Shishimai, ya'll

I went to another Shishimai yesterday, this time in the evening. It's neat to see the differences between the various events, which are outwardly the same. This particular shishimai featured dancers with (plastic) masks and plastic weapons, but it also featured three of the dancers (two tenguu and an old woman) attacking the dragon with actual flaming brands, which was the coolest of the cool. The streets were narrow, clogged with people and dancers, and here you've got three people in a semi-drunk, semi-religious trance, hopping around with open flame in their hands.

Needless to say, it was a lot rowdier than the last Shishimai I went to. The dancing was very interesting. I read a lot of manga and watch a fair deal of anime, but it's always neat to see how these creatures - dragons, tenguu, hags, spirits - are supposed to move. Sort of like going back to the source, I suppose.


In other news, a coworker passed by my desk yesterday as I was relaxing. He paused, backtracked, and peeked over his shoulder at me.

"Hikaru no?" he asked.

"No, actually," I told him. "But it's a manga by the same artist."

Very cool that this 40-something year old guy recognised the artist at a glance. Then again, I'm fairly certain he's got two young children. I do like the idea that this guy still reads manga himself, though.

And finally, there is no escape.

A few weeks ago, I went to Tokyo on a manga and dj buying extravaganza. I do this so that I can buy the more overtly silly, fangirlish, or questionable items well away from any chance that someone who knows me might see me doing it.

One of my kids popped up to me the other day. "Were you in Tokyo last weekend?" she asked. "I saw you there!"

Yes, but where did you see me, and what did I happen to be doing at the time?

Lord. I'm going to have to start buying this stuff in China.

That will be all.