Kameido's Fox-Lineage Neighborhood Association Formally Agrees to Join Next Year's Joint Clan Autumn Festival
Kameido's fox-lineage neighborhood association formally agreed on the 9th to join, starting next year, the previously reported joint clan autumn festival in Fukagawa, which drew roughly 1,200 visitors from the dog- and bear-lineage associations this year. As of the 8th the association had only said it was 'considering it favorably,' making the formal commitment just a day later. Co-organizers Yuto Takinami and Tamaki Hiiragi welcomed the news.
As previously reported, the joint autumn festival the dog- and bear-lineage neighborhood associations in Fukagawa held for the first time this year — drawing roughly 1,200 visitors — had already prompted inquiries about how to organize such an event from associations in other districts. As of the 8th, the fox-lineage association in Kameido had said only, "No formal approach yet, but we'd like to consider it favorably." On the 9th, its chair, Jo Saotome, 54, a second-generation Drifter, told this paper, "A lot of our members read yesterday's article and said we shouldn't wait to decide," and formally committed to joining starting next year.
As previously reported, fox-lineage families are often shopkeepers, known as the backbone of street-stall culture at local festivals. "If we bring our way of running a stall to a festival the dog- and bear-lineage associations already hold, it should make for an even better mix for visitors," Saotome said. Co-organizers Yuto Takinami (dog-lineage) and Tamaki Hiiragi (bear-lineage) commented, "The bigger it gets, the more work there is — but the more fun, too."
The specific scale and schedule will be worked out at next year's organizing committee, Saotome said. "I did tell them our lineage is good at standing out, so please go easy on us," he added with a laugh.
