OYABE FOR FESTIVAL LOVERS
Oyabe is home to a number of festivals held all throughout the year, with the year’s highlights coming in spring, summer, and autumn. Whether you’re interested in lively pageantry, demonstrations of artisanal mastery, or the excitement of giant things crashing into each other, there’s something for everyone to look forward to. If Oyabe is on your travel itinerary, don’t forget to check the calendar and see if any festivals are coming up soon.
Various Roots, yet Sharing a Home Together
Festivals in Japan are often centered around shrines or temples, and Oyabe is no exception… with one major exception. The Isurugi Hikiyama Festival, a springtime celebration of the region’s craft techniques, is based at Isurugi Atago Shrine, while the various shishimai lion dances held throughout town in spring and autumn include performances at Kannonji Temple and Fukumachi Shinmeigu Shrine, done as religious offerings. In summer, though, the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival lights up the night with excitement, but this is an event that belongs entirely to the people, with no ties to a particular shrine or temple.
Festive Delights, Both Day and Night
The festivals held in Oyabe offer plenty to enjoy through various times of day. In some cases, the day is packed with excitement all around town, like the Oyabe shishimai lion dances during their busiest weekend, or when the elaborate floats from the Isurugi Hikiyama Festival are all gathered together in one place for traditional festival music and mikoshi portable shrines being carried around. As day gives way to evening, so too can these events change: the Isurugi Hikiyama Festival floats, for example, light up their lanterns and start to make their way around town. Or, in the case of the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival, things are only just getting started around dusk, as lantern floats called andon, both small and large are pulled through the streets. Some of the most exciting festival moments in Oyabe take place after dark, too, with the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival reaching its exciting climax as large lantern floats smash head-on into one another. And in August, after dark is the only time you can enjoy the impressive Oyabe River Fireworks Festival, lighting up the sky with a thousand dazzling fireworks.
Keeping Traditions Alive by Letting Them Evolve
Part of the secret behind Oyabe’s festivals’ longevity is their adaptability and flexibility. In recent decades, particularly since Japan’s postwar urbanization, more and more people have been moving to big cities, which has had significant effects on rural towns like Oyabe. One of the biggest changes this has led to is that today, girls and women are now welcome to take part in local festivals, bringing about a stronger sense of local pride among even more of the town’s population — especially because of the number of children involved in Oyabe’s various shishimai lion dances.
Another fun sign of the changing times comes in the lantern float designs each year at the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival. This is a festival held by and for the people of the town, representing a shared prayer for a good harvest, but without being associated with any particular temple or shrine, the way that most Japanese festivals are. As a result, the tsuri-mon lanterns made by the townspeople each year, using bamboo frames covered in painted paper, include traditional designs evocative of things like folklore. However, these lanterns can also feature more contemporary designs based on pop culture characters, for a fun and unique blend of old and new.
