Tha Katsuyama Sagicho Festival (a Fukui Prefecture-designated intangible folk cultural asset) is held on the last Saturday and Sunday of February every year.
Yesterday, as part of a training session—since we hadn’t had time for our own training—we took a tour guided by our secretariat, who is a local resident.
≪ Features of the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival ≫
- A history of apporximately 300 years, dating back to the late 17C.
- 12 Sagicho festival towers across different districts in the city, where traditional sagicho music and performances take place.
Sagicho festival towers were set up in each district, where lively “Ukare Daiko”(cheerful drumming perfornances) took place on the towers, accompanied by the energitic rhythms of shamisen, flutes, and bells.
- 14 sacred pine decorations are enshrined throughout the city, which are ceremonially burned on Sunday night in the Dondo-yaki fire ritual.
- Each distric features unique handcrafted decorations.
- Illustrated lanterns are adoned with satirical Japanese poetry reflecting the times and society.
- Each district features unique colorful paper strips and numerous stalls add to the lively and enjoyable atmosphere of the festival.
What sets the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival apart from regular festivals is its larger scale and unique features. Because of this, it is also known as “Oku-Echizen’s Winter Spectacle” and “The Eccentric Festival of Katsuyama.”
Echizen-Katsuyama was once ruled by the Ogasawara clan, who became the feudal lords in the early Edo period. Their family temple is Kaizenji, a Rinzai Zen temple.
We attended a lecture given by a member of a volunteer group, where we learned about the history of the Katsuyama domain and fascinating anecdotes about the Ogasawara family.
The stories were captivating, and we were also treated to delicious sweet red bean soup and tea. Thank you very much!
Afterward, we returned to Echizen Railway Katsuyama Station, our meeting point.
This experience gave us a wonderful opportunity to explore the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival for about two hours and learn about the history of the Echizen-Katsuyama domain.
A big thank you to our secretariat!
