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| Floats and Dolls of the Sawara Matsuri Festivals | ||
| Sawara Matsuri Festivals An Indelible Impression
of Floats, Dolls, and the Sawara Bayashi Music Each community in Japan has its own traditional matsuri (festival). Sawara Matsuri is famous for the floats, which carry big magnificent dolls through the streets, and music called Sawara Bayashi played upon the floats. Sawara Matsuri consists of two festivals. One is the summer festival of Yasaka Jinja(shrine) in the Honjuku area. The other is the autumn festival of Suwa Jinja(shrine) in the Shinjuku area. Summer festivals are said to be performed for appeasing the gods of pestilence that rage in the summer, while autumn festivals are for thanking the gods of the land for good harvest. In both the festivals, floats -ten in the summer and fourteen in autumn- are pulled by the residents of each merchant block. The eye-catching doll at the top of float is thought to have originally been intended to attract the attention of gods. Most of the dolls of the Sawara festivals are gorgeous and represent gods or heroes from Japan's myths and history, such as Jinmu-Tenno, the mythological First Emperor, and Minamotono Yoshitsune (1159-89), a warrior immortalized in legends as Japan's foremost tragic hero. However, there are also two simple straw dolls representing a carp and a hawk respectively, which suggest the initial form of the other dolls. |
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| Floats exhibited Dashi-Kaikan | ||
| Guide to Sawara Matsuri Festivals and Dashi
Kaikan (Float Hall) The summer festival is held during 3 days each July (from the first Friday on and after July 9 through the following Sunday). The autumn festival is held during 3 days each October (from the day before the second Saturday through the following Sunday). On one main day of each festival,the floats are gathered at the starting point, then paraded in long procession around the city quarters, and returned to their blocks through many narrow streets. The floats are pulled through the streets on the other two days as well. Bazaars and performances are also held during the festivities. Over a hundred thousand spectators gather on the streets during each festival and provisional parking lots are prepared for visitors with cars. For more information, call the City of Sawara at 0478-54-1111. | ||
