F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-200

Obama Hōze Festival (Hōjō Festival)

小浜放生祭おばまほうじょうまつり

The Hōze Festival is the annual festival of Hachiman Shrine in Obama City, Fukui, known as the largest autumn festival in the Wakasa region. The 24 parishioner districts that make up the old castle town of Obama — half of them in alternating years — bring out a rich variety of "dashimono" performances, including floats (yama), kagura, great drums, lion dances, and portable shrines, parading through the town over two days. Each district performs its festive music in front of its headquarters and the homes and shops that have given donations, and the flute-and-drum music and dancing resound throughout the castle town. Although its name derives from the Buddhist hōjō-e rite of releasing living creatures, the festival took on its present form when the performances of the Gion Festival — fractured by the Meiji Restoration — were transferred to Hachiman Shrine's annual festival, so that it carries the imprint of shifts in both faith and urban festival life. With a history of more than 380 years, it is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Fukui Prefecture.