Hita Gion Festival

The Hita Gion Festival is a rite for warding off misfortune, accompanied by pulled floats (yamahoko), held in Hita City, Oita Prefecture. One of the Gion festivals modeled on the Gion Festival of Kyoto, it is conducted at three shrines: Mameda Yasaka Shrine in the Mameda district, Kuma Yasaka Shrine in the Kuma district, and Takeda Wakahachimangu Shrine in the Takeda district. A traditional event representative of summer in Hita, handed down for about 300 years, it features gorgeous floats parading through the town to the sound of Gion music.

The float-pulling that forms the heart of the festival is held every year on the Saturday and Sunday after July 20. This festival, which prays to drive away plague and wind-and-flood disasters and to secure the peace of the region, was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1996, and in 2016 it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of the Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals. It is one of Japan's representative float festivals, ranking with the Hakata Gion Yamakasa and the Karatsu Kunchi of Kyushu.

History and Origins

The origins of the Hita Gion Festival reach back about 400 years. It is said to have begun when Yasaka Shrine, once located within Hinokuma Castle, was moved to the present area of Kuma and Teramachi upon the abolition of the castle, after which rites for warding off misfortune came to be held in this place. The deity of the Gion shrine is Gozu Tenno (Susanoo-no-mikoto), revered as a fierce deity who quells pestilence, and the Gion faith praying for the expulsion of plague lies at the foundation of the festival.

Local old documents record that by around the Kanbun era (1660-1672) of the early Edo period, pulled floats heaped with cedar branches and decorated with curtains were already being paraded to the accompaniment of drums. This shows that the groundwork for simple floats to develop in time into gorgeous yamahoko was already in place during this period.

In 1714 (Shotoku 4), in the middle of the Edo period, in the time of the Nanjo magistrate, full-scale yamahoko came to be built modeled on the Gion floats and halberds of Kyoto. Through this, the floats of Hita Gion changed from mere provincial pulled floats into splendid festival apparatus incorporating the style of the Kyoto Gion Festival. Ever since, the floats have been refined within the townspeople's culture of Hita and have achieved a distinctive development.

Its value has been officially recognized in stages since the modern era. It was designated an Intangible Cultural Property of Hita City in 1972, an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Oita Prefecture in 1984, and in 1996 an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan as the Float Event of Hita Gion. Furthermore, in 2016 it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of the thirty-three nationwide Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals, so that its tradition came to be recognized internationally as well.

Highlights

The parade of gorgeous floats　The greatest highlight of the Hita Gion Festival is the sight of nine floats (with ten in existence including the old Kamiyokocho float) parading through the town. On a rocky-mountain base are arranged waterfalls, flowing water, pavilions, artificial flowers, and figures in three dimensions, and behind is hung a red mikuri-maku curtain embroidered with legendary animals and figures. Drawing on themes such as kabuki plays, the floats captivate the crowds with their elaborate splendor.

The distinctive Gion music derived from the minteki　The music of Hita Gion is composed of the shinobue flute as the main melody, together with drum, small drum, and shamisen. It is said to have begun when a person who had learned the minteki (a Chinese flute) in Nagasaki during the Bunka era used it as Gion music, and the minteki, pasted with bamboo membrane, produces a distinctive muffled tone unlike the flute of Kyoto Gion. More than thirty pieces based on popular songs from the mid-Edo period to the Taisho era have been handed down.

The group preview in front of JR Hita Station　Ahead of the main float-pulling, a group preview is held in which the floats of each district gather together in front of JR Hita Station. This event, begun in 1989, makes use of the nagarebiki trial pull that confirms the safety of the parade, and the sight of the floats of the Mameda, Kuma, and Takeda districts lined up together is a splendid highlight announcing the opening of the festival.

The portable shrine washing rite performed in the river　Late on the Saturday one week before the float parade, the mikoshi-arai (portable shrine washing) is performed. In this rite, the deity that brings plague to the town is led away in a fierce-deity portable shrine and purified in the river, well expressing the true meaning of a Gion festival praying for the expulsion of plague. It conveys the solemn aspect of prayer that lies behind the gorgeous float event.

The fantastical evening floats lit by lanterns　At night, the banyama (evening floats) are paraded, with the floats fitted with numerous lanterns. Different in character from the gorgeous floats of daytime, the figures of the floats floating in the darkness lit by countless lanterns are fantastical, coloring the summer night of Hita with rich atmosphere. Being able to enjoy the different faces of the floats by day and by night is also an appeal of this festival.

Value as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage　The Hita Gion Festival conveys to the present a tradition handed down over about 300 years, down to the structure and decoration of the floats, the music, and the movements of the bearers. As a festival representative of Japan's float culture, inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list as a Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festival together with the Hakata Gion Yamakasa and Karatsu Kunchi, the weight of history dwells in each and every one of its acts.

Event Information

• Location: Hita City, Oita Prefecture
• Venues: Mameda district (Mameda Yasaka Shrine), Kuma district (Kuma Yasaka Shrine), Takeda district (Takeda Wakahachimangu Shrine)
• Dates: The Saturday and Sunday after July 20 each year (the main float event); the group preview is held before the parade
• Main events: Float parade, group preview, portable shrine washing, trial pull, evening floats
• Access: Within walking distance of Hita Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line
• Admission: Free to view. Note that dates and details may change.

Around the Area

The Mameda district of Hita City is a merchant town that flourished in the Edo period as a territory directly controlled by the shogunate (tenryo), and it is designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. The townscape, lined with white-walled and lattice merchant houses and sake breweries, conveys the prosperity of former days, and as one of the stages of the Hita Gion Festival it is also a historical space to enjoy strolling in outside the festival season.

At the Hita Gion Float Museum, a total of six floats are on permanent display, including the four floats of the Kuma and Takeda districts, the Heisei float, and the old Kamiyokocho float. Even outside the festival day, one can carefully admire the details of the giant floats and the embroidery of the mikuri-maku curtains, at a facility where one can gain a deep understanding of the float culture of Hita Gion.

Hita is a town of water known as Suikyo Hita, watered by the Mikuma River (the upper reaches of the Chikugo River). In summer one can enjoy cormorant fishing and pleasure boats, and the climate of a basin surrounded by abundant water and mountains has nurtured a distinctive culture. Hot spring areas such as Amagase Onsen are also nearby, making it a base for a journey touring the nature and history of Hita together with viewing the festival.

Related Information

• Month: July (summer)
• Location: Hita City, Oita Prefecture (Kyushu region)
• Origins: Rites for warding off misfortune began about 400 years ago when Yasaka Shrine was moved; full-scale floats modeled on Kyoto were established in 1714 (Shotoku 4)
• Cultural property: Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan (1996); UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals (2016)
• Enshrined deity: Gozu Tenno (Susanoo-no-mikoto), a deity who quells pestilence
• Scale: A total of ten floats survive (nine parade)

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