Kickin' it at Kanoukaen: A Fire Festival

Ever wondered what happens when you combine fire and grown men in Samurai armor? Welcome to the Kanoukaen (観桜火宴) Festival in Chijiwacho (千々和町).

But first: Flea Market!

Meg and I started our Saturday adventure with a stop at Hasami's annual flea market. While we didn't find much, it was nice to walk around and see some of the booths. I reminded Meg that the next time we are in this park, we will be here for the Pottery Sale! (I'm still hyped about all the pottery Bryan and I picked out last year. I can't WAIT for that sale next month!)

bought earrings at the market

Then it was time to head to Unzen for the Kanoukaen Festival! This was a scheduled ITT event that filled up too quickly for us to join, so Meg and I copied their itinerary and figured we could do it on our own! So between Google Maps, ITT's schedule, and a quick Google Translate of Unzen's website, we were off on another night adventure!

After an hour-and-a-half car ride, Meg and I made it to Tachibana Park in Unzen, Nagasaki, Japan, where we were greeted with stunning sakura blooms! It's officially spring in Japan and the cherry blossoms are stunning!

I was spotted. Everywhere we walked around this park I heard little voices hollering "Hey Mrs. Johnson!" as many parents were told, "that's my librarian!!!" It made my heart warm!

I also spotted a few teachers from school who were on the ITT tour! They told me to head to the nearby middle school gym to see people getting dressed in full samurai armor. Meg and I got there just in time to get a picture with one eager 'soldier' and we got to watch a bunch of young students get dressed in their gear for the ceremony!

At this point, I check the Google Translated schedule of events and realize that the ceremonies begin down at Fukuishi Park. So we begin the 13-minute walk down to the water and make a pit stop by 7/11 for a snack and road soda!

I mean, just look how stunning the view is from this park!

As the sun began to set, the ceremonies began!

The first ceremony was the "strongest corps vs. the villainous corps," and was nothing like I expected! Remember all those little 5 or 6-year-olds that were getting dressed in the gym? Well the first "ceremony" consisted of said kids attacking the "villains" with foam swords! It was the cutest, most unexpected event and had me dying laughing!

I mean, check out these kids- they were going ham! I know some of these grown men were happy their samurai gear covered their lower half, because these kids sure have some powerfully high kicks!

Eventually, the sun set and it was time for the grand event- bring on the fire!

Everything was obviously in Japanese and finding information about the history of Kanoukaen was scarce, but here's what I found:

This festival is a reenactment based on an event that happened 400 years and a few decades ago. On the Shimabara Peninsula during the Warring States period of Japanese history, several powerful and influential daimyo met in battle and changed the fabric of history in Japan.

So there you go. That's what I know. BUT this was the coolest event ever! Seeing 200 men march through the streets with torches while chanting was awesome!

At Kanoukaen, the participants don’t give a normal scream or battle cry; instead they shout “Eeyasakaaa!” Sounding like “Yea! Soccer!” or “Ear Sucker!” the expression is much more encouraging than that! The word “Iyasaka” (弥栄) is a kind of stand-in for several expressions. It means “All the more will we flourish!” or “We will advance more and more!" It can also represent the expression “In the end, we will be thriving!”

Listen closely and see if you can hear the cries of “Iyasaka” (弥栄) in this clip:

Meg and I marched alongside the procession snapping tons of pictures and videos of this energizing event! Eventually, we arrived back at Tachibana Park and watched as the samurai men marched across the bridge and towards the Tachibana Shrine!

This was a pretty cool event and a great way to start Spring Break!

Iyasaka!!!!

--Katie