All About Yatsushiro Myoken Festival

Oct 25, 2024

All About Yatsushiro Myoken Festival

Dating back to roughly the 14th century, Yatsushiro Myoken is one of the oldest festivals in Japan. Spanning over two days, it takes places every year in Yatsushiro City in Kumamoto. This colorful event is filled with floats, dances, performances, and great food.

History of the Festival

Yatsushiro Myoken was once almost lost to history. What saved the festival was a donation of portable shrines and other ritual items to Yatsuhiro Shrine (at the time called Myoken-gu Shrine) by Hosokawa Sansai in 1636. These items have been preserved over the centuries and still play a role in the festivities today.

In 2011, Yatsushiro Myoken was designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Then, in 2016, it became one of just 33 festivals to be registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Descending Procession

The first day of the festival consists of a small procession, featuring some of the main performances of the following day along with the portable mini shrines called mikoshi. The procession begins at 2:00 p.m. from Yashiro Shrine and ends at Shioya Hachimangu Shrine at 5:00 p.m.

Before reaching its final destination, the procession reaches Honmachi Arcade (at around 4:30 p.m.), where there is a display featuring flowers and traditional weapons. Once the procession has finished, there are more performances on the stage back at Honmachi Arcade, which end at around 8:30 p.m.

The Main Procession

The main event of the festival is a procession on the second day, which starts at 7:30 a.m. Called the procession of the gods, it goes through the city in the opposite direction to the day before: from Shioya Hachimangu Shrine to Yatsushiro Shrine. There are also stops at other shrines along the way.

The procession features floats that have been typical to processions in urban areas with castles since the start of the modern period in Japan. One type are called yama floats, which have platforms in the shape of mountains. The others are hoko floats, which feature tall wooden poles to summon the deity of plague, pestilence, and health. The music, dance, and worship enables this deity to transform into a protective spirit.

Interspersed with floats are performers dressed in colorful costumes. There are around 40 performances in total, with something new to see every 30 minutes. These include:

• Shishi-mai — The lion dance that is traditional during Chinese New Year.
• Kida — A mythical animal that looks like a cross between a turtle and snake. The legend goes that Myoken Bosatsu rode on this animal to cross the sea.
• Sacred horses (called shinme) and decorative or flower horses (called kazariuma) — These horses gallop along the riverbed, splashing through the water, which is one of the highlights of the procession.

Once the procession arrives at the shrine (at around 2:30 p.m.), there is an hour of Shinto rituals. The festivities then continue, ending with a lion dance at 7:30 p.m.

In 2024, Yatsushiro Myoken will take place on November 22 and 23. It’s definitely worth a visit for a taste of the culture of southern Kyushu.

Marie-Sophie Mejan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons