The Kanto Matsuri is one of the three great
festivals in the Tohoku region and it is an event about
praying for a bountiful harvest.
The Kanto Matsuri (竿燈まつり) is
one of the three
great
festivals in the Tohoku region. It is also known as the
“pole lantern festival.” Every year it is scheduled from
August 3 to August 6 and the festival is about praying
for a good harvest. The Kanto Matsuri first originated
from the Horyaku period (1751-1763). Before it was
known as Kanto Matsuri it was referred to as Neburi
Nagashi, which is a ceremony to repel drowsiness.
This
is because the summer heat would sometimes be
unbearable to work in and it was much easier to fall
asleep. Today to combat this lethargic atmosphere
the
Kanto Matsuri created an upbeat and festive mood to
motivate people to work. The festival was a
ceremony
to purify and protect people from evil spirits that
meant
to do harm during the harvest season. Back then they
hung lanterns in their garden on bamboo. Gradually
the
size of the bamboo and the amount of lanterns
increased. The name of the festival changed to
Kanto,
which translates to pole lantern, when the Meiji
Emperor
came to Akita for a visit back in 1881. Today the
bamboo poles can reach up to 12 meters and weigh
50
kg with up to 46 lanterns. The lanterns represent the
bales of rice and the gohei on top is for the prayer as
well as telling the wind conditions. There are 5
different
techniques involving the Kanto, which are nagashi
(passing), hirate (palm), hitai (forehead), kata
(shoulder), and koshi (lower back.) A competition is
held
to see which group or person is the best for the
different
categories. There are a limited amount of contestants
that can enter so preliminary rounds are held to
eliminate the excess. The Day Kanto is when the
competition is held, but at night the groups perform
for
the audience. It is said that it takes 40% strength and
60% skill to balance a kanto. It takes years of practice
to
be able to adequately hold a kanto let alone perform
the
techniques.
Please see below for
tours that include Akita Kanto Festival:
