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Shudan Yamamise - Expanding Yamakasa’s Appeal

The Shudan Yamamise (Group Festival Float Display), which starts every year at 3:30 p.m. on July 13, is the only event in which the floats for the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival are moved outside the Hakata area, the merchants’ district, into the Fukuoka area, where the daimyo’s castle was once located. Shudan Yamamise began in 1962 at the request of Fukuoka City, wishing to create an opportunity for more residents and tourists to enjoy Yamakasa. That is because the highlight of the festival, Oiyama race, starts in the early morning at 4:59 a.m. on July 15, and its course covers only the Hakata region. The Shudan Yamamise starts at an intersection in Gofuku-machi, Hakata Ward, and continues in a straight line over the Nishi Bridge on the Naka River to ACROS Fukuoka. It makes a left turn and continues from there to the front of the Fukuoka City municipal offices. It is only during the Shudan Yamamise that the daiagari (the people who sit on the floats and direct the team carrying it) are well-known people from Fukuoka and Hakata. Well-known people who have served in this role in the past include Softbank president Masayoshi Son, architect Arata Isozaki, and Sadaharu Oh, former coach of Softbank Hawks. Participants say that taking part just once while dressed in the special clothing is enough to get a person hooked on the experience. It is heard that a former U.S. Consul who participated in Yamakasa once has, since then, been returning to Fukuoka every July even after he was transferred. The excitement of the festival must be more unforgettable for the people who have experienced daiagari.