This time in Hachinohe, I mainly came to watch the Hachinohe Sansha Taisai Festival, try horseback polo, and take a stroll along Shindate Coast.
Horseback polo is one of Japan’s traditional equestrian martial arts (along with yabusame and yamabushi). It was introduced to Japan from China over a thousand years ago during the Heian period, but today it is only preserved at the Tsugaru Shinra Shrine on Chojayama in Hachinohe and the Toyorei Shrine in Yamagata.
The horseback polo at Tsugaru Shinra Shrine follows the Kagemi school. The game is divided into red and white teams, aiming to throw their colored ball through their own goal while preventing the opposing team from scoring. Among the players, besides skilled middle-aged participants, there were also young riders, showing that the local community is making strong efforts to keep this traditional martial art alive.
However, faced with issues like a declining birthrate and population decrease, preserving the tradition and continuing the festival has become quite challenging. Hopefully, the youth of Hachinohe will carry on these increasingly rare skills.
As the largest religious festival in the Tohoku region, the Hachinohe Sansha Taisai features a four-day float parade through the city center, with only the middle day, August 2nd, including nighttime processions.
Although the floats were all very gorgeous, perhaps because I had already seen the Gion Festival earlier in my trip and couldn’t get ideal photos that night, I didn’t feel entirely satisfied. There are also many controversies surrounding the Hachinohe Sansha Taisai—those interested can check out more details atthis link (Japanese only)for further reading.
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Original location: Japan Railway Journey (Part 9), Hachinohe Edition
Flickr album: Miyagi, Iwate, Aomori / 2017
Instagram: fai_redefined / fai_redefined_120