Toyohama Chōsa Festival

Overview

The Toyohama Chosa Festival (Sanuki Toyohama Chosa Matsuri) is an autumn festival representative of Seisan, the western part of Kagawa Prefecture, held throughout the Toyohama district of Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture. Celebrated over three days ending on the second Sunday of October each year, it is a festival that prays for a rich harvest and a good catch, and is known as the time when the town is at its most heated and lively of the whole year. The stars are the huge drum floats called chosa, and their resplendent forms, decorated with gorgeous embroidery of gold and silver thread, color the autumn of Toyohama.

The greatest highlight of this festival is the valiant sight of huge drum floats, lifted up by the men, dancing wildly. The chosa, reaching about five meters in height and several tons in weight, parade through the town to the sound of drums, and on the final day many chosa gather at Ichinomiya Shrine to hold the kakikurabe, a lifting contest. Wrapped in the shouts and heat of the bearers, the festival has been carefully handed down by the hands of local people as the pride of Toyohama, a port town of the Seto Inland Sea.

History and Origins

The Toyohama Chosa Festival has long been handed down among the people of Toyohama as an autumn festival praying for a rich harvest and a good catch. Facing the Seto Inland Sea, Toyohama has been a land supported since ancient times by both agriculture and fishing, and the festival has been held in the autumn of the harvest with gratitude for its bounty. The character of this festival, giving thanks for the blessings of both the sea and the land, reflects the very life of a region that has practiced farming and fishing under the mild climate of the Seto Inland Sea.

The chosa, the stars of the festival, are a kind of drum float seen widely on the Seto Inland Sea side of Shikoku, including Kagawa Prefecture. In Kanonji City alone, a total of as many as one hundred and eighteen chosa have been handed down, and in October chosa festivals are held one after another in each district of the city. The culture of each town maintaining a drum float, decorating it gorgeously, and competing is a great feature of the festivals of this region, and among them the Toyohama Chosa Festival boasts a scale and splendor representative of Seisan.

The gorgeousness of the chosa lies in embroidery that lavishly uses gold and silver thread. On the hangings of the drum floats, designs such as dragons are rendered in intricate embroidery, and their resplendent forms overwhelm all who see them. The dragon deity is also a god of water, and in this decoration are contained the prayers of people for abundant water and a rich harvest. As the words of a local person, who said tears come unbidden at the sight of a drum float with lit lanterns parading along the ridges between the fields, convey, this festival has been a support for the hearts of the people of Toyohama.

Handed down over many long years, the Toyohama Chosa Festival has now developed into a major event representative of the autumn festivals of Seisan. The gorgeous drum floats and the valiant kakikurabe have come to draw many spectators not only from within Kagawa Prefecture but also from outside it. The tradition of the whole town supporting the festival has been handed down across the generations, and the Toyohama Chosa Festival continues to be heatedly preserved as a festival symbolizing the unity and pride of the region.

Highlights

The Kakikurabe at Ichinomiya Shrine The climax of the festival is the kakikurabe, held on the final day when many chosa gather at Ichinomiya Shrine. The bearers combine their strength to lift the huge drum floats, weighing several tons, high aloft and compete in valor. The sight of chosa filling the precincts, the shouts of the bearers, and the cheers of the spectators becoming one is breathtaking, and the heat of the festival reaches its peak.

The Gorgeous Drum Floats of Gold and Silver Thread The intricate embroidery of gold and silver thread that adorns the chosa is a symbol of the beauty of this festival. On the hangings of the drum floats, designs such as dragons are gorgeously rendered, and their resplendently gleaming forms captivate all who see them, day or night. In the decoration featuring the dragon, a god of water, are contained the prayers of people for a rich harvest and a good catch, and the spirit of each town is concentrated in every single drum float.

The Wild Dance of Huge Drum Floats The sight of a great number of men lifting up and parading a huge chosa, reaching about five meters in height and several tons in weight, is full of power. The way the drum float sways up and down to the sound of the drums, and the bearers dance wildly in unison, is full of strength and dynamism. The skill and unity required to handle such a huge drum float by human power alone is the very essence of the chosa festival.

The Drum Floats Lit by Lanterns at Night When night falls, the chosa are lit by the light of lanterns, showing an expression different from the day and full of fantasy. The sight of drum floats clad in light parading along the field ridges and through the town is rich in feeling, and for local people it is moving enough to bring tears. The chosa at night, with the gold-thread embroidery emerging in the soft light, is a beauty unique to this festival.

Varied Rites and Performing Arts At the Toyohama Chosa Festival, besides the kakikurabe, varied rites and performing arts unfold, such as the oiri at Toyohama Hachiman Shrine, the kakijo at Isuzu Shrine, the Minoura lion dance, and the boat procession. Because events of differing character are held one after another in each district, one can enjoy various expressions of the festival throughout the three days.

The Festival Heat Wrapping the Whole Town For three days in October, the whole town of Toyohama is wrapped in the sound of drums and heat. The sight of the town, with chosa parading here and there and the shouts of the bearers echoing out, is full of a vitality befitting the special stage of the year. This festival, in which people of all ages become one in celebration, is the most special time of the year for the people of Toyohama.

Access and Information

• Location: Toyohama district, Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture
• Venue: Throughout the Toyohama district (Ichinomiya Shrine, Toyohama Hachiman Shrine, and others)
• Dates: Three days ending on the second Sunday of October each year (the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the second week)
• Drum floats: Many huge chosa (about five meters tall, several tons in weight)
• Access: From JR Toyohama Station on the Yosan Line to the venue area
• Organizer and inquiries: Sanuki Toyohama Chosa Festival Executive Committee and Kanonji City

Around the Area

Kanonji City, where the festival is held, is the central city of western Kagawa Prefecture facing the Seto Inland Sea, and it is a region where the drum float culture flourishes, with a total of one hundred and eighteen chosa handed down within the city. Since chosa festivals are also held in districts other than Toyohama in October, visiting at the right time allows one to savor the breadth of the gorgeous drum float culture rooted throughout Seisan.

In Kanonji City there is Kotohiki Park, known for the huge sand picture of an old coin, the Kanei Tsuho, drawn on the beach, and it is cherished as a scenic spot overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. Together with festival viewing, one can enjoy the calm sea and beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea, as well as fresh seafood.

Western Kagawa Prefecture, including Kanonji City, is also a land of pilgrimage where the sacred sites of the eighty-eight temples of Shikoku are scattered, and many temples and shrines spread around the area. Visiting in the season of the Toyohama Chosa Festival, one can fully savor the mild climate of the Seto Inland Sea and the history and culture of Sanuki, together with the valiant festival of drum floats.

Related Information

• Month: October (autumn)
• Prefecture and region: Toyohama district, Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture, Seisan (western Kagawa)
• Main venues: Ichinomiya Shrine (kakikurabe) and Toyohama Hachiman Shrine, among others
• Features: The wild dance and lifting contest of huge drum floats, the chosa, decorated with gold and silver embroidery
• Purpose: Prayer for a rich harvest and a good catch

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