Haruki Danjiri Matsuri

Overview

The Haruki Danjiri Festival (Haruki Danjiri Matsuri) is a danjiri festival held each September in the Haruki district of Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture. Held on the same days as the nationally famous Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, it is known as a valiant festival handed down in the same region. It is a festival full of power in which wooden danjiri, or floats bearing fine carvings, are pulled by rope by hundreds of pullers and run through the town at tremendous speed, sweeping the autumn of Kishiwada into a whirl of frenzy.

The greatest highlight of this festival is the yarimawashi, in which the danjiri turn at right angles at intersections without losing momentum. The way a danjiri, while running at tremendous speed, changes direction in an instant at the signal of the daikugata, the roof rider, is full of a tension bordering on danger and overwhelming power, and great cheers rise from the spectators. Each town of the Haruki district brings out its own danjiri, and from the bold pulling of the day to the atmospheric lit pulling of the night, over two days the whole town is dyed entirely in the colors of the festival.

History and Origins

The Haruki Danjiri Festival is a festival deeply connected with the nationally known Kishiwada Danjiri Festival. The Kishiwada Danjiri Festival is said to have begun in the mid-Edo period when the lord of the Kishiwada domain held an Inari festival to pray for a rich harvest, and it boasts a history and tradition of more than three hundred years. The Haruki Danjiri Festival, as a September festival on the same days as this Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, has been handed down in the Haruki district of Kishiwada City, and the two are distinguished by the difference of district.

The danjiri festival is a rite with prayer and gratitude for a rich harvest at its root. Throughout the Kishiwada area, each town owns its own danjiri, and the people have poured strong pride and passion into preserving it, decorating it, and competing in pulling it. The Haruki district is no exception, and the danjiri of each town have been handed down through the generations as symbols of local unity, so that the festival has taken deep root in the life of the region across the generations.

The danjiri themselves are gorgeous floats of wood such as zelkova, bearing fine carvings. The intricate carvings, taking as their themes warrior pictures, battle scenes, and old tales, are the crystallization of the high skill of artisans, and each one holds a value that may be called a work of art. In pulling these massive danjiri, weighing several tons, with hundreds of pullers in unison and running them at tremendous speed, there appears the boldness and the strength of unity unique to the danjiri festival.

Handed down over many long years, the Haruki Danjiri Festival, together with the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, has continued to develop as an autumn festival representative of Osaka. In the Haruki district, twelve danjiri are officially pulled, and parades staged before Haruki Station on the Nankai Main Line are also held. The passion of the whole town in supporting the festival has not waned in the least even now, and the Haruki Danjiri Festival is valiantly preserved as the pride of the local people.

Highlights

The Bold Yarimawashi The greatest spectacle of the Haruki Danjiri Festival is the yarimawashi, in which the danjiri turn at right angles at intersections without losing momentum. Hundreds of pullers, while running at tremendous speed, change the direction of a danjiri weighing several tons at right angles in one motion at the signal of the daikugata. This feat of turning a huge danjiri without slowing borders on danger, and at the moment of success, great cheers and applause rise from the spectators.

The Parade Before Haruki Station Before the La Park building near Haruki Station on the Nankai Main Line, the danjiri of each town of the Haruki district gather to hold a ceremony, and a parade is staged in which they vigorously turn at the Haruki Wakamatsucho intersection. This scene, in which danjiri one after another display the yarimawashi, is one of the highlights representative of the Haruki Danjiri Festival, and many spectators throng to it.

Danjiri of Fine Carving The danjiri are gorgeous floats intricately carved with warrior pictures and battle scenes on wood such as zelkova. The carvings, applied by the high skill of artisans, differ in design from float to float, and seen up close they astonish with their delicacy. Not only the power of the danjiri when running but also its beauty like a work of art when at rest is a great appeal.

The Competition of the Danjiri of Each Town In the Haruki district, twelve danjiri are officially pulled. Each town pulls its own danjiri with its pride at stake, competing in the skill of the yarimawashi and the vigor of the pulling. The sight of the differing happi coats and danjiri designs of each town intermingling is vividly colorful, and one can fully feel the heat of a festival in which the whole region celebrates as one.

The Lit Pulling at Night In contrast to the bold pulling of the day, when night falls lanterns are lit on the danjiri and a leisurely lit pulling is held. The sight of a danjiri, softly illuminated by countless lanterns, advancing through the town is rich in feeling, holding a fantastical beauty entirely different from the intensity of daytime. That one can enjoy two expressions, day and night, is also an appeal of this festival.

The Strength of Unity Woven by Hundreds To run a danjiri weighing several tons at tremendous speed and succeed at the yarimawashi, hundreds of pullers, the daikugata, and the ushiroteko rear brakemen must all be in perfect unison. In the way the whole town coordinates minutely by role and moves a single danjiri with all its combined strength, the unity of the region and its pride in tradition are concentrated. This very sense of oneness is the appeal that forms the very core of the danjiri festival.

Access and Information

• Location: Haruki district, Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture
• Venue: Throughout the Haruki district (before Haruki Station on the Nankai Main Line and others)
• Dates: Each September (held on the same days as the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival; two days of eve festival and main festival)
• Danjiri: Twelve officially pulled in the Haruki district
• Access: From Haruki Station on the Nankai Main Line to the venue area
• Organizer and inquiries: Haruki District Danjiri Festival Committee and Kishiwada City

Around the Area

In Kishiwada City, where the Haruki Danjiri Festival is held, the nationally famous Kishiwada Danjiri Festival is also held in the Kishiwada district on the same days. Since the festivals of the two districts unfold on the same day, visiting at the right time allows one to savor at once the heat of the danjiri culture rooted throughout the Kishiwada area. Comparing the differences between the districts is a way of enjoyment unique to this region.

At the center of Kishiwada City stands Kishiwada Castle with its castle keep, and around it remain a beautiful garden and the atmosphere of a castle town. Strolling around the castle and its surroundings between the festivities allows one to touch the history and culture of this land that nurtured the danjiri festival. The sight of danjiri being pulled against the backdrop of the castle is also a highlight unique to Kishiwada.

Kishiwada City is located in the Senshu region of southern Osaka Prefecture, with good access from central Osaka. The area is also rich in the seafood and specialties of Senshu, and together with the festival one can enjoy the food culture of the region. Visiting Kishiwada in the season of the danjiri festival, one can fully experience the valiant power of the yarimawashi, along with the history and lively climate of Senshu.

Related Information

• Month: September (autumn)
• Prefecture and region: Haruki district, Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture, Senshu region
• Features: The valiant yarimawashi, turning at right angles at intersections
• Danjiri: Twelve floats officially pulled in the Haruki district
• Related: A festival of the same lineage, held on the same days as the nationally famous Kishiwada Danjiri Festival

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