Local Japanese Fall Festivals: Part 3 - Water

The theme of this third and final installment of my blog postings about my favourite local fall festivals is water. This time I'd like to tell you about the annual competitive Dragon Boat Racing Festival that I have taken part in all three years that I have been in Japan.

A typical shot during a race

Dragon boat racing is competitive boat racing in rowboats that are fashioned to be shaped like dragons. The tradition dates back to China over 2,000 years ago, but the 'Modern Era' of dragon boat racing is recognized to have been started by the Hong Kong Tourist Association, which held the first International Dragon Boat Festival there in 1976. The style of dragon is the traditional Chinese dragon which has the head of an ox, the antlers of a deer, the mane of a horse, the body and scales of a snake, the claws of an eagle (represented by the oars of the boat), and the tail of a fish.

"With its strength and power the Dragon rides the clouds in the sky and commands the wind, mist, and rain". [1]

Everyone gathering to watch the races!

This festival isn't quite as local as the previous ones I mentioned - it's actually in Kagoshima prefecture, which is southeast of Miyazaki, and where the race happens, Minami-Osumi Town in Nejime, is approximately a 3 hr drive by car. The races begin early on a Sunday in late October, and so every year our local volunteer group of Miyazaki JETs organizes for us to stay overnight and have a BBQ the previous night at cabins nearby, making the early wake-up less painful.

The opening ceremony and Shinto Priest's blessing

To participate in this festival, you have to register a team of 10 people per boat a few months in advance. Of these 10 boaters, 1 person is the helmsman who sits at the front (bow) and keeps everyone in time by beating a taiko drum, another person is the coxswain who sits at the back (stern) and steers the boat with a basic rudder that moves the boat in the opposite direction to which side you steer, and the remaining 8 persons sit side-by-side in pairs and use a short oar to row on their side of the boat.

The local firemen team!

This past year marked the 30th anniversary of the Nejime Dragon Boat Festival. About 100 teams participate in the festival every year, many of them being competitive rowing teams or police or fireman squads from the surrounding areas. In other words, the other teams are fit, well-trained, and likely in it to win it. Our few boats of haphazard JET participants have no experience and no chance, but we are in it just for the fun of it. And because we don't stand out enough already as foreigners in rural Japan, we give each of our boats a fun theme and dress up in costumes accordingly.

Crazy foreigners dressed up for the 2014 races

And what a sight we are! Some of our boat themes from over the last few years have been "(O)Hayou Miyazaki", in which we all dressed up as our favourite Gibley characters, "Ahoy Miyazaki", our pirate themed boat, and "Aloha Miyazaki", our Hawaiian themed boat. This past year we had enough participants for 2 boats again and they were a video game themed boat, "1-Up", and a jungle / animal themed boat, "Hakuna Matata".

The 2014 Hakuna Matata team ready to race!

After early morning registration of all teams, the festival is officially begun with a small opening ceremony including a Shinto priest's blessing. The morning preliminary races let every team compete once in the 380 metre race starting under one bridge and finishing by crossing under another straight ahead. Something like the top 3 teams (of about 10) from each morning race (again about 10) move onto the afternoon races, with the final race being held in the later afternoon.

The 2014 "Hakuna Matata" boat

My friend and I were leopards on
the 2014 Hakuna Matata boat

Only once in the past 3 years that I have participated in the festival have I known a JET boat to move onto the afternoon races! First of all, just steering and maneuvering the boat into position before your race begins is more difficult than it looks, especially because this is the first time for many of us in such a boat. Not only that, but everyone seems to have their own ideas about which side should paddle when and to what timing. It usually ends up being a hilarious episode of constant over-correcting and then backing up and trying again and again. After everyone has waited patiently for the gaijin (foreigner) boat to get itself in position, we are ready to race!

Ganbatte 1-Up!

The 2014 "1-Up" team

At the signal we are off! We try our best to dig deep and far ahead in the water in front of us with our oars and pull ourselves forward in time with our boat's taiko drum beats. We are never quite as graceful as the other boats and we find ourselves somewhere at the end of the pack, but somewhere along the way we do tend to find some sort of rhythm and are proud of ourselves that we are at least heading towards the finish line.

One of our boats needed a tow
to help it back after the race!

While 380 metres is by no means a long way, many of us are rowing for the first time and by repeating that same movement on just one side, our bodies do get tired. But our encouraging cheers and seeing the finish line ahead always gives us a final push. And even though we never win, it's so rewarding to be a part of a team for even this short while, especially doing something so different as dragon boat racing.

Making friends!

When not racing or enjoying watching the other races from the river bank, there is a festival area behind with various food stalls and a small stage with music or dance performances by local school groups and such. The overall atmosphere of the whole festival is relaxed and enjoyable. Finally, for participating in the races we are given a free pass to enjoy the local onsen (bathhouse) and get refreshed. Enjoying some delicious festival foods and then soaking in onsen hot pools is the perfect reward after the race!


[1] Quote and historical information from the International Dragon Boat Federation website, http://www.idbf.org/about_history.php