F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-239

Kamasu Festival (Sanbasō of Shimakatsura)

かます祭（島勝浦の三番叟）かますまつり（しまかつうらのさんばそう）

The grand festival of Shimakatsu Shrine, on the bay of Shimakatsura at the southern end of Kihoku Town, Mie Prefecture, is said to have nearly 250 years of history. Praying for bountiful catches and safety at sea, it has been held twice a year, in spring (January) and autumn (October). The name 'Kamasu Festival' derives from a legend that, during a long stretch of poor catches, a great shoal of kamasu (barracuda) surged into Shimakatsura, producing an enormous catch; the shrine made kamasu sugata-zushi (whole-fish sushi) and distributed it to local people in celebration. Thereafter, worshippers from neighboring areas are said to have come seeking kamasu sushi. The former autumn festival was famous for offering the 'Sanbasō' dance atop a roughly 4-meter-tall, 1.8-meter-wide, 2-ton float, hauled through the district by happi-clad young men shouting 'Hama ni sei!' and 'Yama ni sei!' Owing to depopulation, however, the Sanbasō dance and the float procession were discontinued as of fiscal year 2013. The festival is valuable as a record of a fishing village's annual rites — its coastal faith in bountiful catches, its distinctive food culture (kamasu sugata-zushi), and a now-lost performing art.