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Kushida Shrine(2009)
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.
Matsuri Float(2012)
Hakata-Te-Ippon
July is the month of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival, during which the city of Fukuoka is commonly referred to as Hakata. From the first of June, groups of men decked out in their Yamakasa happi start appearing around Hakata. Known as Naga happi, these navy and white coats are formal attire during the Yamakasa that can be worn on any occasion, from weddings to funerals. There are two things to keep in mind if you're thinking of living in this city: the Hakata-Te-Ippon and the Hakata-Iwai-Uta. Te-Ippon is a ceremonial rhythmic hand-clapping performed at the end of gatherings to bring the occasion to a peaceful, lively close. Te-Ippon, also known as tejime or teuchi outside Hakata, embodies the tacit understanding that objections may no longer be raised. Te-Ippon is not only reserved for official meetings, but is performed at the end of all kinds of social gatherings, even at the end of a drinking party. Here's an introductory lesson to Hakata-Te-Ippon: spread legs slightly, keep hands at about shoulder width, and follow along as the leader chants: Yo! (clap, clap) Mahitotsu! (clap, clap) Ioute, san do! (clap, clap, clap). This ioute sounds pretty much like yoh to. With this Te-Ippon, a meeting is closed. The Hakata-Iwai-Uta is usually sung before the Hakata-Te-Ippon at most happy occasions, so it's a good idea to learn it by heart. At dawn on July 15, the first team of Yamakasa enters Kushida Shrine and chants Iwai Uta. You shouldn't miss this!
Hakata Dontaku Port Festival(2007)
The Origins of the Dontaku Song
Hakata Donkatu festival has its own theme song called “Bonchikawaiya.” “Bonchikawaiya” was originally a shiritori - a traditional word game - song of the Edo period. The original lyrics appeared in ezoshi - picture books - during this time. It was Heibei Kawaharada, a Hakata merchant who lived in the middle of the Meiji period (1868-1912), that arranged this Edo shiritori song to better suit it to Hakata culture. Heibei was the third son of the owner of a stationary shop, Heisukefude Fukkodo, which opened in 1501 and is still in business today. Not obliged to take over his parents' business, Heibei moved to Tokyo to receive training at a sweet shop. Upon completion, he returned to Hakata and opened his own confectionary shop, Eisho-do, in Shimo Gofukumachi, inspired by ‘Eisho-e,’ the line in Hakata-Iwai-Uta (Hakata Celebration Song) sung at the Hakata Yamakasa Festival. He obviously loved Yamakasa very much and was fond of puns!
Matsuri Float(2012)
Hakata Gion Yamakasa – a Festival that Defines Hakata
Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival signals the coming of summer in town. With over 760 years of history, Hakata Gion Yamakasa is a Shinto ritual dedicated to Hakata’s main tutelary deity Kushida Shrine, and designated as an important intangible folk asset of the country. When the gorgeous Kazariyama floats (Sei-no-Yamakasa) are displayed throughout the city on July 1, the town is awash in Yamakasa mood and the 15-day event begins, celebrated with two contrasting types of floats of stillness (sei) and movement (do). Loincloth-clad float carriers, splashed with water, pull and carry floats that weigh a ton (Do-no-Yamakasa). They run through the streets with tremendous speed, power and gallant cries. The festival climaxes on July 15 at 4:59am with the Oiyama race, and brings the hot summer to Fukuoka. Onlookers can feel the spirit and pulse of these yamanobose men, who are heroic and hearty and are crazy about Yamakasa.
Tenjin Chuo Park(2009)
Keyaki-dori Avenue, Akasaka - Beautiful Townscape Near the City Center
The street which runs for about 800 meters from the Gokoku Shinto Shrine to the Kego-yotsukado intersection is popularly called Akasaka Keyaki-dori, and is technically a part of National Highway 202. As the word keyaki in the name suggests, there are roughly 100 zelkova (keyaki) trees planted along the road, and their new leaves create the effect of a vivid green tunnel. With the rich color of the flowers and greenery in Maizuru Park serving as the backdrop, the street is lined with many inviting shops that appeal to the passerby, including coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries, and unique bookstores. This tree-lined street has been selected as one of the best 100 best amenities of Fukuoka City and also chosen as one of the 100 best streets in Japan. People’s efforts to create attractive views and improve the local environment were recognized when the street received the 11th Fukuoka City Urban Landscape Award.
Fukuoka Castle Ruins(Photo taken: unknown)
Fukuoka originated from Okayama Prefecture!?
There are two names for Fukuoka City, Fukuoka and Hakata, and the Hakata name is better known among those outside of Kyushu. The Fukuoka name was first used during the Edo period (1603-1868), and Fukuoka City became the official name during the Meiji period (1868-1912) that followed. However, the Hakata name has been used for a considerably longer period of time. When the feudal lord, Nagamasa Kuroda and his son, Josui, were given the Chikuzen fief that yielded 523,000 koku of rice (or more than one million U.S. bushels) by Ieyasu Tokugawa, they called their new home Fukuoka Castle. This is because the original residence of the Kuroda feudal lords was Fukuoka in Bizen, now Okayama prefecture. That’s how the region around the castle came to be known as Fukuoka. When viewed from Hakata Bay, the castle seemed to soar like a bird in the sky, hence the name Maizuru Castle, or The Dancing Crane. In those days the castle was a magnificent structure—there were moats extending inland from the sea, and it had more than 10 gates and 47 turrets. The Minamimaru-tamon Turret and the stone walls, which survive to this day, are a reminder of the castle’s former glory.
June Love Earth Clean-up(2007)
June Love Earth Clean-up
June is Environment Month in Japan, with many environmental projects taking place in Fukuoka, as well. One of these is Love Earth Clean-up, a campaign which any willing volunteers can easily join and enjoy. Though now held all over Japan, the campaign actually originated in Fukuoka. It all began in June 1990 with the Clean the Beach project to clear local beaches of litter in Fukuoka. Then, the Club of Rome Conference held in Fukuoka in 1992 motivated cooperation among citizens, private enterprise and government, resulting in the Love Earth Clean-up Kyushu event to clean the beaches all over Kyushu. Since then, Love Earth Clean-up has been held every June during Environment Month.
Fukuoka Castle Ruins(2009)
Fukuoka City or Hakata City?
In April 1889, the government issued a regulation for municipalization, giving birth to "Fukuoka City." However, the following year a great controversy occurred over whether the area should be called Fukuoka City or Hakata City. Originally, the area was called Hakata; however, in 1600 a Japanese warlord, Nagamasa Kuroda, named the area Fukuoka as a tribute to the land of his ancestors, Bizen Fukuoka (Bizen is now called Okayama). Since then, the area of the city located east of the River Naka, in the Nakasu region, has been known as Hakata, and the area to the west of the river has been known as Fukuoka. But, now the locals had to choose between Fukuoka, a proud samurai town, and Hakata, the port and merchant district, for the name of their city. At a meeting of legislators deciding on the name of the city in 1890, votes were split evenly, with Fukuoka and Hakata receiving 13 votes each. A subsequent revote ended with the same result, and so the name "Fukuoka" was kept. In return, the name Hakata was chosen for the new railway station that had just opened. This is how the confusion began between the names of Fukuoka City and Hakata Station.
Hakata Jocho Meguri Campaign(2007)
Hakata Jocho Meguri Campaign – Come, See and Walk the Town
Hakata has been active in exchange with continental Asia, and its role as an international trade town continues to this day. In the past, many of those in power tried to take Hakata, a town of commerce, with wars striking the area repeatedly. Hakata recovered from each one of them, and gave birth to new culture and tradition. Hakata, with its 2000-year history, has tales and scars from each era to remind us of our past. This campaign invites the residents and visitors to walk the streets of Hakata from mid-October to mid-November and learn the history and culture of the town. We cordially invite you to feel the history of Hakata through Hakata Jocho Meguri.