Local Japanese Fall Festivals: Part 2 - Fire

The festival with it all!
Fire, graceful dancing, swords, and more!

The next fall festival I'd like to tell you about is an absolute favourite of many ALTs in Miyazaki. It really has it all - a performance retelling a traditional folktale of love, war, and betrayal - with costumes, dancing, swords, and fire! On top of this, audience members can join in the dancing fun at the end, and this is even followed by a taiko drum performance and fireworks! The Saitobaru Kofun Matsuri is hands-down one of the best festivals I have seen in Japan.

The setting is even amazing - the park where it is held, the Saitobaru Kouen, was actually named a National Historic Site in 1952. This is because it is the biggest ancient tomb site in Japan, with over 300 burial mounds (kofun) that date from between the 4th and 7th centuries. One of these tombs are even said to house the remains of the Princess Konohanasakuya-hime, the Japanese goddess of flowers and cherry blossoms, and whom the folklore tale is about.

The delicate princess's retainers dance first.
Before the "house" is burned.

During the main part of the Kofun Matsuri, the legend about Princess Konohanasakuya-hime is retold in three acts of dance and performance. Audience members sit around a circular performance area that has at its centre a small wooden structure representing a house, built every year expressly for the purpose of being burned down during the festival performance. Bamboo lamps, also to be lit by fire during the show, separate the audience from the performance area. As you can guess, it becomes very toasty, especially for those performing the dances.

A sword-yielding soldier
in the second act.

Act one retells how Princess Konohanasakuya-hime met and fell in love with a King, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, who was descended from the gods. This act has a group of flutists playing as beautifully and traditionally dressed women, representing the Princess's retainers, delicately dance out in graceful movements with silk ribbons and little wooden clacker instruments on their fingers.

Some of the second act soldiers' displays of strength.

The second act depicts King Ninigi being sent off to war and then learning of the Princess's supposed infidelity during this time, because she is pregnant when he returns. During this act, traditionally dressed soldiers do choreographed movements with swords and flaming staves. At this time the lanterns surrounding the performance area are lit.

The third act features the stronger
warriors with huge fire-lit staves.

The third and final act culminates with the lighting of the wooden "house" by bigger, stronger warriors doing choreographed moves first with swords, and then with even larger, lit wooden staves. This act represents the princess's trial by fire, whereby the house is lit while she is giving birth, to prove her love and loyalty to Ninigi and the purity of her offspring. Various versions of the legend claim a few different things - that Konohanasakuya-hime initiated the trial, that Ninigi did, and whether she bore two or three sons at that time. However, all of them agree that she and her sons, the new princes, survived, proving her faithfulness to Ninigi.

All the while holding those heavy, dangerous staves,
the men are doing squats and other such choreographed
movements. sometimes even jumping over each others'.
Amazing!

After the main show is over, the audience members are invited to learn some simple moves from the performers and join them dancing around the bonfire. This is then followed by a taiko drum performance by the soldiers and finally fireworks are set off overhead. It is a wonderful, truly memorable event that I am so glad to have had the privilege of seeing.

My friend, another JET, who has performed 
in the festival for the past 3 years.

Another thing that has made it all the more special is that the local Saito JET, a friend of mine, has been a part of the performance every year that we have been in Japan. It's been incredible to see her in this beautiful festival, and knowing from her about the hours and hours of practice that goes into such a performance has made me appreciate it that much more. Japanese festivals are always executed perfectly, and I've learned it's because they leave no room for error through absolute dedication. For this festival they begin practicing 2 months in advance, with 2 sessions a week of about 2.5hrs each, and of course closer to the date they have extra preparations on weekends.

The performance is complicated and exhausting, but no one misses a beat. On top of all of this they don't even charge anything to watch the show - not even for parking though there are volunteers helping direct you to spots and looking after your car. One of the greatest things about Japan is that they are so willing and happy to continue and share their traditions, legends, and folklore. These are all such beautiful and unique parts of their culture, and I highly recommend that if you visit Japan you try to see some of their traditional, authentic festivals.