Obari Matsushita-ryu Tsunabi

About this event

Obari Matsushita-ryu Tsunabi is a traditional performing art said to have been devised by Lord Matsushita Iwami-no-kami Shigetsuma, who was the lord of Obari Castle. Originally performed in military encampments to celebrate victories and memorialize victims, it has now become a festival of fire adorning summer nights, dedicated to praying for protection against fire disasters and for bumper crops. Tsunabi is a performing art that combines marionette puppets and mechanical fireworks, manipulating puppets to the accompaniment of music by operating ropes strung in midair, also referred to as "Sanbon-tsuna" (three ropes) or "karakuri puppet trick fireworks." Designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, the spectacle of puppets and mechanisms moving slowly along ropes strung between trees on the shrine grounds powered by fireworks evokes traditions dating back to the Edo period. The fantastical art of fire on a summer night captivates visitors.

Venue

Obari Atago Shrine

3235 Obari, Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki 300-2353