Karatsu Kunchi

Karatsu Kunchi (唐津くんち; the suffix "kunchi" simply meaning festival) is a Japanese festival that takes place annually in the city of Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, on Japan's island of Kyūshū.

About

The festival, which begins on the evening of November 2 and concludes on the 4th, features daily parades of fourteen "hikiyama", massive floats in the form of samurai helmets, sea bream, dragons, and other fantastical creatures, all constructed from wood, lacquer, and other materials. It is the major event of the Karatsu calendar, regularly drawing crowds of anywhere between 150,000 to 500,000 people from the surrounding area over the course of the three day holiday.

Each float — which stand between five and six meters, and which weigh anywhere from two to five tons — is drawn through the streets of the city by teams of bearers selected from families living in the fourteen traditional neighborhoods of Karatsu, to the chant of "En-ya! En-ya! En-ya!"(or"Yoi-sa! Yoi-sa! Yoi-sa!") and the music of taiko drummers and flutists perched on the floats' base. The event, which is coordinated by the local Shinto shrine (near which the floats are stored during the rest of the year), has been held for several centuries now; the current incarnations of the floats were constructed between 1819 and 1876. In 1980, the festival was designated an "Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property".

Food and culture

During the Karatsu Kunchi (唐津くんち）many families, and mostly the women of these families, will spend tireless hours preparing food for the visitors that will come day and night and into the early morning hours. This is a regular practice.

Event Dates

The event takes place the first weekend in November.

References

* [http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/fes23.html Japan Atlas: Karatsu Kunchi Festival]
* [http://www.japanwelcomesyou.com/cssweb/ports/sightseeing/html/festivals.html Sightseeing Japanese Festivals]
* [http://www.fukuoka-now.com/kcalendar/disp.php?id=195 Fukuoka Now Event Calendar]

ee also

* Kunchi