Rough & Tumble at the ”Fighting Festival” in Yokkaichi, Japan・三重県四日市市富田一色けんか祭り (2025年8月15日)
Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture It is August 15, 2025, and we are in Tomida-Isshiki-chō, a part of the city of Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture. We are here to watch a festival with a more than 700-year history; a festival known as “Kenka Matsuri”, which means “Fighting Festival”. Young men, all dressed in white clothing, carry and bang gong drums, while shouting “Ya sore”, “Ya sore”. During the Meiji period, violent clashes between the groups are said to have been the norm at this festival. resulting in serious injuries and even fatalities among the participants. While, these days, the festival is much more peaceful, injuries still occur, as was the case here today. The banging of the gong drums is done to drive away evil spirits and to bring good fortune. Locals pour buckets of water over the men to cool them down in the summer heat… .while others soak them with water from their hose pipes. The men certainly needed cooling down today, since the temperature was around 35°C for the duration of the event. The participants in the festival are representatives of the 19 neighborhood associations of Tomida-Isshiki-cho, Yokkaichi. The teams are divided into three groups, representing the Northern, Central, and Southern areas. A group of men carries a log pole, which measures about 6m. in length. The gong drum, approximately 1 m. in diameter, weighs approximately 100 kg There are six drums, each about 1 m, in length and 60 cm in diameter The group of men that is banging the gong drum attempts to charge into the shrine grounds, while the group waiting with taiko drums tries to block their path. The focal point of the festival is Asuka Shrine, which is located at the end of Hirokōji Street in Tomida-Isshiki. Two ambulances have arrived to transfer the wounded participants to a local hospital. Hopefully, none of the injuries are too serious, Here comes a third ambulance!
The “Fighting Festival” (Kenka Matsuri) takes place every August in Tomida-Isshiki-chō, Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. Many years ago, this was a very dangerous event (in fact, sometimes people were even killed). These days, it is much less violent. Even so, this year, three ambulances arrived on the scene to attend to the people who got injured in the scramble.
鉦を鳴らして邪気を追払い、精霊を迎える大念仏の祭礼。鎌倉時代から始まり、現在の形になったのは明治時代とのことです。
#japaneseculture #祭り#四日市