Sitting in the garden under the bright Harvest Moon, Tsuyu-chan, Amethyst-chan and several of our guests shared beautiful poems heralding the splendor of the full moon. I wish I was able to capture more images, but I was too busy listening to the poems and the nearby waterfall to remember to keep snapping away.
The following evening, Hamayu-chan hosted formal tea
ceremony for Tsukiyomi-sama, the patron kami for Shinmachi. I don’t know why
everyone wanted to sit on her right hand side…
The dance began with an ode to the new moon, shingetsu, the
beginning of the month according to the old Japanese calendar. Shingetsu has a
connection to the heart, to the mind and to new beginnings. The moon is
beginning its journey around the earth and we are given pause to reflect on
what the new month will hold.
By the light of the waxing crescent, we are able to see the first glimpses of the oiran in all her beauty.
Under the first quarter and reveling in half of the moon’s
light, the youngest members of Shinmachi cameout to play.
With nearly full illumination from the waxing gibbous, the
shinzo take the center stage to contemplate the role of shadows in the night.
Our performance, and thus our festival, concluded with a
celebration of Tsukiyomi and the magnificence of the full moon.
Since the performance ended, we have turned our attention to
preparing the Godai Matsuri, our Five Elements Festival which will celebrate
five wonderful years of Shinmachi’s existence in Second Life. The festivities
begin on November 8th and we hope you will join us for the fun,
events and performances.
Next week, I will post our finalized schedule of events for the festival (I
promise!).
