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This is a summer festival celebrated in the Hamasaki district since 1753, in the middle of the Edo Period.
It is a traditional Gion Festival, performed to pray for the flight of pestilence and the arrival of a bumper harvest. The festival reaches its climax when Omagiri (major event) is performed at night, with lamp-lit Yamagasa (decorated floats) being repeatedly hauled around town by teams of youths.
(Mid-July).
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| Hirose Furyu (Mid-September) |
Seiryo Furyu (Mid-September) |
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| A Furyu dedicated by dancers dressed in Samurai costume; unique in Japan and designated as an important intangible cultural asset of Saga Prefecture. |
A Furyu to pray for a bumper harvest, dedicated principally by child performers wearing half-moon head ornaments called “tentsuku.” |
| Amakawa Furyu (Mid-September) |
Torigoe Furyu (Mid-September) |
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| A Furyu to pray for a bumper harvest, dedicated principally by child performers wearing half-moon head ornaments called “tentsuku.” |
A Furyu to pray for a bumper harvest, mainly performed by the beating of drums. |
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An open-air morning market (asaichi) held in the Yobuko district, at which mainly marine-based foodstuffs and articles for daily use are sold. The vendors are mainly women. (Open every morning 7:30 thru 12:00, except New Year’s Day and the first Saturday in June.) |
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| Small and large islets scattered across tranquil Imari Bay emulate the mind-calming beauty of a miniature landscape garden. Enjoy the view from the observation deck. (Iroha figuratively means as many islets as the 48 characters contained in the Japanese classic alphabet, iroha.) |
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| Sightseeing, history and culture |
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