Festivals
Hamatama
The Hamatama Gion Festival (not to be confused with the Karatsu Kunchi), inconveniently scheduled just as school ends, is a great party lasting two days. People go all out, opening up their homes and inviting over everyone they’ve ever met to feast and frolic. It has a history of over 240 years, starting in 1753. In the evening, men wearing all-too-revealing loin clothes pull three enormous floats through the streets. The floats stretch over 15 meters tall and weigh more than six tonnes. Each float represents one part of town: east, west and beachside. The original Gion Festival comes from Kyoto from around 860 AD. At that time, the country was struck with plague, so the then emperor ordered the construction of 66 floats, one to represent each region of Japan, in order that the gods shine on them favourably and rid the country of the plague. A procession of the floats was organised by the head priest of Yasaka (originally called the Gion) Buddhist Temple, and the event became annual. There are two kinds of floats, one called “yama,” which are carried, and the other called “hoko,” which are drawn on wooden wheels. There is also a Gion Festival in Kashima City from 13-15 July.
Arita
Toki-Ichi is a large porcelain fair where everybody who has anything to do with porcelain — which is basically everyone in Arita - sells their goods on the street. At this time Arita is packed with about 800,000 tourists. It is the best opportunity to purchase porcelain. Dates: April 29 to May 5th. Do not come by car. There are extra trains that run during the festival. Check out Carmen Abdallah’s article on the ceramics festival for more information.
Okuchi and Sarayama Matsuri are traditional festivals focused around what? Yep, you guessed it, porcelain! Dates: 16-17 October.
Ishiba Ozumo Matsuri is a festival has seen the bare butts of several ALTs and CIRs. This festival is filled with sumo wrestling on the second or third Sunday of November.
Omachi
Kagokaki takes place the second weekend in November. Teams build palanquins in various styles and materials and then must haul one of their members around town on it, completing a series of silly tasks along the way. JETs have traditionally sent a team.
Kashima
Cherry blossom viewing (hanami) is a popular pastime for the people of Kashima. This is from the end of march to the beginning of April. Some of the more popular places for viewing are Asahiogaoka Park (near Kashima High School) and the area around Yutoku Inari Shrine. The part across from the shrine is a good place to see various flowers in bloom from the beginning of April to the end of May.
The big festival is the Gatalympics at the Nanaura Seaside Sports Park in Kashima. The Ariake Sea is an the largest tidal flat in Japan and boasts a six meter tide. What the tide leaves in its path is a whole lot of mud. You can enjoy such activities as gataskiing on a ski through the mud or the gatafly, when you get down and dirty, swimming through the mud. This festival takes place the last weekend of May.
Kashima Odori is also a big event and takes place on 7-8 August. Participants dance the Kashima dance through the streets.
A performance of mask dances (memburyu) takes place in Nanaura around the middle of September. This celebrates the victory of the Nabeshima clan over their enemies in a critical battle. It features the hand-carved masks that are a speciality of Kashima. The masks are produced by an acclaimed craftsman, Komori, in his shop in Fureda.
The Fire Bamboo Festival (take tourro naturi) takes place on 8-9 November at Fumyoji Shrine, which is just off Route 207. As bamboo grows everywhere in the Kashima area and Kashima is referred to as the “city of light,� this festival is a way for citizens to celebrate their town. It is quite possibly one of the most beautiful spectacles, with the backdrop of live cello players enhancing the serenity of the occasion.
The Kashima Gion Festival is held annually from the 13–15 July.
Yobuko
On the first weekend of June there is a huge tug of war in Yobuko. On the Saturday it is kids and on the Sunday it’s the adults, which is the best day. Everyone is welcome to join in. Basically it is a fight between the people who live near the sea and the people who live near the mountains. It is worth the effort. As usual there is lots of chaos, drinking and heaps of fun. As the weather is warm, participants are often sprayed with water. There is a bus running every half-hour from Karatsu. I recommend arriving early as the traffic gets very busy.
Tosu
Many traditional festivals that originated in Tosu continue to be celebrated by its citizens every year. These festivals include Shishimai (Lion Dance), Ondamai, Furyu, Hongengyou and Mogura Uchi. In addition to these there are many more festivals throughout the year including Tosu Yamagasa in July and Tosu Matsuri. To participate in any of these festivals just contact a local ALT to set you up.
Imari
Ton-Ten-Ton Fighting Festival, October 22-24. This festival expresses the gratitude to the god of Imari Shrine for the city’s good harvest. During the festival, two huge portable shrines, the “Aramikoshi” and the “Danjiri,” which are displayed at the Imari Shrine, battle each other to the sound of “ton-ten-ton.” They fight until either of the two come crashing down. The climax of the festival is the Kawaotoshi Gassen, an amazing final battle fought out by and in the waters of the Imari River. This festival has been a tradition since the Edo Era, when Imari was a bustling shipping port.
Aramikoshi represents the Imperial Court and good/rich agricultural harvest. It weighs 550 kg. There is a golden peacock/bird-like creature on the top of the shrine and a golden flower emblem.
Danjiri represents good fishing harvest, and it weighs 500 kg. There are five square pillows on top of the shrine with the emblem of two golden suns. Colors from top to bottom: blue which represents the sky, yellow which represents the wind, red which represents fire, white which represents water and black which represents the earth.