[For Seniors] Summer Festival Trivia Quiz & Fun Facts. Enjoyable Quizzes That Boost Your Knowledge

Food Sanitation Supervisor

If you prepare or sell food at street stalls or similar venues, you must have a Food Sanitation Supervisor qualification for hygiene management. To obtain this qualification, you must either hold a credential such as a nutritionist license or attend a training course. By studying food sanitation and public health in the course and passing the exam, you can obtain the qualification.

Gion Festival

The Gion Festival is the annual festival of Yasaka Shrine, held in Kyoto over the course of about a month every July. Alongside Osaka’s Tenjin Festival and Tokyo’s Kanda Myojin Festival, it is renowned as one of Japan’s three major festivals. The grand yamaboko float processions are especially famous.

to look from a high place

When watching a mikoshi procession, one thing you must not do is look down at it from a high place. Because the mikoshi is considered a vehicle of the deity, viewing it from above is seen as looking down on the deity and is therefore taboo.

Wasshoi!

A representative chant used when carrying a mikoshi is “Wasshoi.” Everyone carries the mikoshi together in rhythm, calling out “Wasshoi!” “Eisa” and “Yaren Soran” are chants used in Bon dances and other festivals.

To pray for the banishment of epidemics

Summer festivals were originally held to pray for the dispelling of calamities and illness (warding off epidemics) during the hot season when diseases spread easily. For that reason, some regions have preserved customs that drive away evil through things like portable shrines (omikoshi) and lion dances (shishimai). Incidentally, in rural areas, people also prayed for protection against pests and typhoons.

The sound of the flute

The true source of the “whooo” sound when fireworks shoot up is a ‘whistle’ attached to the firework shell. This isn’t a normal whistle—it’s a type used in fireworks, so it won’t make a sound if a person blows it. The whistle is packed with powder, and when it ignites, gas builds up and produces the “whooo” sound. It’s a deliberate effect designed to enhance people’s enjoyment of the fireworks.

Sumida River Fireworks Festival

The Sumida River Fireworks Festival is held every July along the riverbanks of the Sumida River in Tokyo. It began in 1733 and is considered the oldest fireworks festival in Japan. It started in the Edo period as a memorial for victims of epidemics and famines and as a prayer to ward off evil spirits.