Remembering Summer: London Matsuri

Before Winter finally settles, I’m keen to remember summer one last time. (At least the memories will keep me warm!) My strongest association with a Japanese summer is the matsuri festivals. On summer evenings, in the humidity of a thirty-degree-heat, communities gather, dressed in yukata, and enjoy the festival. It usually consists of a procession and a gathering in a local square. Crowds form around the taiko drums which are often on a stage in the centre of the square and they dance, encircling the taiko drummers. Young children who dance for the first time are taught by their parents and grandparents, who push them along gently if they forget to keep moving round. The dancing is entrancing. The beat of the taiko drums issomething which still enraptures me and raises the hair on my arms with excitement.

Not to mention the food! The smokey yakitori with the most delicious sauce, the ice-cold, bright, blue kakigori which gives you brain-freeze, the warming takoyaki. I was having bubble tea at matsuri festivals way before it was hipster and cool. These memories of the sounds and smells of my childhood nourish me when I am feeling homesick.

It is wonderful that every year the Japanese community in London holds a masturi festival in Trafalgar Square. It is held in September and its aim is apparently to celebrate Japanese culture. For members of the Japanese diaspora in London, it’s a chance to meet up and enjoy good food.

In the intimidating shadows of Admiral Nelson’s statue, Trafalgar Square