About this event
The Benzaiten Festival, a traditional event handed down in the Arikawa district of Shinkamigoto Town, Nagasaki Prefecture, honors Benzaiten, the guardian deity of the Arikawa Whaling Guild. Prayers are offered for abundant catches, flourishing business, family prosperity, bountiful harvests, and memorial services for whales, accompanied by 5- to 10-minute whale songs and taiko drum playing. The festival is carried out by youth groups and elementary, junior high, and high school students across Arikawa's six districts, beginning early in the morning at Benzaiten Shrine and local district shrines before touring public offices, shops, and businesses within Arikawa. From the afternoon, 'Go-mawari' begins, visiting all households in each area with festivities lasting late into the night. It was formerly held on January 14, but in recent years, due to declining birthrates and fewer youth members, it has been moved to the Sunday following the January Fire Department New Year Parade (or the Saturday of that week). The festival's origins trace back over 300 years, beginning when a branch spirit of Kamakura Benzaiten was enshrined to pray for victory in the maritime boundary dispute between Arikawa and Uonome. Records show it was grandly held on January 14 in Genroku 6 (1693) by the whaling guild, featuring offerings of whale songs and Hazashi dances. Although it lapsed during the late Meiji period due to the decline of whaling, it was revived after being introduced as a regional folk song in 1930 (Showa 5) and became established as an annual event in Arikawa. Even today, it remains an essential traditional event for the community, with some people deliberately returning home just to play the drums for this festival.
Source website (Japanese) ↗Venue
Shinkamigoto Town
Shinkamigoto-cho, Minamimatsuura-gun, Nagasaki
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