Geisai until last year
【What is the Geisai?】
It is the festival of TUA(Tokyo university of the arts) held in every september.
The first-year undergraduates spent a summer creating a mikoshi (portable shrine) and happi coat, as well as concerts, exhibitions, and an art market with accessories made by the students.
These three days are filled with things you can only see and experience at the Geisai.
This is a big event of theTUA, which is held not only on campus but also in Ueno Park and nearby shopping areas to involve the whole of Ueno.
The process of making mikoshis
Mikoshi is the feature of Geisai! Mikoshis ,which students make during the summer, have much power and punch, and liven up Geisai. Let’s see how such mikoshis are produced.
①Deciding the design
Students collect ideas from each department and take the vote
to choose one design among them. After the decision, the design
is polished again and again, and confirmed by mikoshi-team.
●
●
●
●
②Making the maquette
Maquette is a small model of a mikoshi. Mikoshi-team discuss
details of that with making a “temporary maquette” first, and a
completed “regular maquette” will be exhibited. Making maquettes
is finished from May until the start of producing mikoshi.
●
●
●
●
③Putting up a tent
On the first day of the summer vacation, students have an event
“kura-dashi ” (this means warehouse-carrying-out), in that they
carry steel frames or blue tarps out of a warehouse, and they
put up a tent, where they will make a mikoshi. That protects
the mikoshi from wind and rain.
●
●
●
●
④Cutting Blocks of foaming polystyrene
After putting up a core-pole, students pile blocks of foaming
polystyrene, and cut them roughly with heating wire. They discuss
the procedure and, viewing the mass from all angles and comparing
with the shape of maquette, do this process.
●
●
●
●
⑤Perfecting the shape
Finishing cutting the mass, students carve it with saws or kitchen knives.
This process needs their keeping in mind the mikoshi ’s shape as a whole.
After that, with filing or polishing the surface, they perfect details.
●
●
●
●
⑥Painting
They color the completed shape. This process follows procedures
as, undercoating at first, overcoating, and putting the finish with spray,
so it should be planned sufficiently. Much paint and many brushes are used.
●
●
●
●
⑦ Perfecting production
At last, the mikoshi is completed! If someone plans to get on it
during the actual performance, they step on it actually and check
the safety. On the first day of Geisai, the mikoshi is carried by most of
the team on their shoulders, and unveiled at Ueno Park!
The process of making happis
Every department has each design of the happi, and they make Ueno lively. Hapi-Colle (Happi-Collection) is a remarkable event, where students in happis, which they made carefully one by one, perform dances.
①Deciding design
Students decide a design based on mikoshi ’s one.
●
●
●
●
②Preparing cloth
The design decided, members of happi-team get cloth.
Adjusting to the pattern, they cut the cloth into some parts as the body,
the sleeves, and the collar.
●
●
●
●
③Preparing ink and plates for printing
Based on the design, they prepare some ink and
plates for silkscreen printing, too.
●
●
●
●
④Printing
The design is divided into some layers, that have each color
of it, and students pile the colors one by one, in order, by silkscreen printing.
●
●
●
●
⑤Drying ink
After one color is printed, the ink on cloth is aired.
Repeating ④ and ⑤ makes gradually the design.
●
●
●
●
⑥Sewing
Every design printed, students perfect the happis by sewing
on machines or by hand, giving each of them care and affection.
●
●
●
●
⑦Completed!
At last on actual Geisai, students march through Ueno in the completed happis.
Variously designed happis of each department color Geisai.
Samba
Samba club’s surprise concert has become the customary event.Its performance is so powerful that it excites and fascinates all the spectators.
Geidai Samba Party
Geisai starts with samba and finishes with samba!We precede gorgeous mikoshis (portable shrines) in the Mikoshi-Parade, begin suddenly Guerrilla Samba surrounded bustling stalls, march down the shopping arcades in Ueno during the Togyo (the march of a mikoshi), and call the opening of Happi-Collection.And above all, you should know Stage-Samba that rounds off Geisai!!We hope we can have festivities again soon.
BAM! HI! BAM! HI! BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BAM! OPA———!!
Stalls
Stalls are one of the charms of Geisai.We are going to introduce some of them, that received each prize or have lasted traditionally.
Gold Prize in The Stalls Grand Prix 2019
Bareisho (In Japanese this word means potatos and the sound “barei ” is recognized much like ‘volley’)
Geidai Volleyball Club
Bareisho “serve” keema curry made in the recipe traditional in Volleyball Club.All the members put up and run this shop together.In 2019, attendees’ vote gave us the first Grand Prix!
Bronze Prize in The Stalls Grand Prix 2019
GOLD ICE
Interested people of freshmen in Department of Design of 2019
“GOLD ICE”, a stall of interested people of freshmen in Department of Design, that got the Bronze Prize in The Stalls Grand Prix, sold original plates of shaved ice!During hot Geisai, attendees could enjoy a cool time.
Gourmet Prize in The Stalls Grand Prix 2019
MantoVivo
MantoVivo(a band of students who major in Wind and Percussion Instruments)
“Manto Vivo”, that got the Gourmet Prize, is a stall which has a several-decade history.You can enjoy the traditional taste, that has been inherited by Wind and Percussion students every year, and getting-upgraded recipes.The music sounding in the pilotis, and food and drink of stall, make a superb combination.
Entertainment Prize in The Stalls Grand Prix 2019
Kourin
Interested people of sophomores who major in Japanese-Style Painting of 2019
Kourin got the Entertainment Prize in The Stalls Grand Prix.Our last year’s menu was “mapo-tofu-ramen”!! Sichuan style mapo-tofu with our particular attention to spice!! Don’t forget to be satisfied with it!!Girls in Chinese dresses are looking forward to serving you♡
Gakkuri-Tei (The word ‘gakkuri’, which is a Japanese onomatopoeic one, used when someone gets depressed and fell down on their knees, is a pun on the noun ‘gakuri ’, that means music theory.)
Interested people of freshmen in Department of Music Theory of 2019
Gakkuri-Tei, which serves folk foods every year, served Serbian cheese pie “burek” last year.Crisply baked dough! Melting cheese! Sweet-hot chili sauce! Burek has them all and a very good taste, so it was extremely popular!
The Best-Place
Interested people in Department of Design of 2019
OUR BEST PLACE.
Aoi
Freshmen and sophomores in Department of Japanese Music of 2019
Aoi by freshmen and sophomores in Department of Japanese Music, serves yakitori and beer, which are perfect for summer!
Piping hot yakitori and icy cold beer will definitely make your Geisai much nicer!Please enjoy yakitori that we grilled, putting our heart and soul into them!
Backhaus
Interested people of freshmen and sophomores who major in Piano of 2019
Backhaus is a pianist from Germany.When he was 16 years old, he made a debut as a professional and came to Japan. At that time he ate takoyaki, and since then he hadn’t been able to forget that taste. So besides doing activities as a pianist, he opened takoyaki shop as a side job.
His last words : “How about some takoyaki ?”
Isshu (In kanji this phrase is written as ‘one kick’, and means to beat others easily. And another phrase with the same sound means to go round.)
Soccer Club
We sell about 50 kinds of beer from all over the world!
We want you to enjoy beer whether you are a beginner or a devotee of beer, so we have a lot of sorts, from sweet ones to bitter ones.
Would you like feeling like a little traveling round the world?
LA VOCE
Sophomores in Department of Vocal Music of 2019
This is an Italian restaurant by sophomores in Department of Vocal Music!We serve pasta, sausage, beer, or various cocktails. You can have them, listening to performances on the attached stage!
