Over 400 Years
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Tohoku
The Hachinohe Enburi is a roughly 800 year long traditional folk celebration. Dancers known as "Tayu" perform motions involved in rice planting for this festival, a time for praying for a rich harvest. The Tayu wear beautiful and flashy costumes along with traditional headgear called Eboshi. In any other occasion, Eboshi are mostly black and are traditionally worn by men when dressing formally. At this festival, however, the Eboshi are in the shape of horse heads and are decorated with shiny ornaments. When the Tayu wave their heads around, the Eboshi sparkle beautifully, mesmerizing viewers. In between Tayu performances, local children put on adorable celebrative dances as well. Around 30 groups of Enburi dancers gather for this festival every year, which can be seen all over Hachinohe City. Their performances are lavish in the day, and mystic at night, and you won't want to miss either one.
The verb for using a tool to till and flatten out ground for farming is pronounced "suru," and in this festival, suru refers to the act of dancing. The dance is a way of waking up the deities in preparation for the coming Spring, and expresses the connection of the landworkers' soul with the rice field. On the 17th, the first day of the festival, from 10:00am to 11:20am, the Tayu form a procession and walk through the streets. It is at this time that all of the Enburi teams gather in center city to "suru." It is one of the most fascinating moments of the festival.
In between the performances of the Tayu, local children put on a variety of dances to entertain the onlookers. The children put in days and days of practice with adults for some dances, which bring a thriving and prosperous feel to the venue. It is hard to keep a straight face when watching the children dancing in all innocense.
During the festival period, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, the Kagaribi Enburi is performed every hour, three times in total, at the Shimin Hiroba (Citizens Square). The Eboshi here boast decorations of the gods of fortune, red snapper, cranes, turtles and many other good luck charms, and come in an array of bright colors such as gold, red and green. Every time the Tayu shake their heads at this night performance, the Eboshi give off a glorious sparkle that entrances viewers.
The Enburi performance known as O'enburi is shown in the garden of a historical building called Kojokaku (Reservations needed, fee: ¥2,100). This performance is the most mystical of them all. If you are interested please purchase your tickets beforehand by calling this number: 0178-41-1661.
Please attend in warm clothing as it is very cold this time of year.
Address of Hachinohe City Office Citizens Square
1 Chome 1-1 Uchimaru, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture
Access to Venue
[Nearest Station]
Hachinohe Station on the JR Hachinohe Line
10min walk from Hachinohe Station
[Nearest Bus Stop]
Mikkamachi Bus Stop on the Chushingai Homen Line
3min walk from Mikkamachi Bus Stop
