To a roar of cheering crowds, rhythmic chanting and taiko drums, hundreds of people drag massive wooden floats through the streets of Osaka – running as fast as they can. This chaotic spectacle is one of the Japanese prefecture’s ‘danjiri matsuri’, or float festivals.
Held over a few weeks in October, they are considered one of the most dangerous events on the Japanese festival calendar. The floats weigh several tons, and accidents sometimes happen while navigating tight turns. They can even be fatal, especially for those riding atop the moving danjiri known as ‘daikugata’.
“Danjiri sometimes fall over or collide, and I have seen daikugata fall,” said Shinya Ogura, a six-time danjiri rider at such a festival in Osaka’s Otori region.
For Ogura, the view from the top – and the thrill of being up there – is part of what makes the experience so addictive.
“I think it’s a very rewarding position,” he says. “My grandfather and father have been participating since I was a kid, and I’ve followed them.”
Some estimate that the festivals, passed down from generation to generation, began about 300 years ago as a way for local communities to ward off disease and bad luck or to pray for a bountiful harvest.
A tradition rooted in craftsmanship
The carvings depict scenes from Japanese mythology and battles, often from early history chronicles and legends. -CNN
For centuries, danjiri festivals have also celebrated woodworking. “Daikugata” directly translates as carpenter; The valued role of the festival was once reserved for the people who made the floats. Each danjiri is decorated with hundreds of individual figures, chiseled by hand.
Today, artisans like Akihiko Maeda continue the tradition. The 48-year-old stopped riding the danjiri about a decade ago but still builds and restores floats for communities in Osaka.
“I have been working mainly on danjiri for decades,” says Maeda. “I’m constantly trying to find ways to capture the cool poses of the sculptures so that it looks like they’re moving.”
Maeda says the process of creating a custom danjiri can take five years. The district will pay about $650,000 for each copy.
“Once a danjiri is built, it is used for an average of seventy to eighty years,” says the craftsman.
But demand for Maeda’s work is declining as the number of festival participants decreases.
It takes about 350 people to pull a danjiri, organizers say. -CNN
With the birth rate at record lows across Japan, the country’s population is shrinking. In 2020, almost 28% of Osaka’s population was over 65, compared to the global average of just over 9%.
Kazuma Nakao, who has participated in Otori’s danjiri festival for more than 40 years, says it doesn’t take enough physically able people to pull their carts.
“We have to borrow people from other neighborhoods. Every city is like this now,” he says.
What this year’s cohort lacks in numbers, they make up for in enthusiasm. Some take part in the festivals of multiple cities, one after the other, a feat of endurance that lasts well into the evening.
Ogura hopes that raising the global profile of danjiri festivals will help their traditions survive into future generations.
“I want people from abroad to see them when they come to Japan,” Ogura said. “I hope this continues to be a festival that little children can enjoy.”
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