The Gishi-sai Parade

Oh snap, here come the samurai.

Today was the Gishi-sai Parade at Sengaku-ji. You may recall that I had briefly visited the graves of the 47 Ronin here before.
The Gishi-sai parade relates to the story of the 47 Ronin (which you can read in the linked article.) It celebrates the day the band of samurai brought the head of their mortal enemy to their master's grave, before committing suicide themselves. Today, unlike the last time I was here, the temple grounds was buzzing with activity including traditional open-air cooking and small fare games. A lot of people were assembled to pay their respects to the samurai, who symbolize undying loyalty to a cause.

Oh, he knows he's a badass.

However, the main event of the parade is the arrival of a band of 47 men, dressed as the Ronin, who bring to the grave the "head" of their enemy. We attempted to follow them to the grave site, but this proved impossible due to the sheer number of people swarming the already cramped fair grounds. Still, it was neat to see and hear them coming with the sounds of the beating drums.