Kurayami Matsuri

Overview

Kurayami Matsuri, the Festival of Darkness, is the annual grand festival of Okunitama Shrine in Fuchu City, Tokyo, held each year from April 30 to May 6. As the festival of the shrine that served as the general shrine of Musashi Province, it boasts a long tradition and formality and ranks among the greatest festivals of the Kanto region. At the climax of the festival, six of the largest drums in Japan and eight portable shrines parade through the center of Fuchu, and during the festival period the crowds swell to about 700,000 people. Because the procession of the portable shrines was carried out in the darkness of deep night with the lights of the town extinguished during the Edo period, it came to be affectionately known as Kurayami Matsuri, the Festival of Darkness.

The origin of the festival goes back to the Kokufu festival held long ago at the provincial capital of Musashi, and it conveys to the present a history spanning more than a thousand years. Over the course of a week, numerous rituals and events unfold, from the horse-racing rite and the lantern contest to the procession of the floats, the resounding of the great drums, and the greatest highlight, the portable-shrine procession known as oide. In 2010 it was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tokyo under the name Kurayami Matsuri of Musashi Fuchu, and it has been solemnly handed down as a festival that follows the old forms.

History and Origins

Kurayami Matsuri is an annual festival derived from the Kokufu festival held in ancient times at the provincial capital of Musashi. As the general shrine of Musashi Province, Okunitama Shrine enshrined together the principal deities of the province, and it was revered as a shrine where the provincial governor worshipped in place of touring all the shrines of the province. In a document of the Muromachi period it is recorded as the Gogatsu-e, or May gathering, which suggests that it was already conducted as a large-scale festival from ancient times. Okunitama Shrine possesses a far older history and formality than many of the shrines and temples in central Tokyo, most of which were built or relocated after Tokugawa Ieyasu established the shogunate in Edo, and its grand festival conveys to the present the events performed according to old forms, even as it has changed with the transformations of the ages.

There is a deep reason why the festival has been carried out in darkness. Based on an ancient rite in which it is not permitted to look directly upon what is sacred, the ritual in which the holy spirit moves from the shrine into the portable shrine and proceeds to the resting place was held to require darkness, away from human eyes. This tradition of the ritual has been carried down to the present just as it was, and it is the origin of the name Kurayami Matsuri, the Festival of Darkness.

In the Edo period it became a famous festival visited by many spectators, and it was introduced in the Edo Meisho Zue, a guide to famous places around Edo, as a grand old festival, in which the illustration of the festival of the Rokusho Shrine on the fifth day of the fifth month was included. Aimé Humbert, a Swiss diplomat who came to Japan at the end of the Edo period, also left a detailed record and illustrations of Kurayami Matsuri, which serve as precious materials conveying the appearance of the festival at that time.

The timing of the portable-shrine procession has changed with the ages. In the Edo period the procession began around 11 p.m. and returned in the early hours of the following day, a festival of deep night, but in 1959 it was changed to a departure at 4 p.m. and a return beginning at 4 a.m., and further, in 2003, the departure was changed to 6 p.m. While repeating such flexible changes, the essence of the festival, in which the portable shrines proceed through the darkness, is still preserved today. In 2010, Kurayami Matsuri was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tokyo under the name Kurayami Matsuri of Musashi Fuchu.

Highlights

The Horse-Racing Rite of About a Thousand Years (Komakurabe) The horse-racing rite held on the old Koshu Kaido road on the night of May 3 is an old form said to have continued for more than a thousand years. It derives from the history whereby, because there were many pastures around the provincial capital of Musashi that produced fine horses, the governor gathered swift horses in Fuchu, had them run, and inspected them to select those for presentation to the imperial court. Horses ridden by riders in eboshi caps and hitatare garments make three round trips along the old Koshu Kaido, but this is not a contest of speed; it is a ritual that reenacts the inspection.

The Lantern Contest and Splendid Flower Lanterns At the lantern contest on May 4, the flower lanterns made each year by the youth associations of the districts of the city gather before the worship hall, and they compete in their workmanship and in the skill of those who handle them. The sight of lifting the vividly colored flower lanterns high and spinning them is gorgeous, and it is a scene in which the spirit of the young people of the community is fully displayed.

The Float Procession with Fuchu Bayashi Music On the night of May 4, floats from the districts of the city parade mainly along the old Koshu Kaido and the zelkova avenue. Atop the floats, the Fuchu bayashi music of the Meguro and Funabashi schools is played, and the many floats lit by the light of lanterns create a fantastical world. Fuchu bayashi is carefully handed down as a local performing art of Fuchu.

The Resounding of the Largest Drums in Japan What symbolizes Kurayami Matsuri is its great drums, among the largest in Japan. The lead purification drum has a striking diameter reaching as much as two meters, and six great drums are brought into the shrine and struck with all one's strength within the divine gate and before the worship hall. The heavy low tones that resound in the pit of the stomach roar into the sky over Fuchu and lift the exhilaration of the festival all at once.

The Greatest Highlight, the Portable-Shrine Procession Oide At 6 p.m. on May 5, with the signal of fireworks, the six great drums are struck, and the portable-shrine procession called oide, the greatest highlight of the festival, begins. The sight of eight portable shrines, borne by spirited bearers clad in white hakuchoku garments and led by the great drums, proceeding to the resting place is truly the climax of Kurayami Matsuri.

The Early-Morning Return of the Portable Shrines, Okaeri At 4 a.m. on May 6, each portable shrine departs from the resting place and, led by the great drums, parades through the districts before returning to the shrine. Between around 7:30 and 8 a.m., all eight portable shrines gather within the precincts, and the seven-day grand festival is brought to a close in the quiet air of morning.

Event Information and Access

• Location: Okunitama Shrine and its surroundings in Miyamachi, Fuchu City, Tokyo (the old Koshu Kaido and the zelkova avenue)
• Dates: April 30 to May 6 every year (the portable-shrine procession oide is on the evening of May 5)
• Cultural property: Tokyo-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property, Kurayami Matsuri of Musashi Fuchu (designated 2010)
• Attendance: About 700,000 people during the festival period
• Access: About 5 minutes on foot from Fuchu Station on the Keio Line, or about 5 minutes on foot from Fuchuhommachi Station on the JR Nambu and Musashino Lines
• Timing of highlights: Horse-racing rite on the night of May 3; lantern contest and float procession on May 4; drum performance and portable-shrine procession on May 5; return of the portable shrines early on May 6

Around the Area

Okunitama Shrine is a venerable old shrine that, as the general shrine of Musashi Province, enshrines together the deities of the six shrines of Musashi, from Ono Shrine of the first rank to Sugiyama Shrine of the sixth rank. Within its precincts are aged sacred trees and, along the approach, the zelkova avenue of Baba Daimon, and the zelkova avenue, designated a Natural Monument of Japan, is known as a historic landscape said to have been dedicated by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and his son Yoshiie.

Fuchu is the place where the provincial capital of ancient Musashi was located, and nearby are the site of the provincial capital of Musashi and the Furusato Fuchu History Museum, which displays excavated materials, where one can learn the historical background of the Kokufu festival that was the origin of the festival. When visiting the festival, touring such historic sites together allows one to feel more deeply the thousand-year history of Kurayami Matsuri.

Around Okunitama Shrine spreads the city center of Fuchu, with good access from Fuchu Station on the Keio Line and ample restaurants and commercial facilities. Even outside the festival season, rituals of the four seasons such as Shichi-Go-San and the autumn Kuri festival are conducted, and as the general shrine of Musashi Province it continues to gather the faith of the region.

Related Information

• Months: Late April to May (Golden Week)
• Prefecture and region: Tokyo (Kanto region)
• Origin: The Kokufu festival held at the provincial capital of Musashi (a history of more than a thousand years)
• Host shrine: Okunitama Shrine (general shrine of Musashi Province)
• Scale: Six great drums, eight portable shrines, floats from the districts of the city, about 700,000 people
• Cultural property designation: Tokyo-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property, Kurayami Matsuri of Musashi Fuchu (2010)

← Explore More Festivals