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The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival began on August 5th, so we arrived early and saw the photo panel exhibition commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hanagasa Festival, which added to the excitement
This time, we will introduce the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival with lots of photos, including photos from the retrospective panel
We will also introduce five summer festivals in Yamagata Prefecture that you can still attend in time
Please read to the end with a festive mood
Let's take a look at the history of the Hanagasa Festival!
Festival in Yamagata Prefecture is have begun in 1921. It is said to have begun as an umbrella dance dedicated to the summer festival of Obanazawa Honmachi Suwa Shrine in the year that Lake Tokura in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, was completed.
Lake Tokura was built as a reservoir for rice paddy reclamation. It is said that the Hanagasa Ondo was originally
In 2010, it was selected as one of the 100 best reservoirs in Japan
the 60th anniversary of the Hanagasa . To commemorate the 60th anniversary, a retrospective panel exhibition was held, so I took some photos and will introduce them here with explanations.
Did that famous group also dance the Hanagasa?
The dancers are as beautiful as you can see from the photos, and in fact they are from the Takarazuka Revue and Shochiku Revue
Hanagasa Dance must have been so popular that it was performed by professionals .
Representing the Hanagasa Festival, the Hanagasa Dance Troupe and the Yamagata University Hanagasa Club performed at the New National Stadium Opening Event
That's a huge crowd! The spectator seats created for the Hanagasa Festival are also impressive
Hanagasa Dance has many different patterns
The local junior and senior high school students leading the procession were also quite heroic
The dancers are full of youthful energy, and the movement of the umbrellas is full of dynamism
Yamagata University's Hanagasa Club, "Shimen Soka ." They have come from various regions to study at Yamagata University, and we hope that by participating in Yamagata's traditional events, they will have fond memories of their second home!
Seeing their big smiles and gait makes me happy too
It is a graceful and feminine dance style reminiscent of Japanese dance
It was well-equipped and very beautiful
the 20th Regular Regiment of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force , who showed off their heroic umbrella spinning skills .
They also demonstrated the skill of throwing the pole of the leading umbrella decoration into the air and catching it
how sharpand cool they were, and then I noticed that the front row was a female member! I was once again captivated by how cool they were.
People from various countries who were there for international exchange also participated and enjoyed the Japanese festival, Yamagata Hanagasa Festival
Everyone seemed to love their colorful kimonos and danced with joy. They seemed to be enjoying the festival, waving their hands to the spectators along the road
Celebrities who are regular participants in the Hanagasa Festival
The woman riding this float and waving with a smile is actress Manami Hashimoto. It seems that Manami Hashimoto came to Yamagata with her child
Eri Watanabe, who participated in the Hanagasa Festival for two consecutive days, snapped a smiling photo with Tetsu and Tomo, who also participated on the second day!
Eri Watanabe, who said she would dance more on the second day, danced and jumped around despite being unsteady on the float
Introducing 5 summer festivals in Yamagata that you can still attend!
Higashine Festival
The Higashine Festival is a great time to see a variety of dance competitions, including hip hop, Yosakoi, and hula, but the highlight is the spectacular "Mikoshi and Mikoshi" performance, where four portable shrines collide, which gets visitors excited
The Murayama Tokunai Festival will be held for the first time in three years. The festival is usually held over three days, but this year it will be shortened to two days and the Tokunai Bayashi Parade will be held in a straight line
Although the scale has been scaled down, why not come out and embrace the joy of being able to hold a festival?
This is a summer festival held in the birthplace of Hanagasa Ondo (Hanagasa Festival). It's a great opportunity to see this traditional dance that has been passed down for generations!
On the final day, many dancers will parade around the town, dynamically spinning flower hats
Let's soothe your sorrows and blow away your bad moods with a summer festival!
For the past three years, we have been forced to endure many restrictions. This year, the long-awaited Hanagasa Festival was held without incident and everyone was able to enjoy it, but there was localized heavy rain until the day before the festival, causing extensive damage in some areas. However, the weather improved from the evening of the previous day, and we were blessed with good weather until the very end
We are being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters these days, but I hope that even those who were unable to participate in the festivals this time can at least find comfort in the photos . Although there is no guarantee that they will be held in the future, I have introduced some summer festivals that you can still attend
I'm originally from Tokyo, but I've lived in Yamagata Prefecture for 30 years. Nowadays, I am able to speak the dialect and become a local. He goes to the nearby prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima about two to three days a month to gather information. I belong to the middle-aged group who loves cats, local sake, and side dishes. (The icon is a beloved cat)
![Mogami safflower](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAJYAAACWAQAAAAAUekxPAAAAAnRSTlMAAHaTzTgAAAAaSURBVEjH7cExAQAAAMKg9U9tDQ+gAACAdwMLuAABXZHjmQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== ""Mogami safflower" certified as a Japanese heritage and Japanese agricultural heritage [Yamagata Prefecture]")
![Mogami safflower](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/30121446_m-1-150x150.jpg.webp ""Mogami safflower" certified as a Japanese heritage and Japanese agricultural heritage [Yamagata Prefecture]")
