An important tool in Hanagasa Dance is a hat decorated with flowers. The flower is safflower, and it was very valuable in the Edo period as a raw material for dyes and lipsticks. ”Beautiful flowers have thorns.” It was said that the hands of the young women who hand-picked them were dyed red with thorns. Please refer to safflower stories in Yamagata at the botton below.
Go to safflower stories
Go back to the festival, many teams that make up the parade show off their unique dances from in traditional and elegant style to in brave and dynamic style. Television news programs often show dances in an elegant style, but in contrast to folk music, the force of moving the hanagasa hats violently in dynamic style cannot be conveyed unless you come to the site. My impression was that elegant dance and dynamic dance in the parade were half and half. Original dances were occasionally seen. Each team consists of communities, schools, and workplaces, and each of them appeals their own characteristics in their dance.
yamagata5 miss Yamagata
yamagata1
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yamagata3 soba
It is held on the long main street at night. So, no need to keep a viewing spot in advance. Please enjoy Yamagata soba in between viewings. Yamagata Prefecture ranks first in the consumption ranking of soba. Please refer to soba stories in Yamagata at the botton below.
Go to white flower of buckwheat and soba storiesGo back to itinerary(Coloful ad spiritual Festival in each region)Go back to itinerary(Yamagata in Summer)
Women play the leading role s in dance and Taiko drumming. In the parade, a powerful drum performance that is in perfect order is followed by an elegant dance. Sansa dance has a Guinness record in “Largest Japanese Drum Ensemble”. I am so sorry to say that you do not need to get any paid seat tickets in advance because the powerful parade can be seen from anywhere.
As soon as I get off Morioka Station, the dance is taking place in front of station. I saw the traditional Sansa dancing with a slow and graceful tone by chance.
morioka1 at the station
Sansa dancing festival and food may make you feel some influence from Korean culture, for example, Five colors in the clothes, noodles, grilled meat.
Let’s go out early and participate in a free dance class held at the prefecture hall. In Sansa Festival the beginners welcome to the circle of dancing.
Detour (with Beer !)
reimen noodle
grilled meat 1
grilled meat 2
soup
ja-ja-men noodle
egg soup following ja-ja-men
Go back to itinerary(Colorful and spiritual Festival in each region)Go back to itinerary(Iwate in Summer)
Akita is a rice-produching region. Kanto lanterns shining in the night sky represent a bountiful harvest of rice in coming Autumn and praying for an end of epidemics like that Gion Festival in Kyoto prays. It is interesting that many festivals both in Japan and abroad, now and in the past, are held to pray for the warding off of epidemics.
akita kanto1 ready
akita kanto8 music
akita kanto4
akita kanto3 pose
akita kanto2
The kanto hand over the pillars to the next person while adding a piece of pillars, showing an exquisitely balanced pose each time. The completed kanto reaches 12 meters high and weighs 50 kilograms, and the pillars are largely bent. “The boughs that bear most hang lowest.” This really embodies the proverb.
akita kanto7 a child who take out something decoration when the pose is decided
If you want to see Kanto at night, you should reserve a seat in the front row of the median on the main street. It is so powerful that the lanterns collapsing in front of you.
Discover a genius boy mixed with adults! As soon as he strikes an exquisitely balanced pose, he pulls out various projectiles such as fans from his chest and enjoys everyone around him.
During the daytime, the festival holds competition to compete in techniques to support the Kanto in various positions(one hand, forehead, sholder, waist !). Even at night, you should look down, not up.
akita competition2 judge
akita competition9 next players waiting
akita competition3 penalty if the foot is out of circle
akita competition4 experts only move their heels
akita competition6
akita competition7 change position each 30sec
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akita competition10
akita competition8 change music also each 30sec
akita competition11 curve max
akita competition12 at least break
Let me briefly explain the rules. use only one hand. Do not go beyond the 6m diameter circle. Change technique according to the signal (every 30 seconds). If playing an instrument, change the tune. In my opinion, good athletes keep their balance by slightly shifting their heels. If you can’t afford to stay overnight in Akita, I recommend you watching the daytime competition.
Lotus flower (Junsai is one of familly) around Akita Castle
Detour
Make sure you have something to eat in advance for a long enjoying. There is a market near the station where you can eat rock oysters from the Oga Peninsula. You can also choose Akita’s famous sake from the list pasted on all over the wall. The fact that “junsai” can be eaten with sake is proof that the water is delicious. “Inaniwa udon” (Japanese noodles), which is eaten in the middle of summer, cools down to the core and releases the summer heat.
Stages with dolls in gorgeous costumes protrude in all directions(10m height, 8m width) from the decorated floats, and ancient stories unfold on it. A long time ago, inspired by the movie “Truck Guy”, trucks decorated with lights transported supplies throughout Japan late at night. It seems to have originated in Hachinohe. If you are fun to watch NHK new year’s eve red-and-white singing contest program, the mechanism could remind you of the famous singer, Sachiko Kobayashi. Anyway, you are overwhelmed by its gorgeousness.
hacchi parade1 treasure boat
hacchi parade2 carp on the waterfall
hacchi parade6 1
hacchi parade4
hacchi parade3 Yang Guifei (the Best)
hacchi parade6 2
hacchi parade6 3
hacchi parade6 dojouji
hacchi parade8
hacchi parade7
hacchi parade11 demon extermination
hacchi parade9
hacchi parade10
hacchi parade12
hacchi parade13
hacchi parade14 Taro Urashima and princess
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hacchi parade15 umihiko and yamahiko
hacchi parade16 happy new year
Packed decration float during the day on the road
I passed by the folded float during the day, and was impressed by how compact it was folded.
hacchi preparade1 packed decoration
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hacchi preparade5
Cavalry battle similar to polo in Chojasan-Shinra-Shrine
Yabusame can be seen anywhere in Japan, but cavalry battles can only be seen here. A horse divided into red and white throws its own ball into the goal while disturbing the opponent’s ball insertion. It’s hard to reach the goal even if there are no obstacles. Prizes are given to the winners by the descendants of the Nanbu clan lords.
hacchi cavalry7 disturb the opponent
hacchi cavalry1
hacchi cavalry2 concentrate his own color ball
hacchi cavalry3 goal
hacchi cavalry4
hacchi cavalry5
hacchi cavalry6
hacchi cavalry8
hacchi cavalry9
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hacchi cavalry11
hacchi cavalry12
hacchi cavalry13
hacchi cavalry14 prize
hacchi cavalry15 tired…..tired…..tired…..
The Best Detour
The northern Tohoku region was a large living area during the Jomon period (the era when people changed from hunting to sedentary life). Gassho, meaning to join hands, clay figurine was excavated in Hachinohe. This is the only clay figurine with the spiritual meaning of gassho.
hacchi clay figurine2 national treasure
hacchi clay figurine3 national teue mark
hacchi clay figurine1
Goats are cleaners around the museum
Dinner of mackerel dishes and market for breakfast
hacchi mackerel dishes1
hacchi mackerel dishes2
hacchi mackerel dishes3
hacchi mackerel dishes4
hacchi hauchi
hacchi stall
hacchi market1 sun rise
hacchi market2 st.Mutsuminato
hacchi market3 300yen breakfast
hacchi market4
hacchi market5 lunch box on express
Go back to itinerary(Colorful and spiritual Festival in each region)Go back to itinerary(Hachinohe where you can enjoy the four seasons)
It takes place on 2nd Saturday of June. Iwate, especially the north of it, named ‘Nambu’ has been a horse production ares. A pair of sculpture in front of shrines as a guardian ae sometimes changed from dogs normally to horces. Humen and horses live together under the same roof in the countryside. Humen pray their health and safe and the road of pray had became the parade from countryside(Takizawa village) to Morioka city of more than 100 horses dressing up which are nurtured with care in each house.
chaguchagu4 rest
*)It takes almost half day on foot(14km) when you follow the parade, so it is a good idea to stay ahead of the curve using trains(st.Aoyama,etc). The parade takes breaks on the way several times and then nursing baby horses get milk from their mothers.
chaguchagu6 morioka city
At last, poud parade groups marches through Morioka city and Sansa Dancing welcomes them early in advance the festival season without controling their impulse.
Local people have grown up one symbolic cherry tree in each village, especially along with the central corridor of Fukushima prefecture. That tree is exactly the support of the heart and guardian deity of the region. And it is usual that these cherry trees have a parent-child-grandcild relationshiping each other. When season in full bloom comes, local people in the village make hospitality with local ingredients under the tree to enjoy in Spring with each other.
Konjac in NakajimaDumplings rather than Flowers in Nakajima
1)Cherry tree in Nakajima has a Jizo sculpture where people pray fo long life of their children. You can see the mountains with snow on the top over the cherry blossom tree.
Cherry Tree with Mt.Adatara
Cherry Tree in Nakajima
Frog Egg in Paddy Field
2)Weeping cherry tree in the old batllefield has clear pink of cherry blossoms over yellow carpet of rape flowers.
Weeping Cherry Tree on the old Battlefield
3)Waterfall cherry tree in Miharu, at which you have to have a look once before you die, is a huge creature with guardian deity inside.
Waterfall Cherry in Miharu1
Waterfall Cherry in Miharu2
Waterfall Cherry in Miharu4
The tree “2” is a daughter and the tree “1” is a grandchild of the tree “3” ! Local people are also connected through the tree generation.
It’s just Eden or Heaven fulfilled by cherry blssoms and other spring flowers. This park is named by Hanamiyama Park, meaning the mountain park where people have a look at flowers reading it like a Japanese letter. But to be surprised, these mountains are private garden farms and opened to the public with friendly heart.
Walking Road2
All of the mountains are fulfilled by cherry and other blossoms and you can find all kinds of colors in Spring.
Japanese Bee Honey
Stop by shops with natural foods and prodcts and amuse yourself. Big bottle of Hyakkamitsu, named from 100 sorts of flowers’ honey, which is collected by Japanese small bees, has been offering pure, natural sweat taste more than 3years in my kitchen.
Nametsu Otaki Waterfall is a two-tiered waterfall that covers a wide river width (30m), but the remarkable feature is the smooth surface of tuff under the waterfall. So I intuitively thought it would be interesting if this was a water slider. Another idea is to pour somen (noodle) from the top of waterfall and scoop it up at the bottom of waterfall. It would be a fun for cool noodle !
Shichikashuku town wouldn’t adopt these ideas……..
shichikashuku road soba festival
There are a lot of soba restaurants along Shichikashuku Highroad connected to Takahata town, Yamagata where Takahata winery is located. In this season we can eat fresh buckwheat noodles by grinding freshly picked soba with a stone mill. Especially you can try some remarkable restaurants at the same time at cheap price during soba festival.
Once upon a time, safflower was a big trade product for lipsticks and dyes. Yamagata was famous as a production center, and the decoration of the cap of the Hanagasa Ondo (dance) is safflower. However, the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture was also a safflower production area, and Murata Town became a trading center. Then the merchant who made the fortune set up the warehouse. Historical warehouses remain miraculously because the main railway and road has passed another route.
kenkon-ichi murata
One of these warehouses is now my favorite sake brewery. It was a pity that the day I visited to buy something it was close.
Detour (Togatta Hot Spring overlooking Mt.Zao)
zao mountains from togatta hot spring
There are many really good hot springs around Mt.Zao, Togatta, Aone, Gaga, etc. You can feel free to use the public bath to ease the fatigue of your trip.
aone hot spring on the way to togattaGo back to itinerary
Ordinary people will go to Miyagi Zao Fox Village near here, but countryside lovers can’t pass Yokokawa Valley and Chourou Lake which are located on the foot of Mt.Zao.
The name of Zao comes from the fact that Zao Gongen, mountain religion, was separated from the Kinpusenji Temple in Yoshino, Nara, where cherry blossoms bloom all over the mountain. Before then, a part of the predecessor of this Zao name was called Mt. Fubousan, now which can be seen well from Yokokawa Valley and Chourou Lake. It is a mountain that has appeared in Japanese classics, and it means a mountain that you never forget in literary.
The idyllic view of Chourou Lake and the view of Mt. Fubousan from the longest suspension bridge in Tohoku will be a memory you will never forget.
