Let's Enjoy the Festivals in Morioka!
In J a pa n va r ious t r a dit iona l f e s t iva ls a r e he ld t hr oughout t he ye a r on a na t ionwides c a le . Like ma ny ot he r c it ie s , Mor ioka boa s t s a lot of f e s t iva ls t ha t e ve r ybody islooking f or wa r d t o. Le t 's t a ke a look a t s ome of t he ma in f e s t iva ls in our r e gion f r omnow.
You a r e invit e d t o pa r t ic ipa t e in t he e nj oya ble f e s t iva ls he r e in Mor ioka .
☆☆☆ Chagu-Chagu Umakko Horse Festival (June) ☆☆☆
About 100 local horses, decked out in colorful attire, parade fromSozen Shrine in Takizawa Village to Hachiman Shrine in Morioka
City. The 15km horse parade festival is held annually on the second
Saturday in June.
Long ago horses were very important farm animals. Especially inNambu region (part of present Iwate and Aomori prefectures),farmers loved horses just like their family members and kept themunder the same roof of their houses. It is said that their caring
attitude to horses would naturally have led them to the faith in a guardian god for horses. "Komagata
Shrine" and "Sozen Shrine" have been the center places of the worshipers. Back then people used to visit
the shrine with their horses on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (Tango no Sekku, or Boy's Day).
Then gradually the farmers came to dress their horses in colorful outfits when taking them to the shrine.
In this way people also thanked their horses for their daily work. This is said to be an original form of
Chagu-Chagu Umakko Festival.
With jingling brass bells, nearly 100 horses in gorgeous costumes take part in the parade each year. Thisfestival has become one of the seasonal charms of early summer in the region of Morioka .
Since the parade of this year was over, please be sure to watch the Chagu-Chagu Umakko parade next
year- on the second Saturday in June !

★★★

Morioka Sansa Dance Festival (August ) ★★★

From August 1st through 4th, Midsummer- Festival Morioka Sansa
Parade is held in downtown Morioka. Local people in Yukatas(cotton summer kimonos) parade while dancing or playing theTaiko-drums and the flutes.
In 2007 a large Sansa Taiko-drum performance was given, which
was registered in the Guinness World Record as "The largest
Japanese Drum Ensemble." Sansa Festival is the largest one inMorioka and it attracts a lot of tourists from inside and outside
Iwate prefecture. When People in Morioka hear the flute andTaiko-drum music being practiced all over the city in July, they get excited and know that summer hasarrived.
Sansa dance is said to originate from "The legend of Mitsuishi (three sacred rocks)" of Mitsuishi Shrine
in Nasukawa-cho, Morioka. The legend says that a long time ago, a troublesome Oni (ogre or demon)
afflicted the local people badly and they prayed to their god "Mitsuishi-sama" for wiping it out. Whentheir prayer was answered, the delighted people started to dance around the sacred rocks to give thanks
while singing "Sansa, Sansa." There are some other legends behind the origin of Sansa dance.
The chant of Sansa dance is "Sakkora Choiwa Yasse." The kanji for "Sakkora 幸呼来" has a meaning of

"to bring happiness." And besides Yukatas (cotton summerkimonos) the Sansa dancers wear the belts,
the bamboo hats decorated with artificial flowers, theTaiko-drums and so on, which evoke the legend of wiping out
the demon. Originally the dance had religious significance as amemorial service for thedeparted soul. But now its religious meaning has faded and it has
turned into an entertaining festival that everybody can enjoy.
After the parades the grand finale of the Sansa Dance Festival called "Wa-odori (circular dance)" is held.
There are oval or circular lines where people line up and dance.You are invited to join in this Wa-odoridancing.
Let's dance together and experience Japanese festivity deeper.
Around the same time of this festival, there will be a "Yukata City Morioka" campaign to promote
wearing Yukata (cotton summer kimono). If you wear Yukata and visit downtown Morioka during thecampaign period, you will get the benefit such as receiving a free drink, a free sweets or a discountticket at various shops and cinema houses. Let's enjoy this benefit while experiencing the way ofJapanese living.

☆☆☆

Funekko Nagashi - Sending back the spirits of the ancestors (August)☆☆☆

Obon is an annual Buddhist event to honor one's ancestors. It isbelieved that the spirits of the ancestors return to this world on
the first day of Obon and leave again on the final day. On August
16th (the last day of Obon), Funekko Nagashi is held in Morioka asa type of farewell bonfire which is said to guide the spirits back tothe other world. At the river bed of the Kitakami river near
Meiji-bashi Bridge, the ceremonies including the prayers for good
health of the local people take place. Soon after that the tiny boats
decorated with the paper lanterns and the offerings are dragged
down into the river to be set afire. The sight of the burning ritual boats will surely be the highlight of theevent. For a finale the splendid bursts of fireworks can be seen in the evening. Toward the end of theevent some might become a bit sentimental in the cool breeze because the fireworks show is also asummer end festival in northern city Morioka.

★★★

Morioka Hachimangu Shinto Shrine Autumn Festival (September)★★★

Morioka Autumn Festival, also known as the Hachiman Shrine
Festivalis held from September 14th through 16th. Eight gorgeous floats
with motifs that depict famous scenes from Kabuki plays or
historical incidents are pulled through the streets in the city.
This festival is said to have started in 1709, when all the young
men from each section of the town celebrated the completionof the construction of the castle town Morioka, Nambu. They
dedicated their elaborated Cho-Jirushis (symbol of each sectionof the town, similar to floats) to the shrine and paraded along the main streets of the town for three days.
There will be the Hachiman-kudari parade on September 14th, the Dashi-Daiemaki parade on September
15th and the festival floats parade on September 16th. A leaflet about the festival floats which ispublished by "The Steering Committee of the Float", is available at Morioka Tourism and Convention
Association. The leaflet will give you some details of the information on the festival float and the groupto which each float belongs.
If you would like to get more information, please visit
URL http://hellomorioka.jp/mtca/
E-mail cnv@odette.or.jp

The various festivals here will be excellent opportunities for you to experience some of the finecultural heritages in Japan.
Let's join in on the Japanese festivals and have fun!