[2024 event information] Crimson dances in 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 August 5th, 6th, and 7th .

The festival, which attracts a total of 9,800 dancers from 139 groups over three days, is one of the largest festivals in the Tohoku region. In this article, we will introduce information about the event in 2024.

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival 2024 schedule

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

However, traffic restrictions will be lifted from 17:50 every day until the parade ends (around 22:00) , so please be careful when visiting the venue based on the PDF attached above.

If you're itching, try participating! Two free participation corners

If you're itching to see the Hanagasa dance, you can actually participate. There is a corner where you can experience dancing twice a day, and participation is free and no reservations are required.

[1st] 18:10-18:30 "Opening Hanagasawa Odori Corner"

Held in front of City Hall near the finish line.
Participants will receive a simple Hanagasa (Hanagasa fan). Once you become a Hanagasa fan, you can have fun participating while imitating the body language and gestures of the dance teacher.

• Location: In front of City Hall, near the Hanagasa Odori goal
• Event time: Scheduled for around 18:10~18:30
• Participation fee free/no reservation required

[2nd time] Starts around 20:30 - ``Walk-in corner'' until the end of the parade

At the end of the parade, you can participate in the "pop-in corner" led by Miss Hanagasa.
The landmark ``Walk-in Corner,'' and once you find the placard, you can participate from anywhere on the course.

• Location: At the end of the Hanagasa parade, near the “Jump-in Corner” placard
• Event time: From around 20:30 until the end of the parade
• Participation fee free/no reservation required

contact information

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

The Hanagasa Festival is not just about the parade! Enjoy related events during the event!

Although the main event is to watch the Hanagasa Parade, the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is an all-participatory festival where walk-ins are welcome, and there are many related events.

Yamagata Hanagasa Food Festival in Bunshokan

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a Yamagata food festival, with booths organized by the youth group of the Yamagata Chamber of Commerce and Industry where you can enjoy Yamagata's delicious food.

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

Enjoy the Hanagasa Festival during the day

This is a free event where you can watch, learn, and experience Hanagasa Odori during the day. It's also a good idea to learn the Hanagasa dance during the day at the ``Hanagasa Festival, which is fun during the day'' and participate in the pop-up corner.

• Venue: Yamagata Creative City Center Q1
• Event period: August 5th to 7th
• Event time: Stage 1 13:30~ Hanagasa Dance Troupe / Stage 2 15:00~ Yamagata University Hanagasa Circle Four-sided Song

summary

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

Tohoku Rokken trivia media: NEFT

Related article

[Yamagata Prefecture] The roots of Yamagata Hanagasa are in Obanazawa! Workers born from embankment construction...

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

Yamagata Prefecture's Hanagasa Festival is known as one of the six major festivals in Tohoku. Its trademark is a hat decorated with safflower, the flower of Yamagata Prefecture. The chant of Hanagasa Ondo ``Yasshomakasho'' is a pleasant phrase that you will never forget once you hear it. When you think of folk songs, you will always hear the words of hands and shouts that appear. Many of them are expressed in onomatopoeia, and ``Yasshomakasho'' can be said to be one of them. And it can be said that there is always a hidden meaning and historical background. Of course, the folk songs of Hanagasa Ondo also have truths that should be passed down. Then, the chant of Hanagasa Ondo was born...

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Later, in 1968, the 1,250th anniversary of the founding of Zao Mountain, Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City, Yamagata Shimbun, Yamagata Chamber of Commerce and Industry, etc. played a central role in holding the Zao Summer Festival for the purpose of tourism development and PR of Zao. It is said that this festival was first performed as an event at a summer festival in 1995.

The festival is 61 years old this year, and although it is still a relatively new festival compared to other festivals in Tohoku, it is full of vigor and the vibrant dances of over 10,000 dancers dressed in glamorous costumes. The group dance, in which the waves of the hat decorated with safflower, the flower of Yamagata, undulate and bloom, has now become one of the six major festivals in Tohoku.

We encourage everyone to come and experience the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival, which is a participatory festival, not just a sightseeing event.

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival＜Information＞

• Dates: August 5th, 6th, 7th (3 days, fixed date)
• Time: around 18:00-21:45
• Venue: Yamagata city center straight course (Tokamachi/Honmachi/Nanakamachi Street - Bunshokan-mae)
• Traffic regulation: around 17:50-22:00 (restrictions will be lifted as soon as the parade ends)
• Weather regulations: Rain or shine (however, the contents may change depending on the situation), canceled in bad weather Festival Jinzao Daigongen
• Official URL: Yamagata Hanagasa Festival