Paper short abstract:

The presentation introduces a research film exploring the different training methods for members of a mikoshi festival in Tokyo. These methods differ according to the hierarchical level the members advance to, and ultimately this film explores how the practice is passed down through the generations.

Paper long abstract:

Every year mikoshi (portable shrine) festivals are held by communities across Japan. The cooperation of the team members in preparing for, and holding the festival is vital to its success. This ethnographic film explores the hierarchies that are formed and maintained through different training methods in a community mikoshi festival group in Tokyo, Japan.

This presentation will introduce how film was used to research one such team in the preparations that are made prior to the festival. These preparations include the making of the team's headquarters and the portable shrine, as well as the rituals that occur at the start of the festival. The episodes shown in this film show how new team members are trained in the complexities of the festival preparation, and therefore offers a unique opportunity to observe how the complex hierarchical relationships within the festival team are created at various levels. The presenter will discuss the choices made in using film for research purposes and other issues connected to visual anthropology.