There was a big festival (matsuri) in Shimonoseki. People from all over came for the festivities and the weather was perfect for it. There were many different parts to it and I went to several events. One of the main highlights is a parade with maiko and courtesans. One of my students, Chihiro, was the most important person of the parade; she was sort of like the queen of the day. She has been training for months and months to have this role and be able to walk, dance, stand, and bow just right. Her costume was pretty amazing! Besides people to hold umbrellas to shade her, she also had an entourage of about 20+ people.

Hitomi, another student plays taiko (traditional Japanese drumming) and performed for the festival. The song lasted 30 minutes and told the story of the Genpei War, which occurred in the Shimonoseki Strait. There were about 25 drumming spots and they would take turns rotating throughout the song. They waited behind the drum and come out at a specific time. It was done very fluently and without a break or pause in the music.

The day also included a “battle” between the Heike and Genji clans in the strait. (Actually, it was more like a parade of boats with people in costumes sitting on the boats and waving.) I also went to a musical of the story. This battle is one of the reasons Shimonoseki is well known in Japan. (Below is a summary)

The battle of Dannoura was a major sea battle of the Genpei War. It took place at Dannoura in the Shimonoseki Strait. On April 25, 1185 the Genji clan defeated the Heike. The Heike were outnumbered, but some sources say that they had the advantage over the Genji in understanding the tides of that particular area, as well as naval combat tactics in general. The Heike split their fleet into three groups, while their enemy arrived en masse, their ships and archers ready. The beginning of the battle consisted mainly of a long-range archery exchange, before the Heike took the initiative, using the tides to help them try to surround the enemy ships. They engaged the Genji, and the archery gave way to hand-to-hand combat with swords and daggers. However, the tide changed, and the advantage was given back to the Genji.

One of the crucial factors that allowed the Genji to win the battle was that a Heike general defected, and revealed to the Genji which ship the six-year-old Emperor was on. Their archers turned their attention to the helmsmen and rowers of the Emperor's ship, as well as the rest of their enemy's fleet, sending their ships out of control. Many of the Heike warriors, seeing the battle turn against them, threw themselves overboard, committing suicide rather than facing defeat at the hands of the Genji. Among those killed this way were the Emperor and his grandmother.