Hachinohe Sansha Taisai

Overview

Hachinohe Sansha Taisai is a Shinto festival held in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, every year from July 31 to August 4. The "three shrines" (sansha) are Ogami Shrine, Choja-san Shinra Shrine, and Shinmeigu, all located within the city. Portable-shrine processions of these three shrines, together with more than twenty ornate figure floats (dashi) built mainly by the city's neighborhoods, parade through central Hachinohe. The festival draws roughly 1.05 to 1.4 million visitors and is one of the leading summer festivals of northern Tohoku. Its greatest attraction is the gorgeous floats, on which figures rise up and unfold widely to the left and right; in recent years devices that even emit smoke have been added, and their scale and grandeur are unrivaled.

History and Origins

The festival originated in 1721 (Kyoho 6), when the portable shrine of Horyo-sha (now Ogami Shrine), the chief tutelary shrine of the Hachinohe domain in Mutsu Province, was carried to the Kokuzo Hall on Choja-san to pray for good weather and give thanks for a bountiful harvest. At first the procession of Horyo-sha paraded through the city, held a rite at Choja-san, and returned. In time townspeople joined by dedicating dances and float-stalls, leading to the present form. After a period of decline in the Meiji era, at the suggestion of Osawa Tamon, Choja-san Shinra Shrine joined the procession in 1881 and Shinmeigu in 1886, establishing the joint festival of three shrines—Ogami within the castle, Shinmeigu in the castle town, and Shinra outside it. The practice of building floats by neighborhood and the effort to broaden the castle-town rite into a citywide festival by inviting performing arts such as kagura, hand dances, and tiger dances from across Hachinohe also stemmed from Osawa's proposals. The festival's basis is held to rest with the rite of Ogami Shrine, its place of origin, and a tradition of honoring Ogami above the other two shrines remains strong.

Highlights

The greatest highlight is the joint procession of as many as 27 figure floats. Floats that once bore only a single figure developed from the mid-Meiji period into elaborate "furyu" floats depicting stories, and from the late 1970s onward gained large mechanisms that rise up and expand to the sides. The sight of vividly colored floats based on myths, kabuki, and local legends lined up in procession is spectacular. The portable-shrine processions conducted as Shinto rites and the dedications of performing arts such as kagura and tiger dances are also worth seeing. Unlike nighttime, audience-participation festivals such as the Aomori Nebuta, it is distinguished by the solemnity of daytime rites at its core.

Event Information and Access

The festival is held annually from July 31 to August 4. On the eve festival of July 31, floats gather in central Hachinohe and in front of city hall to play festival music in unison, followed by the "o-tori" sacred procession on August 1, the "middle day" on August 2 (joint nighttime run), the "o-kaeri" return procession on August 3, and the after-festival on August 4. The central district, including Ogami Shrine, is within walking distance of the south exit of Hon-Hachinohe Station on the JR Hachinohe Line. Paid viewing seats are provided along the procession routes, and since 2007 a "pulling team" program has allowed people from outside the city and tourists to take part in pulling the floats.

Around the Site

Outside the festival period, the floats can also be viewed at the first-floor hall of the Hachinohe Regional Local Industry Promotion Center "U-tory" (near the east exit of Hachinohe Station), at Ogami Shrine (a five-minute walk from the south exit of Hon-Hachinohe Station, which displays Edo-period float figures and the portable shrine that gave rise to the festival), and at the Hachinohe Portal Museum "Hacchi." Hachinohe is a port town facing the Pacific, blessed with fresh seafood and attractions such as the Hassyoku Center and the Tanesashi Coast.

Additional Information

Hachinohe Sansha Taisai was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan as the "float event of Hachinohe Sansha Taisai" on February 6, 2004, and on November 30, 2016, it was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as one of 33 nationwide "festival float events." A Shinto rite with three centuries of history, it also faces tensions between tradition and the modern age, such as debates over commercialization and the use of engines to move the floats, making it a compelling case for considering how local festivals change over time.

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