[2024 Event Information] Red flowers dance across the city! "Hanagasa Festival" in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture

The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is held every year in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, for three days on fixed dates on August 5th, 6th, and 7th .

This three-day festival brings together a total of 139 groups and 9,800 dancers, making it a festival of a scale not often seen in the vast Tohoku region. In this article, we will introduce information about the 2024 event

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival 2024 Schedule

As mentioned above, this year's event will be held for three days from August 5th to 7th, as usual, on a straight course through the center of Yamagata City (Tokamachi, Honmachi, Nanukamachi Street to Bunshokan)

However, traffic restrictions will be in place from 17:50 every day until the parade ends (around 22:00) , so please be sure to follow the attached PDF and be extremely careful when visiting.

If you're feeling itchy, join in! Two free participation corners

If you're itching to see the Hanagasa Dance, you can actually join in. There is a section where you can experience the dance twice a day, and it's free to participate and no reservations are required

[1st performance] 18:10-18:30 "Opening Hanagasa Ring Dance Corner"

The event will be held in front of the city hall near the finish line. Participants will receive a simple Hanagasa (Hanagasa fan).
Once you have your Hanagasa fan, you can join in the fun by imitating the gestures of the dance instructor.

• Location: In front of City Hall, near the Hanagasa Dance finish line
• Event time: Scheduled for 18:10-18:30
• Participation is free and no reservations are required

[2nd Session] Starting around 8:30 PM - "Sneak-in Corner" until the end of the parade

At the end of the parade, you can join in the "Tobimiri Corner" led by Miss Hanagasa.
Look for the "Tobimiri Corner"

• Location: At the end of the Hanagasa Parade, near the "Tobiiri Corner" placard
• Event time: from around 8:30 PM until the end of the parade
• Participation is free and no reservations are required

Contact

• Name: Yamagata Prefecture Hanagasa Council
• Address: Yamagata Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 3-1-9 Nanukamachi, Yamagata City, 990-8501
• Phone number: 023-642-8753 (Mushōni Hanagasa)
• Official URL: Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

The Hanagasa Festival isn't just about the parade! Enjoy the related events during the festival!

Although the main focus of the festival is watching the Hanagasa Parade, the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is an all-inclusive festival where walk-ins are welcome and there are plenty of related events

Yamagata Hanagasa Food Festival in Bunshokan

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a festival of Yamagata food, with a wide range of booths run by the Yamagata Chamber of Commerce and Industry Youth Division where you can taste delicious Yamagata cuisine

• Venue: Bunshokan Parliament Building Square (parade finish point)
• Event period: August 5th-7th
• Event hours: 17:00-21:30 (until 21:00 on the 7th)

Enjoy the Hanagasa Festival in the daytime too

This is a free event where you can watch, learn, and experience the Hanagasa Dance during the daytime during the event period. It would be great to learn the Hanagasa Dance at the "Hanagasa Festival: Fun Daytime" during the day and then join in the free-entry corner

• Venue: Yamagata Creative City Center Q1
• Event period: August 5th-7th
• Event times: Stage 1 13:30~ Hanagasa Dance Troupe / Stage 2 15:00~ Yamagata University Hanagasa Circle Surrounded by Enemies

summary

The original Yamagata Hanagasa is said to have its roots in the construction of the Tokura Lake embankment in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Yamagata Prefecture] The roots of the Yamagata Hanagasa lie in Obanazawa! "Yasho Makasho" is a call born from the workers during embankment construction

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/6690

Yamagata Prefecture's Hanagasa Festival is known as one of the six major festivals in the Tohoku region. Its trademark is the hat decorated with safflower, the prefectural flower of Yamagata. The Hanagasa Ondo chant, "Yasho Makasho," is a catchy phrase that's hard to forget once you've heard it. Folk songs always feature interjections and chants. Many of these are expressed using onomatopoeia, and "Yasho Makasho" is one such example. It can also be said that there is always hidden meaning and historical background behind them. Of course, there is truth in the Hanagasa Ondo folk song that should be passed down. So, what is the origin of the Hanagasa Ondo chant?...

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Later, in 1963, the 1,250th anniversary of the founding of Mt. Zao, Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City, the Yamagata Shimbun Press, the Yamagata Chamber of Commerce and Industry and others organized the Zao Summer Festival to promote and develop tourism in Zao. It is said that this was the beginning of the festival, when the dance was unveiled as one of the events of the summer festival

This year marks the 61st year of the festival, and it is still a relatively new one compared to other festivals in Tohoku, but its energy and dynamic dancing of over 10,000 dancers in gorgeous costumes, as well as the undulating and blooming dance of the group dancers wearing hats decorated with safflower, the flower of Yamagata, have made it one of the six major festivals in Tohoku

The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is not just a spectator event, it's a participatory festival, so please come and experience it for yourself

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival <Information>

• Dates: August 5th, 6th, and 7th (3 days, fixed dates)
• Time: 18:00-21:45
• Venue: Yamagata City downtown straight course (Tokamachi, Honmachi, Nanukamachi Street to Bunshokan)
• Traffic restrictions: 17:50 to 22:00 (restrictions will be lifted once the parade ends)
• Weather restrictions: Rain or shine (subject to change depending on the weather), cancellation in bad weather
• Official URL: Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

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