in 40 by Emperor Meiji's will to preserve the ancient rituals, and my grandfather served as its chairman. Every year, the society performs and dedicates Kemari at the Kyoto Imperial Palace open to the public and at events held at temples and shrines that it has ties to.

Even during this hot season, there is an opportunity to enjoy the traditional kemari performance. Kemari performances are held around Tanabata, according to the Gregorian and Lunar calendars, and are dedicated to Seidaimyojin, the god of kemari, at Shiramine Shrine (July 7th) and Hirano Shrine (August 7th). On Tanabata, people pray to the stars for improvement in various arts, including waka poetry, and kemari has become deeply connected to these events.

In the Tanabata kemari game, the branches (shimamari) to which the balls are tied are made of kajira trees. Kaji is a seasonal plant that is indispensable for Tanabata, and the emperor and nobles wrote waka poetry in ink on kajira leaves. Based on the Tanabata story, the kajira tree is associated with the sound of a rudder used to row a boat across the Milky Way, and the fibrous nature of the branches has led to its association with Orihime's weaving.

Kemari is not a competitive sport, but rather is based on the idea of ​​"valuing harmony."

The spirit of kemari is often expressed as "harmony is the most important thing." Kemari has developed differently from typical sports, where players compete for points and win or lose. The theme of the game is how to raise a ball that is easy to kick to your opponent, and how to continue kicking it with the people in the circle (mariashi) with a calm mind. When we learn about the efforts of our ancestors who tried to embody this consideration for others and the importance placed on harmony, we cannot help but think of the wars that are breaking out in modern times.