Taku Seibyo Autumn Sekisai & Confucius Festival

About this event

The Taku Seibyo Autumn Sekisai and Confucius Festival is a traditional ceremony honoring Confucius and his principal disciples, designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Saga Prefecture. During the ceremony, ceremonial officials dressed in Chinese Ming Dynasty ritual attire offer 7 kinds of food and sweet sake (amazake) to the statues of Confucius and his disciples accompanied by gagaku (ancient court music). Following the Sekisai ceremony, the Confucius Festival features performances of the Sekisai dance, waist drums, and lion dances, creating a vibrant atmosphere amidst the solemnity. After the ceremony, visitors can enter the sanctuary to view up close the statue of Confucius and the dragon painting on the ceiling. This traditional event has a history spanning over 300 years; of the biannual Sekisai held in spring and autumn, the autumn edition is affectionately known as the Confucius Festival. On the day of the event, a procession departing from nearby Shoko-ji Temple heads toward Taku Seibyo, where ritual officials take part in Ming Dynasty costume. As the tones of gagaku resonate, offerings are presented to the statues of Confucius and the Four Sages, and Chinese poems contributed from all across the country are recited. In the post-ceremony program, the Sekisai Dance by local middle and high school students and Chinese lion dances entertain the audience. The interior of the sanctuary, open to the public exclusively on this day, provides a rare opportunity to admire the Confucius statue and the ceiling dragon painting up close.

Venue

Taku Seibyo Confucian Temple

1843-3 Taku-machi, Taku, Saga 846-0031