[Video distribution has started!] "Kanagawa Traditional Culture Children's Seasonal Calendar"

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File.33 "Kanagawa Traditional Culture Children's Calendar"
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

"Kanagawa Traditional Culture Children's Calendar" was planned as a place to experience the rich cultural heritage nurtured by the local culture of Kanagawa Prefecture, including traditional performing arts, local folktales and legends, and old games that have been passed down through generations. Unfortunately, the performance scheduled for March 2021 at the Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center Momijizaka Hall was canceled, but with the hope that people would "feel the energy of hope" through a variety of traditional performing arts, the content of the performance that was planned to be held at the hall has been partially changed and will be streamed online.
It is said that traditional Japanese culture is imbued with "prayer" for a healthy daily life, such as for the growth of children, the safety of the family, and the eradication of disease. In order to deliver this spirit of "prayer" as soon as possible, we will report on the recording process ahead of the video distribution on Thursday, March 25th!

What was prepared on the stage was a portable shrine. It was the same shape and decoration as the portable shrines that participate in the "Chigasaki Kaigan Hamakoshi Matsuri," a summer tradition that represents the Shonan coast, and Yasunori Nakazato of the Imayuku Matsuo Oogami Portable Shrine Preservation Society and his family introduced its history and features. Incidentally, this portable shrine is a privately owned item that was made by Mr. Nakazato himself, who is a portable shrine craftsman.

I was a little nervous at first when I was being interviewed by the host, Mr. Funamoto...
However, in the second half, the three of them sang a "jinku," a type of folk song sung at festivals, in a lively tempo.

The Chigasaki Coast Hamakoshi Festival, which is said to have begun in the late Edo period, is also called the "Dawn Festival" because the portable shrine starts moving before dawn, and it is designated as an intangible folk cultural property of Kanagawa Prefecture. Last year, it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can only hope that the prayers for "good health and protection from illness" embodied in the festival will be answered and that it will be held this year.

*Scenes from the Chigasaki Coast Hamakoshi Festival

A cypress wood stage and a silver folding screen were set up on the stage, and then the recording of "Ko no Kai" began. This is a unit of male dancers who are presenting one powerful new dance piece after another in order to connect Japanese dance to the future.

The performance will feature "Wakajishi," a Japanese dance adaptation of "Sanbaso," a representative Noh and Kyogen play. "Sanbaso" is said to have been performed and passed down through generations with people's wishes for peace and prosperity, abundant harvests, and protection from disease and illness, and its performance at this time of year carries an even deeper sense of prayer than usual.

The demonstration began with a "kiribi" (spark-making) demonstration, which involves creating sparks with a flint. In Japan, where fire has long been considered a "pure thing," there was a custom of making sparks with kiribi as a way to ward off evil and purify oneself. This demonstration embodied that wish.

The streamed video will also include the "Hakone no Yudate Shishimai" (hot spring lion dance) by the Hakone Miyagino Shishimai Preservation Society, a performance by the shakuhachi and koto unit "Go-ni-san ~koibumi~", traditional games from Kanagawa Prefecture, and interviews with the performers.

* Hakone Miyagino Lion Dance Preservation Society "Hakone Yudate Lion Dance"

*Watch the video currently being streamed here!