Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

Overview

The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is a summer festival representative of the Tohoku region, held over three days each year on August 5, 6, and 7 in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. At the heart of the festival is the parade of the hanagasa (flower hat) dance, in which dancers in matching costumes, holding woven hats adorned with colorful flowers, parade through the city streets to the spirited call of Yassho, Makasho. The dancers number about 14,000, the participating groups exceed 150, and some one million spectators visit over the three days. Counted as one of the Four Great Festivals of Tohoku alongside the Aomori Nebuta Festival, the Akita Kanto Festival, and the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the sound of the brave hanagasa drums and the group dance of swaying, gorgeous flower hats are known nationwide as a seasonal feature coloring the short summer of Tohoku.

History and Origins

The history of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is comparatively new compared with other traditional festivals of Tohoku. Its origin dates back to 1963. In that year, a Hanagasa Ondo Grand Parade held as part of the Zao Summer Festival was the direct beginning of the Hanagasa Festival. Then from 1965, this parade came to be held as the independent Yamagata Hanagasa Festival, and thereafter it developed into a festival representative of summer in Yamagata. Behind the fact that, though a comparatively new festival, it grew in a short time into a large festival representative of Tohoku, there was a clear intention to aim for a fourth great festival of Tohoku following the three great festivals of Aomori, Akita, and Sendai. In fact, on the occasion of the third holding, it was held with greatly expanded scale aiming for the Four Great Festivals of Tohoku, following the Tanabata Festival of Miyagi, the Kanto Festival of Akita, and the Nebuta Festival of Aomori.

The roots of the Hanagasa Ondo, which forms the core of the festival, reach back to an even older era. The original song of the Hanagasa Ondo is said to be the Donzuki-uta (earth-tamping song) long sung in the Narusawa district of Zao in Yamagata. The earth-tamping song was a labor song that people sang to coordinate their work during ground-firming and civil engineering tasks. This simple work song was eventually refined into the Hanagasa Ondo, a folk song representative of Yamagata Prefecture, and came to be known nationwide with the birth of the festival. The fact that a song born from labor was elevated to the star of a gorgeous festival gives this festival a depth of culture.

The flower hat itself also has an origin. The safflower (benibana) that adorns the hanagasa is a specialty product for which Yamagata once flourished as a major production area, and it has become the flower symbolizing the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival. The figure of dancers adorning their woven hats with crimson flowers reflects the climate and history of Yamagata.

Highlights

The greatest highlight of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is, above all, the grand parade by more than 14,000 dancers. More than 150 groups, each holding matching costumes and ingeniously devised flower hats, parade through the center of Yamagata City to the call of Yassho, Makasho as if to fill it completely. The brave resounding of the hanagasa drums leading the way heightens the festive mood, and the waves of colorful flower hats that follow gorgeously color the night streets. The sight of the whole town dyed in festival colors together with the one million spectators lining the route is overwhelming.

There are also various types of dance forms. Originally, more than ten kinds of diverse hanagasa dances were handed down in various places, such as dancing by hand while wearing the hat, or dancing by holding and spinning the hat. In 1963, a unified Seicho Hanagasa Odori (orthodox flower hat dance) was established so that anyone could dance easily, and this became the basic dance of the festival. Today, multiple forms are performed, such as the elegant Seicho Hanagasa Odori (Kunpu Mogamigawa) and the Kasamawashi Odori, in which the hat is vigorously spun, and one can see distinctive dances unique to each group. That a variety of expressions, from elegant women's dances to powerful men's dances and lively creative dances, can be enjoyed all at once is also a charm of this festival.

Furthermore, it is also distinctive that a free participation corner is provided where spectators can actually join the dance. Anyone can join the circle of the hanagasa dance on the spot, making it an open festival where one can enjoy not only watching but also dancing.

Event Information and Access

The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is held over three days, usually on August 5, 6, and 7, with the central downtown of Yamagata City as the venue. The parade is held from evening into night, and the main street running from Tokamachi through Honcho and Nanukamachi to the front of Bunshokan (the former prefectural office) becomes the stage. From dusk, when the heat of the day softens, the group dance of flower hats illuminated by lights unfolds, enlivening the summer night.

Access is very convenient. The venue is within walking distance of JR Yamagata Station, and using the Yamagata Shinkansen, one can reach Yamagata Station from the Tokyo area without transfers. From the station to the main festival venue is a walk, making it easy for tourists from afar to visit as well. However, during the festival period, large-scale traffic restrictions are imposed in the city center, and the surroundings become very crowded, so use of public transportation is recommended. When visiting with an overnight stay, lodging fills up early during the Tohoku festival season, so early reservation is advisable. As the exact dates, parade route, and times may change from year to year, it is best to confirm in advance through the organizer's official information.

Around the Area

There are many attractions around Yamagata City, the venue of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival. First, Bunshokan, standing facing the main festival venue, is the former Yamagata Prefectural Office and Assembly Hall built in the Taisho period; its dignified brick Western-style architecture is designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. It is a historic building representative of Yamagata that also looks striking as a backdrop to the festival.

A little farther afield is Zao, spreading to the east of Yamagata City. Zao is the area holding Narusawa, where the original song of the Hanagasa Ondo was born, and is a major tourist destination famous for magnificent mountain scenery and views of the Okama (crater lake) in summer, and for frost-covered trees (juhyo) in winter. Also, Risshakuji (commonly called Yamadera), to the northeast of Yamagata City, is an ancient temple known for Matsuo Basho's haiku, and the view from the top of the stone steps leading to the halls built on the mountainside is exceptional. Furthermore, Yamagata has a history of flourishing as a major safflower production area, and cultural heritage related to safflower remains in the suburbs. Touring these scenic spots of nature, history, and culture together with the festival, one can fully savor the appeal of Yamagata.

Related Information

Details on the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival can be found on the festival's official site and in tourism information of Yamagata Prefecture and Yamagata City. This festival began in 1963 as the Hanagasa Ondo Grand Parade of the Zao Summer Festival and came to be held as an independent festival from 1965; though comparatively new, it is a summer festival representative of Tohoku. Known nationwide as one of the Four Great Festivals of Tohoku alongside the Aomori Nebuta Festival, the Akita Kanto Festival, and the Sendai Tanabata Festival, it gathers about 14,000 dancers and some one million spectators. That the original song of the Hanagasa Ondo lies in the earth-tamping song of Narusawa in Zao, Yamagata, and that the safflower adorning the flower hats is a specialty of Yamagata, show that the climate and history of Yamagata are deeply engraved in the festival. The path by which a folk song born from a work song was elevated to the star of a gorgeous great festival is a fine example of how regional culture is nurtured and handed down.

← Explore More Festivals