Nagahama Hikiyama Festival

If you are in the Hikone area and like kabuki, you should check out the Nagahama Hikiyama festival, which takes place from April 9th through April 17th. Held in Shiga prefecture, the Nagahama Hikiyama Festival is over 400 years old and has many unique aspects, such as children’s kabuki. Its deep history and unique qualities have made it a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and a must-see event.

According to Kitabiwako, the festival started as a way to celebrate the birth of Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s son during the Edo period (1603-1868). Toyotomi, the lord of Nagahama Castle, was so delighted at the birth of his son that he donated money to the citizens. The citizens used that money to build floats and parade them around the Hachimangu shrine. Presently, the Nagahama Hikiyama festival is famous for its children’s kabuki and the hikiyama floats, which are used as portable stages for the kabuki to be performed.

The hikiyama floats are pulled through the city until they reach the Nagahama Hachimangu shrine. It is said that the purpose of the floats and the performances is to ‘entice the gods to come to earth’. “A distinctive feature of the Nagahama Hikiyama festival is that kabuki performances, dedicated to the gods, are performed by children on the Hikiyama floats” (Nagahama Hikiyama Museum, 2018, 2:25). The hikiyama floats have three parts: butai, gakuya, and chin. The butai is the stage that is the size of about four and a half tatami mats. The gakuya is where the tayu, the storyteller, and the shamisen players perform. The shin is where the shagiri, the kabuki orchestra, is performed.

The children who perform the kabuki are elementary students, ages 5-12, who belong to the associations that own one of the four participating floats. The performers are chosen by the boys who belong to the associations through a lottery. The order of the performances is also determined through a lottery. After the children are selected, they practice from late March until the festival begins. With a choreographer, they start with the reading practice. After they have mastered the reading, they practice standing. Though it may sound like a simple task, they must stand in specific ways, at specific times all while performing on a moving hikiyama. After they have perfected their standing, they practice with the tayu and shamisen players. Each of the official performances lasts for about 40 minutes. There are performances on the night of the 13th, the morning of the 14th, and the day of the 16th, where each hikiyama will have a different kabuki performance.

In case you are unfamiliar with kabuki, also known as kyogen, let’s take a look at its history. Kabuki, also a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, “is a Japanese traditional theatre form, which originated in the Edo period at the beginning of the seventeenth century and was particularly popular among townspeople” (UNESCO). It tells stories about historical events through specific music, makeup (kudamori), costumes, acting styles (mie), language (monotone voice), and more. An important thing to note is that every character, even female characters, is portrayed by a man. However, the version of kabuki we see today slightly differs from the original Edo kabuki. The original kabuki was known as kabuki-odori and comprised songs, dances, and skits.

The original kabuki-odori was created by a woman. Her name was Izumo no Okuni and she formed the first troupe that was women-only. The members were comprised of “the lowest classes of Japanese society, including prostitutes, beggars, and other social outcasts” (Tokyo Weekender). Both men and women performed kabuki until women were banned from performing in 1629. According to Tokyo Weekender, “The reason given was something about how kabuki was corrupting public morals”. Even though the ban was lifted in the 19th century, kabuki has continued to be a male-dominated art form.

While the children’s kabuki is the main attraction, it isn’t the only important aspect of this festival. The goheimukae, tachiwatari, and the goheigaeshi are a few must-see events. The goheimukae happens on the 13th. The four hikiyama groups go to the shrine and receive gohei, wooden staff decorated with two zigzag papers, said to have been blessed, and that a god temporarily resides within. That gohei is then placed on the hikiyama so that the floats will be blessed for the festival. The tachiwatari, long sword parade, takes place on the 14th and begins at 9:20 a.m. During this parade, child warriors carrying long swords,tachi, walk to Hachimangu shrine as wrestlers lead them. Goheigaeshi takes place on the 17th, the last day of the festival. After the children’s performances are completed, the gohei they received on the 13th is returned to the Nagahama Hachimangu shrine at 8 a.m. With lots to see every single day of the festival, it’s worth seeing even if you’re only able to make one day.