Hanawa bayashi is a festival held in Sakiwai Inari Shrine in Kazuno city. The oldest record about this festival is in the document of the Osarizawa mine, written in 1765. 

According to the records on historical documents, the style of the festival has changed over time. Around 1800, there appeared to be a sumo game and play performances at the festival. During the Meiji period, the performance of large floats began, and the event became more vibrant. The floats included “Hon-yatai”, “Sagiri-yatai”, and “Ningyo-yatai”. In 1977, there was an international performance in some countries, such as France, the United States, and China. It received a high reputation from overseas. It was registered as an intangible folk cultural property by Akita Prefecture in 1978. In 2014, it was registered as an important intangible folk cultural property designated by the country (Japan) and called “the float event of Hanawa Festival”. It was finally admitted as one of the intangible cultural heritages by UNESCO in 2016.

Hanawa Bayashi is the festival music of Sakiwai Inari Shrine in Kazuno city, which is held on August 19th and 20th. The festival music is the one performed on the floats in accordance with the Mikoshi parade.

Sakiwai Inari Shrine was built in 1204, and it enshrines the “Ubusuna no kami (産土の神)”, the guardian deity of the lands where people were born. On the Hatsuuma days every year, local people who are in their “Yakudoshi (厄年)”, the unlucky year, gather in the Shrine and have a purification ceremony to ward off the bad luck.

I decided to search about this festival because I felt that it was not well-known despite its high achievements, including an important intangible folk cultural property designated by Akita Prefecture and Japan, and the intangible cultural heritages registered by UNESCO. Through this digital archive activity, I realized that this festival is full of the participants' enthusiasm, and it should become more well-known. I hope this website could help Hanawa Bayashi spread its name more and raise its awareness among the general people, not only the local people.