A line of Japanese lanterns

提灯行列

Carrying lanterns

夏祭りで、浴衣(ゆかた)を着て提灯(ちょうちん)を掲げた子供たちが行列で歩く様子は、とてもかわいい。

The adorable sight of children wearing yukata (summer kimono) and carrying lanterns in a parade at a summer festival is really something special.

The summer event "Bonbon" in Matsumoto

松本の夏の行事「ぼんぼん」

The summer event “Bonbon” in Matsumoto

松本の「ぼんぼん」と呼ばれる女の子の提灯行列は、江戸時代末期ころから、松本城下町の町人によって始められたと言われる夏の行事である。
浴衣姿にほおずき提灯を下げ、薄い和紙で作った花を頭に飾り、ぽっくり下駄をはいて、ぼんぼんの歌を歌いながら町内を歩く。
先祖の霊をなぐさめる行事だったとも言われる。

The “Bonbon” (girls’ lantern parade) in Matsumoto is a summer event said to have been started by the townspeople of Matsumoto Castle Town around the end of the Edo period (1603-1867).
Dressed in yukata (summer kimono) with hozuki lanterns and flowers made of thin Japanese paper on their heads, the girls wear pokkuri geta (wooden clogs) and walk through the town singing the Bonbon song.
It is said that this event was held to comfort the spirits of ancestors.

Carrying lanterns