Culture

Belly Button Festival in Japan

by JeffHuang | July 28, 2008 at 01:03 pm

379 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

For those who are interested, you can watch a clip of the festival here. The key to this festival is about having fun. From what I read, it has no significant meaning or tradition, but all about the entertainment value (correct me if I am wrong).
Definitely a great idea though. Having these annual events and ingraining it into the culture is always a positive. With globalization and Westernization, it is nice to see countries holding on and creating cultural traditions.

It was belly-up for thousands of people who indulged in a weekend of navel gazing at a festival dedicated to the belly button in central Japan.

Children and adults, many of them sporting painted stomachs, took part at the annual Belly Button Festival in Shibukawa, north of Tokyo, where dancing in the streets is compulsory.

"The belly button is traditionally believed to be located in the middle of the body and the most important part. Our town, Shibukawa, is also called the belly button of Japan, and that is how this festival began," said festival organizer Kazuo Yamada.

A kimono is then wrapped around the waist and the person's real head is hidden by a large cloth hat. The belly button is traditionally painted into a mouth.

These days, modern motifs and Japanese anime designs have crept in to the festival, which city officials said is all about having fun.

"It's about everyone doing something together. But it's essentially pretty silly so it's just about having fun and going for the ride," said Hironori Kanou, a 26-year-old city hall employee who was walking around with a painted belly.

The only thing festival-goers take seriously is dancing: participants sashayed through the streets of Shibukawa for over two hours in the sweltering heat.