Japanese festival which has continued more than 400 years.

 

In Okazaki, there are festivals which have continued more than 400 years. We joined one of them the other day in 能見 “Nomi” area. There is a shrine called 能見神明宮 “Nomi Shinmeigu”and many people gathered on the day of the festival which is the 2nd weekend of May.

 

There were a lot of food stands and people enjoyed the food that was served. We also had takoyaki, yakisoba and sausages sticks.

 

One of the recommended attractions this year was 能 “noh (traditional Japanese dance)” performed by children. Usually, noh is performed by only adults but since the name of the town is called 能見 “Nomi” which means to watch Noh, some residents decided to form a children’s group of dancing noh. Their performances were awesome and a lot of people enjoyed.

 

The climax of the event for Saturday was fireworks. First, children lit the fireworks after the purification ceremony. And then men appeared holding big fireworks made with bamboo filled with black powder and the women lit them up. The fireworks launch up approximately 2 meters in height. The fire work is called 天筒花火 “Tedutsuhanabi” and is famous in the Okazaki region with history of 400 years.

 

On Sunday, 8 villages in the Nomi area usually parade their float. However, it rained so hard this year so unfortunately we were not able to see the parade…

 

Next year on the 2nd May, please come and visit Okazaki Nomi area to see this exciting event!