Summer in Naniwa is filled with the excitement of “gyaru-mikoshi” (gals’ mikoshi)! On-site report on the Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street overflowing with enthusiasm and smiles!

The Tenjin Festival heralds the arrival of summer in Osaka. The festival is held at Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, which is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, known as the god of learning, and is said to have started in June 951 A.D. It is also known as one of the three major summer festivals in Japan.

A certain mikoshi (portable shrine) will be carried to Osaka Tenmangu Shrine in conjunction with the Yoi Yoimiya (July 23) of the Tenjin Matsuri. It is the “gyaru mikoshi,” which is carried by women only. Its official name is the “Tenjin Matsuri Women’s Mikoshi.

The first Gal-mikoshi was held in 1981 with the aim of promoting the local community, enhancing Osaka’s culture, and creating a cheerful and enjoyable city. This year marked the 41st such event with the cooperation of four town councils in Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Arcade, which is famous as the longest shopping arcade in Japan and the knee of Osaka Tenmangu Shrine.

Although the first event was a Shinto ritual, the mikoshi was not allowed to visit Tenmangu Shrine, but from the second event, the participants were allowed to visit Tenmangu Shrine as members of the Ohaguruma Kou, a vehicle that carries Sugawara no Michizane.

Carriers of the mikoshi are selected through an interview selection process. Applicants must be healthy and energetic women between the ages of 15 (junior high school students are not acceptable) and 30 who are physically fit. The application screening process begins in mid-June each year, and the selection committee meets in early July. This year, 80 women were selected for interviews from among 146 applicants.

The selection process is unique in that, in addition to carrying an 80-kilogram balance pole, the contestants are given two minutes to present their special skills as a form of self-promotion. The selection process was filled with laughter and tears as the contestants performed a wide variety of skills, including playing musical instruments, Japanese dance, martial arts, and one-liners, in scenes that resembled audition rooms for Yoshimoto and Shochiku.

The women come from all walks of life, from high school students to housewives, from firefighters and doctors to bartenders and teachers. The gyarumikoshi is open to applicants who are not residents of Osaka Prefecture, and many of the applicants are foreign nationals.

The women who successfully pass the selection committee have an orientation about a week before the main event to prepare for carrying the mikoshi.