67th Sasayama Castle Ruins Suzumushi (Bell-Ring Cricket) Festival

About this event

This is a romantic festival with a history of about 60 years that brings together the harvest moon, castle ruins, and bell-ring crickets (suzumushi). The festival originated in 1960 when Shigeharu Nakajima, who operated a barber shop in the city, offered to donate 5,000 bell-ring crickets he had bred to Sasayama Shrine. This donation proposal was brought to the tourism association, and discussions with Sasayama Shrine led to the creation of the poetic "Sasayama Castle Ruins Suzumushi Festival." With the timing of the moonrise being ideal, visitors can enjoy an atmospheric evening. The event features a paper lantern (bonbori) exhibition, a koto musical offering, a bonbori lantern procession, religious rites, an Arima Oshi-daiko drum dedication, a cricket release ceremony, and the distribution of bell-ring crickets. In the event of rain, it will be postponed to the following day.

Venue

Sasayama Shrine

444 Sasayamamachi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0021