It is said that Takehara began when Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto developed the land based on the law of the Nara period that allowed the land that was cultivated by oneself to be owned by oneself. This law was the beginning of the manor system, and wealth was concentrated in those who had the financial power to cultivate the land by themselves, and it triggered the collapse of the world centered on the emperor.
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Anyway, Takehara has a connection with Kyoto and still retains a townscape called Little Kyoto. Incidentally, the Kamo River, which has the same name as Kyoto, runs through the center of the city. Also, like Kyoto, sake brewing is thriving, and one of its descendants founded Nikka Whiskey in Japan.
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takehara4 takezuru sake brewery
takehara5 frontier of japanese whisky
takehara6 massann and lita
A feature that is completely different from Kyoto is salt making in salt fields. At that time, 80% of the salt produced in Japan was produced in Hiroshima Prefecture.
When you look at the Tanabata decorations in the shopping district, they all look the same(sorry), but when you learn that each shop displays their own decorations in front of each shop, your perspective changes. The results of contest are indicated unobtrusively beside each decoration.
By the way, a famous person signed a streamer for Tanabata decorations, so it seems that there was an event to find it, but the person who found it would definitely tear it off, so I thought the game wouldn’t work.
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Recently, sparrow dances have been incorporated into festivals and contests have also been held. After all, decorations alone lack excitement, so it has changed to a participatory festival. By the way, the sparrow is also the family crest of the Date family of the Sendai clan.
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
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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
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.
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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
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akita competition7 change position each 30sec
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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
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hacchi parade3 Yang Guifei (the Best)
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hacchi parade6 dojouji
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hacchi parade11 demon extermination
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hacchi parade14 Taro Urashima and princess
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hacchi parade15 umihiko and yamahiko
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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.
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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
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hacchi cavalry2 concentrate his own color ball
hacchi cavalry3 goal
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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 tresure
hacchi clay figurine3 national teue mark
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Goats are cleaners around the museum
Dinner of mackerel dishes and market for breakfast
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.
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*)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.
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
‘Snow house’ named as ‘KAMAKURA’ in Japanese is a famous play spot among children. They enjoy eating something and playing games in the house. The water God is enshrined inside for wishing coming Spring to bring a lot of water to fields.
Even if not during festival period, we enjoyed a permanent ‘snow house’ in a huge refrigerator. Children inside surround fireplace and look warm, but never warm rather cold !
Just then, people were constructing snow houses here and there in YOKOTE city. First making a snow circle mountain by hand, next making a side hole.
‘Amekko’, meaning candy in local pronunciation language, helps us healthy to protect catching a cold especially in winter season because licking candy makes your throat moist.
Furthermore in this market, all elements of products and culture in OHDATE city are found.
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Akita dog(inu) is a friend of hunting and famous for ’Faithful dog HACHIKO’ statue on Sibuya scramble crossing waiting several years for his owner return. OHDATE is focusing on breeding Akita dogs. This was the first time to look at such a lot of Akita dogs on the parade in the festival !
craft work ‘Magari-Wappa’
Long winter season made people trapped in deep snow produces ‘craft work using Akita beautiful cedar’ , the effect of which is bactericidal and moisture proof for food.
The best detour
Huge dram, the radius of which is about 2 meter, could call thunder to make it rain wishing for a good harvest. That’s why a dram became huge. You can enjoy the demonstration and self-playing all season except for summer festival.
NAMAHAGE Festival held during 3 days is composed of Shintoism, ‘Drama where NAMAHAGEs visit your home’, ’’Ancient dram music’ and NAMAHAGE parade. A lot of kinds of NAMAHAGE are found and they were told to come here from north foreign countries.
Coordination in advance of early check-in and early dinner in your hotel and transportation to reach the venue are strongly recommended for the best place to enjoy NAMAHAGE Festival.
namahage festival venue
’Drama where NAMAHAGE visiting your home’
This video is one scene of NAMAHAGE festival. NAMAHAGE could visit your home to scold lazy children in winter season because they stay away from the fireplace. After scolding, Japanese SAKE is served as a sigh of gratitude.
’Ancient dram music performed by NAMAHAGEs’
Ancient dram music was played and performed in the heavy snow ! Except for in the winter season, you could enjoy these performance in the theater near hot-spring town. Take care of your place or positioning if you would like to record real performance in the festival.
