Festival

[Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture] Aizu's largest festival! Information on Aizu Festival 2023

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Aizuwakamatsu City is a city where history, culture, and traditions still live on, including its symbol, Tsuruga Castle, and the scenery of a castle town is still preserved to this day.
Aizu Festival is Aizu's largest festival, held over three days in Aizuwakamatsu City, where you can feel this history. It has also been decided that Haruka Ayase will be participating as a special guest!
Aizu Festival is currently in preparation to be held as usual, just as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is information about the 2023 event.

Aizu Festival 2023 Schedule

Preparations are underway for the Aizu Festival in 2023, which will be held as usual before the coronavirus pandemic

  • September 22nd (Friday) Lantern Procession and Aizu Bandai Dance
  • September 23rd (Saturday, National Holiday): Ancestors Thanksgiving Festival, Aizu Domain Lord Procession, Aizu Bandaisan Dance
  • September 24th (Sunday) Nisshinkan Children's Procession and Drum and Fife Corps Parade

Actor Haruka Ayase will be joining the Aizu Domain Lord Procession on September 23rd as a special guest

The History of Aizu Festival

The annual Aizu FestivalThe Aizu Festival dates back to 1928, when a lantern procession was held to celebrate the marriage of Prince Chichibu Akihito and Matsudaira Setsuko, the granddaughter of Matsudaira KatamoriIt is said that..

Since then, the festival has been held to express gratitude to the Aizu ancestors, as well as to commemorate and pray for the souls of the Aizu samurai who died in the Boshin War and those caught up in the flames of war. September 22nd on the lunar calendar (around November in the modern calendar) is also the day that Aizu surrendered to the new government forces during the Boshin War

Aizu Bandaisan Dance

Aizu Bandaisan "Enya Aizu Bandaisan is a treasure mountain!"

Have you ever heard of it? It is very famous in FukushimaOhara ShosukeIt is a folk song that features the character "san" and is considered one of Japan's three great folk dances
On Shinmei Street next to the castle, people gather in groups and individuals to dance in a traditional circle around a watchtower, dancing to the lyrics of the folk song "Aizu Bandaisan."
Walk-ins and costumes are welcome! There will be prizes for the best individual and group, as well as the best costume

  • Event period: Friday, September 22nd and Saturday, September 23rd, 2023 (national holiday)
  • Event times: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on both days
  • Venue name: Shinmei Street

Ancestors Thanksgiving Festival

The ceremony will be held to express gratitude to the Aizu ancestors and to commemorate and pray for the souls of the Aizu samurai who died in the Boshin War and those caught up in the flames of war

  • Event period: Saturday, September 23, 2023 (national holiday)
  • Time: 8:30-9:10 (planned)
  • Venue name: Tsuruga Castle Honmaru Special Stage

The biggest event! The Aizu Domain Lord's Procession

The Aizu Festival's biggest event is the "Aizu Clan Lord Procession," in which over 500 people dressed as warriors parade through the town. The highlight is the procession that resembles a historical picture scroll, with the successive feudal lords of Aizu appearing in the present day

The departure ceremony, held in the main enclosure of Tsuruga Castle, features a variety of events, including a procession of the feudal lord before departure, firing by cannons and musketeers, and a sword fight inspired by the Boshin War

The procession then departs into the city. In addition to the successive feudal lords of Aizu, the Shinsengumi, the Byakkotai, and Yamamoto Yae, who fought during the Aizu War, also appear.
What catches the eye in the Aizu feudal lord's procession are the Yakkotai, or slave troops, with their distinctive red faces. This Yakkotai is a real formation that existed during the Edo period, and is said to have been a slave unit that performed miscellaneous tasks for samurai, such as carrying luggage during their alternate attendance.

Slave troops with distinctive red faces

Haruka Ayase will be participating as a special guest!

In the procession of the Aizu domain lord,Special guest Haruka Ayase will be joining the eventMayor Teruhira Muroi announced that this will be the case!

Haruka Ayase will be participating for the eighth time, following her second consecutive year in 2022. She commented, "I will do my best to cheer everyone up, even if just a little."

She has participated in the festival seven times since playing the main character Yae, a native of Aizu, in the 2013 NHK historical drama "Yae no Sakura." In her speech last year, she said in Aizu dialect, "It's been three years since my last Aizu Festival. Thank you for inviting me again in this commemorative year, the 70th Aizu Festival. Let's enjoy it until the very end and go home," delighting the audience

The Aizu Domain Lord's procession will depart from the main keep of Tsuruga Castle at 10:30 a.m. on the 23rd. It will pass through Kitademaru Boulevard, Shinmei Street, and Bakuromachi Street, and arrive at Wakamatsu First Junior High School around noon. In the afternoon, the procession will proceed along Chuo Street, Keirinjimachi Street, and Honmachi Street before returning to the castle, covering a distance of approximately 7.5 kilometers. Approximately 600 people are expected to participate, 100 more than last year

  • Event period: Saturday, September 23, 2023 (national holiday)
  • Event times: Departure ceremony 9:30, departure 10:30 *Both are tentative
  • Venue name: Tsuruga Castle Honmaru Special Stage

Nisshinkan doji procession

In the spirit of the Ten Commandments, "What should not be done should not be done," sixth graders from the elementary school in charge will march dressed as warriors, in honour of the children who studied at the Aizu domain school, Nisshinkan

  • Event period: Sunday, September 24, 2023
  • Event times: Departure ceremony 9:30 (First Junior High School grounds), departure 10:00 (Chuo Street), return ceremony 11:00 (Tsuruga Castle Honmaru) *All times are tentative

Drum and fife corps parade

This is a drum and fife parade made up of all the students from the city's elementary schools. The participating children's energetic performance echoes loudly into the autumn sky

  • Event period: Sunday, September 24, 2023
  • Event times: Departure ceremony 9:30 (First Junior High School grounds), departure 10:10 (Chuo Street) *Scheduled

Aizu Festival 2023 Summary

The Aizu Festival is a celebration to express gratitude to the ancestors who fought for Aizu and to pass on the history of Aizu to future generations
Last year, the Aizu Domain Lord Procession was scaled down, but this year it is scheduled to be held on its usual route!
Please come to the Aizu Festival to experience the past and present of Aizu

Aizu Festival <Information>

  • Name: Aizu Festival
  • Location: Tsuruga Castle Honmaru special stage, etc
  • Address: [Tsuruga Castle] 1-1 Oitemachi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, 965-0873
  • Access: [Tsuruga Castle] Ban'etsu Expressway: Approximately 15 minutes from Aizuwakamatsu IC,
    get off at Haikara-san Akabee "Tsuruga Castle Entrance" bus stop, then a 7-minute walk
  • Parking: (Paid) Tsuruga Castle Nishidemaru Parking Lot, Tsuruga Castle South Exit Parking Lot, Tsuruga Castle East Exit Parking Lot
  • For inquiries, please contact the Aizu Festival Association at 0242-23-4141

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