Nagasaki Kunchi Festival

Lively Performances in Nagasaki

Nagasaki’s Kunchi Festival dates to 1634 and is associated with the important Suwa Shrine. It was traditionally staged on the ninth day of the ninth month in the former lunar calendar, with ”ninth day” or kunichi likely the etymology of the festival’s name. Today, it takes place over three days from October 7 to 9.

The different neighborhoods of Nagasaki take turns to dance in the festival, participating once every seven years. The leader of the dancers carries a kasaboko, a combination of a halberd with umbrella, weighing over 100 kilograms. Props used for performances vary from year to year and include items like a taikoyama, a giant decorated portable platform weighing around one ton that is paraded by 36 people and repeatedly tossed in the air. Another spectacle is the jaodori (dragon dance), which features a long dragon puppet carried about by a group of performers in pursuit of a “jewel.”

A number of special dishes are served during the festival period, including rice steamed with azuki beans, white radish pickled with pomegranate, and loach soup.

(Originally written in English. Banner photo: Dragon dance. Courtesy of Nagasaki Prefecture Convention and Tourism Association.)