Home > IBARAKI 茨城県 > Kita-Ibaraki 北茨城市 > Hitachi-Otsu Ofune Matsuri Boat Festival 常陸大津の御船祭

Last additions - Hitachi-Otsu Ofune Matsuri Boat Festival 常陸大津の御船祭
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JR Otsuko Station platform.Jun 03, 2019
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JR Otsuko Station platform.Jun 03, 2019
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JR Otsuko Station has its entrance modeled after the Rokkakudo Pavilion on the Izura Coast.Jun 03, 2019
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JR Otsuko StationJun 03, 2019
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Shuttle bus back to JR Otsuko Station. Shuttle bus stop was near the start point a few hundred meters from the corner.Jun 03, 2019
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This corner is the most crowded spot. Many people leave after seeing this corner turn.Jun 03, 2019
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Jun 03, 2019
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Getting ready for the rest of the straight route.Jun 03, 2019
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They turned the boat 90 degrees in one drag.Jun 03, 2019
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Turning the boat 90 degrees.Jun 03, 2019
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They turn the boat by dragging the stern of the boat. They had a rope tied to the rear part of the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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The route has one 90-degree corner where the boat is turned. This is a festival highlight and many people crowd this corner.Jun 03, 2019
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The friction between the boat hull and pallets makes it smoke each time the boat is dragged. The pallets are scorched.Jun 03, 2019
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Picking up the pallets.Jun 03, 2019
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The boat is tilted to one side when it is dragged. It creates less friction and makes it easier to drag.Jun 03, 2019
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Three shrine priests are among the 40 people onboard. It's pretty rough to be rocked often. Motion sickness is possible.Jun 03, 2019
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The boat hull has small center ridges that keep it standing upright. It's also designed not to topple over when rocked.Jun 03, 2019
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Narrow streets make it crowded.Jun 03, 2019
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After the drag, they pick up the pallets and lay them in front of the boat on the road ahead.Jun 03, 2019
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Pallets are ready for the next drag.Jun 03, 2019
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There are men on both sides of the boat who rock the boat before the drag. When the boat moves, they hang on to the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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Ofune being dragged over wooden pallets.Jun 03, 2019
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Dragging the boat over the wooden pallets.Jun 03, 2019
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They drag the boat 20 meters at a time. After each drag, they have to move and place the pallets ahead of the boat. The route is 1,200 meters long, and it takes 5 hours to reach the end.Jun 03, 2019
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When dragging the boat, the men have to run over the wooden pallets and take care not to trip and fall.Jun 03, 2019
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Boat is pulled by a 200-meter white rope, 7 cm thick. About 200 to 300 people pull the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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Before dragging the boat, they violently rock the boat side to side.Jun 03, 2019
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They use about 100 soroban wooden pallets (ソロバン) made of Japanese oak tree, a hard wood. Each weighs 20 kg.Jun 03, 2019
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Ahead of the boat, wooden pallets called "soroban" are laid on the road for the boat to be dragged on.Jun 03, 2019
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The portable shrine is loaded on the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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The boat crew welcome the portable shrine before it is loaded aboard.Jun 03, 2019
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After being paraded around town all morning, the portable shrine arrives near the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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After being paraded around town all morning, the portable shrine arrives near the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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Boat crew waiting for the portable shrine to be loaded on the boat, which then becomes a "sacred boat."Jun 03, 2019
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Looks like the boat captain.Jun 03, 2019
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Boat musicians and crew board the boat via ladder.Jun 03, 2019
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Most boat musicians are local kids.Jun 03, 2019
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Removing in the boat railingsbefore people boarded.Jun 03, 2019
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Group photos in front of the boat.Jun 03, 2019
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This was the first Ofune Matsuri to be held in the new era of Reiwa.Jun 03, 2019
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Thank You ClubJun 03, 2019
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The festival participants belong to different fishermen's groups indicated by their shirt. They are from a group called Fudo-maru.Jun 03, 2019
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On May 3 from morning, they parade the mikoshi portable shrine bearing Sawawachigi Shrine's god for maritime safety.Jun 03, 2019
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SardinesJun 03, 2019
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The festival originally used an actual fishing boat. But now this wooden boat was built especially for the festival.Jun 03, 2019
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The boat rests on wooden pallets called "soroban." It is dragged on a bed of soroban pallets.Jun 03, 2019
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Paitning of a monkfish, a delicacy of Kita-Ibaraki.Jun 03, 2019
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The festival used to be held by local fishermen, Now held by Hitachi-Otsu Ofune Matsuri Preservation Society (常陸大津の御船祭保存会) with most of the men being fishermen or their descendants.Jun 03, 2019
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The festival started to be held every 5 years from 1975. The boat has to be repaired after each festival and the money could not be secured more often than every 5 years.The boat is normally displayed at a fishing museum named Yo-soro (よう・そろー) in Kita-Ibaraki.Jun 03, 2019
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This festival was originally a portable shrine procession on the sea via boat going around the bay. But the boat's start point was filled in, so the boat procession was then held on land instead since 200 years ago.Jun 03, 2019
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Back of ofune boat.Jun 03, 2019
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My video of Kita-Ibaraki's Ofune Matsuri boat festival.Jun 03, 2019
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The ofune wooden fishing boat is painted with local fish.Jun 03, 2019
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Boat is 15 meters long, 4 meters wide, and weighs 5 tons. It becomes 2 tons heavier when the portable shrine (1 ton) and crew and musicians board.Jun 03, 2019
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White ropes to pull the boat on the road.Jun 03, 2019
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The bow has this shed for the portable shrine to be loaded on. Festival was designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (重要無形民俗文化財) in 2017.Jun 03, 2019
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On the May 3 main festival day, the boat is dragged along the same route west to east with the portable shrine and shrine priests aboard.This boat is here at the start point on May 3, 2019.Jun 03, 2019
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On the May 2 festival eve, the boat is pulled from east to west along 1,200 meters in the center of town without the portable shrine aboard.Jun 03, 2019
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Unique Shinto festival where they drag a sacred fishing boat across land instead of water. The boat has no wheels. All other boat festivals have the boat sailing on water, but not this one.Jun 03, 2019
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Hitachi-Otsu Ofune Matsuri fishing boat festival is Kita-Ibaraki's biggest festival, held only only once every five years on May 2 and 3 as the grand spring festival of Sawawachigi Shrine (佐波波地祇神社) in Otsu-cho, Kita-Ibaraki, Ibaraki PreHeld by local fishermen to pray for abundant fish and maritime safety. These photos were taken on May 3, 2019.Jun 03, 2019
   
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