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Yamakasa: Taking part
By: Staff
How to run the Yamakasa.
Why bother?
1) It's fun (we are told) and will give you an insight into real Japanese culture that you will not get in any other way. Taking part is the best way to view the festival. Besides, male bonding is cute ...
2) If you are a foreign manager of a Japanese company - or anyone dealing with Japanese people in a professional capacity, running the Yamakasa is one of the best ways to gain acceptance amongst both your staff and Japanese peers. We are deadly serious about this. If you are coming to the city to work, consider the Yamakasa as obligatory in your second year. Many of the people running with you will be the heads of companies or their sons. It is a great way to make business contacts at all levels.
Things to worry about:
In two words? "Buttock wobble".
The shimekomi(loincloth) lifts and separates. Foreigners should diet first...
(Note: in other contexts the shimekomi would be known as a fundoshi. But don't call it that in the Yamakasa unless you REALLY want to practice your humble Japanese....
Don't buy the cheap shoes, the more expensive ones are worth the money we are told.
How to get on a team
It isn't easy for a foreigner to take part in the Yamakasa, but nor is it terribly difficult if you have the right introduction. In theory you have to live in the particular part of Hakata from which the team you are applying is drawn, but in practice fewer and fewer people are living in the traditional areas as commerce encroaches - so 70% or so of team members are drawn from outside the area. Try asking around in late March and early April. Someone will know someone. But you are very much "joining Japan" and you have to be able to do things the Japanese way and your introducer will be responsible for your behaviour.
You do not need Japanese language skills, though any you have will be useful. Expect your "humble" Japanese language abilities to improve dramatically over the training period and expect to have an appreciable portion of your time, particularly in the evenings, devoted to practice sessions. Japanese wives complain bitterly that their husbands abandon work to do Yamakasa trainings and some companies in Hakata even shut down briefly, so serious is the training taken.
There are 7 teams to choose from, but some are "higher status" to run with than others. While this may not mean a thing to you, it will do to the people you mention it to - the older ones at least. So choose wisely.
Good Luck!
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