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The Mainichi
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival ends with big race in Fukuoka
FUKUOKA -- The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival finished after 15 days of fun in Fukuoka. In this famous summer event, men wear traditional "happi" coats and loincloths. They run through the city streets carrying huge floats. Each float weighs about 1 metric ton. The festival's biggest event, called "Oiyama," happened early in the morning on July 15. Many people watched and cheered as the men ran with the floats, shouting "oisa, oisa." At 4:59 a.m., a big drum sounded at Kushida Shrine. The first team, Higashi Nagare, ran into the shrine with their float and shouted "Yaa!" They circled a flag and sang a celebration song. After that, six more teams and a special decorative float entered the shrine, each five minutes apart. Then, each team took their turn running about 5 kilometers to the finish. Ryuji Umezu, 60, who helped lead the first team, said, "There was pressure, but we approached the event as we do every year," and "I want to ... work hard to make next year's Yamakasa even better." A 65-year-old Buddhist priest from Mie Prefecture saw the festival for the first time. He said, "I've never seen such a powerful festival. I could feel the spirit of it." (Japanese original by Jangrae Kim, Kyushu News Department) Vocabulary festival: a special event with music, food, and fun, often every year float: a big, decorated platform carried or pulled in a festival happi coat: a short, traditional Japanese coat climax: the most exciting part
The Mainichi
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival closes with 1-ton floats dashing through central Fukuoka
FUKUOKA -- This year's Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival recently came to a close after 15 days of festivities, during which men dressed in traditional "happi" coats and loincloths dashed through streets of this southwestern Japan city carrying floats each weighing around 1 metric ton. The summer tradition in Fukuoka's Hakata Ward reached its climax early on July 15 with the "Oiyama" finale. Spectators erupted in cheers as participating men ran through the dawn streets carrying the massive floats with enthusiastic shouts of "oisa, oisa." The sound of a large drum resonated through Kushida Shrine in Hakata Ward at 4:59 a.m., and the Higashi Nagare group charged into the shrine grounds with a shout of "Yaa!" carrying this year's first float. Applause and cheers rose from the box seats as the float completed a ritual circling of a flag on the grounds, and participants chanted a celebration song. Six other groups and their floats and the eighth float, Kamikawabata Dori -- known as a "running decorative float" -- entered Kushida Shrine at five-minute intervals. Each team then raced toward a goal about 5 kilometers away in the same ward. Ryuji Umezu, 60, who was in charge of the Higashi Nagare float team's general affairs, expressed his relief, saying, "There was pressure, but we approached the event as we do every year. I'm relieved that we were able to make the offering safely. I want to switch gears and work hard to make next year's Yamakasa even better." A 65-year-old Buddhist priest visiting for the first time from Iga, Mie Prefecture, shared his excitement, saying, "I've never seen such a powerful festival. I could feel the spirit of it."
