Akita Kantō

Overview

The Kanto Matsuri is a summer festival representative of Akita, held in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, over four days each year from August 3 to 6, praying for an abundant harvest, freedom from illness, and protection from misfortune. It is known throughout Japan for the feat in which the sashite, the bearers, skillfully shift a long bamboo pole hung with many lanterns, called a kanto, from palm to forehead to shoulder to hip. The sight of the lights of countless lanterns swaying in the summer night sky calls to mind ripened ears of rice, and the festival gives direct form to a prayer for a bountiful harvest.

The Kanto Matsuri is counted, together with the Aomori Nebuta Festival and the Sendai Tanabata Festival, among the Three Great Festivals of Tohoku, and is one of the festivals representative of summer in the Tohoku region. In 1980 it was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan. The deep charm of this festival lies in the union of the spirited display of skill and the simple faith of praying for a good harvest.

History & Origins

The origins of the Kanto Matsuri are said to reach back before the Horeki era (1751 to 1764). Its prototype was the Neburi-nagashi, a sleep-banishing rite that drives away the drowsiness and impurity of midsummer. The custom of entrusting to lanterns and bamboo grasses the sleepiness that hinders summer farm work, and washing it away in the water, is shared throughout the Tohoku region and has the same source as the Nebuta and Neputa of Aomori. The kanto, too, is built around this sleep-banishing rite.

To this Neburi-nagashi rite were joined the Tanabata custom of praying for an abundant harvest and the practice of entrusting wishes to bamboo grasses, and the distinctive form of the Kanto Matsuri was nurtured. The idea of likening the lanterns to ears of rice and the whole kanto to a sheaf of ripened rice arose from the life of Akita, founded on agriculture, and an earnest prayer for a good harvest lives at the root of this festival.

In the documentary record, an event thought to be the prototype of the kanto is described in works such as the travel account Yuki no Furu Michi, written by Tsumura Soan in 1789. In the domain era it developed as the townspeople culture of Akita, and as each district competed in skill and scale, the kanto gradually grew larger and more refined. The character of a competition of feats staking the pride of each district was shaped in this era.

From the Meiji into the Taisho period there was a time of temporary decline, but in the early Showa period a revival was undertaken by local volunteers. After the war it expanded in scale as a tourism event representative of Akita City, and today it has developed into a great festival welcoming many visitors from home and abroad. That it has been handed down, changing its form with the times while keeping the old prayers of sleep-banishing and the wish for a good harvest at its core, sustains the vitality of the Kanto Matsuri.

Highlights

The lanterns filling the night sky The greatest highlight of the Kanto Matsuri is the Yorohonban, the main evening performance. The sight of many kanto rising all at once, the lights of countless lanterns swaying as they fill the main street, is overwhelming. The way the flame lit in each lantern sways in the summer night breeze, linked together and undulating, is like a sea of golden ripened rice, beautifully embodying the origin of this festival of prayer for a good harvest.

The feats of the sashite It is the performers called sashite who support the kanto. Beginning with the Nagashi (Hirate), in which they support the long, flexing kanto on the palm alone, they display advanced feats, shifting the point of support one after another to the forehead, shoulder, and hip. In the figure of the sashite manipulating the heavy kanto while keeping their balance, the skill and nerve backed by years of training show through, taking the breath of the spectators.

The competition of height with added bamboo During the performance the kanto is extended higher by adding tsugidake, sections of bamboo. The higher it rises, the more the pole flexes and the harder it becomes to support, so the skill of the sashite is tested all the more. The tension of supporting, at the very limit, a kanto that flexes greatly in the wind, or of righting one about to topple, is a thrill unique to this festival, and at the moment of success great cheers rise from the roadside.

The cries of Dokkoisho and the music The kanto performance is colored by the cry of Dokkoisho, Dokkoisho and the music of flutes and drums. This cry, which encourages the sashite and enlivens the scene in unity with the spectators, is an indispensable element that heightens the mood of the Kanto Matsuri. The lively rhythm of the music, the feats of the sashite, and the swaying lantern lights unite to wrap the Akita summer night in fervor.

The daytime feat competition Changing in character from the enchanting evening performance, in the daytime the Kanto Feat Competition is held. This is a contest in which the sashite compete in the merit of their skills, and under the bright daylight one can carefully appreciate each individual feat. Because one can see up close the fine bodily movements of the sashite and the momentary concentration of supporting the kanto, hard to see in the evening performance, one can savor the depth of the skill itself.

Kanto divided by scale Kanto are divided by size into owaka, chuwaka, kowaka, and yowaka, used according to the age and skill of the bearer. The largest, the owaka, is imposing in both length and weight, and manipulating it freely requires considerable skill. The smaller kanto, meanwhile, are also a place where children build up practice, and this system of passing down the skill from an early age sustains the tradition of this festival without letting it lapse.

Access & Information

• Location: Kanto O-dori in Akita City, Akita Prefecture (the area from the Sanno crossroads to Nichome Bridge)
• Timing: Four days each year, from August 3 to 6
• Main events: The main evening performance (nighttime kanto performance) and the daytime Kanto Feat Competition
• Scale divisions of the kanto: Owaka, chuwaka, kowaka, and yowaka
• Access: About a 15-minute walk from JR Akita Station. Traffic restrictions and crowding are expected during the festival, so public transport is recommended.
• Admission: Free viewing along the roadside; paid seating is also provided. It is advisable to confirm exact dates and viewing information each year through the organizers.

Around the Area

Akita City, the stage of the Kanto Matsuri, is the prefectural capital that flourished as the castle town of the Kubota domain (Akita domain). Senshu Park, in the center of the city, is a park developed on the ruins of Kubota Castle, and within its green grounds remain features such as the corner turret that evoke former times. In the city are also cultural facilities such as the Akita City Folk Traditions Hall and the Akita Museum of Art, and together with the historical background of the Kanto Matsuri one can touch the history of the town of Akita.

Displays concerning the Kanto Matsuri can be viewed year-round at the Neburi-nagashi Hall. Through actual kanto and related materials one can learn of the origins of the festival and the skills of the sashite, so even outside the festival period one can experience the charm of the kanto. Learning of the Neburi-nagashi faith behind the festival and of its history of development as a townspeople culture deepens one's view of the kanto performance.

Venturing a little farther from Akita City, one finds tourist sites representative of Akita, such as the Oga Peninsula known for the Namahage, the mysterious Lake Tazawa, Kakunodate with its preserved samurai residences, and the Nyuto hot spring villages. One can also enjoy Akita's food culture, such as kiritanpo, Inaniwa udon, and Hinai jidori chicken, and the local sake unique to this rich rice country. From the Kanto Matsuri one can extend the journey to savor the nature, history, and food of Akita.

Related Information

• Timing: August 3 to 6 (summer)
• Location: Kanto O-dori, Akita City, Akita Prefecture
• Origins: Reaching back before the Horeki era (1751 to 1764). Said to have come into being through the fusion of the Neburi-nagashi sleep-banishing rite and the Tanabata prayer for a good harvest.
• Symbolism: The lanterns are likened to ears of rice and the whole kanto to a sheaf of ripened rice, in prayer for an abundant harvest.
• Skills: The sashite shift the kanto from the Nagashi (Hirate) to the forehead, shoulder, and hip; height is contested by adding sections of bamboo.
• Cultural property and standing: Designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1980; one of the Three Great Festivals of Tohoku, alongside the Aomori Nebuta and the Sendai Tanabata

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