Rokunohe Autumn Festival in Rokunohe, Aomori
Giant decorative ‘ Dashi float”
On paper, Rokunohe is a small, quiet rural town in the big prefecture of Aomori. However, over the course of three days in late September, Rokunohe’s Aki Matsuri (Autumn festival) transforms this quaint locale into a buzzing hive of energetic festivity. Most tourists are drawn to Aomori by the promise of bombast and spectacle at its famous Nebuta Matsuri where a large assortment of giant decorative dashi floats are paraded to stunning effect through the streets of the city. Not to be outdone, Rokunohe’s Aki Matsuri also features a stunning array of floats that give the festival a sense of grand scale that entirely belies the town’s small size.
Some of these floats are rented or borrowed from other parts of the prefecture; however there are also a number of floats made locally by dedicated teams from the neighbourhoods around the town. These home-grown Rokunohe floats often break away from the established tradition of being thematically related to and evocative of traditional Japanese folk lore, and instead are sometimes reflective of current trends in popular culture. In years past, even beloved Nintendo and Yokai Watch characters have made appearances.
While the larger Nebuta Matsuri famously put a stopper to the popular Star Wars float appearing in the main parade last year on account of it not matching tradition, Rokunohe Aki Matsuri is far more liberal and allows floats of any subject matter to take the stage.
This openness may be in part due to the fact that Aki Matsuri is less about displaying an idealised version of Japanese culture to an eager audience of onlookers from abroad, and more about celebrating more universal values such as family and a love of home. Proud grandparents are squeezed into small corners on the side of the road as they wave and smile with great pride at their children and grandchildren pulling the floats, manning the drums and puffing away at the flutes that make up the busy parade. The procession is built around the return of a Japanese Kami Sama god from his current residence at a local shrine, to his former home – a sacred grove where he was enshrined centuries ago. This central theme of satogaeri or ‘going home’ is embodied by the many people who over the years have moved away from the town, but loyally return each year to partake in the festivities and to celebrate the place where their life began.
In this way, Aki Matsuri presents to us a more modest view of Japan as a country of people who value their roots, love their families and enjoy a good party, too.
Mikoshi, portable shrine, for Japanese Kami sama god
JET Program Coordinator of International Relations in Rokunohe
Benjamin Wilson