Culture Japan’s matsuri fight to survive

There are around 300,000 festivals held across Japan every year, from major events that draw millions, like the Nebuta Festival in Aomori Prefecture and the Sanja Festival in Tokyo's Asakusa neighbourhood, to much smaller rituals hosted by village shrines and temples. They're an essential part of the nation's culture, providing a sense of solidarity and shared heritage among neighbourhood associations while providing much-needed income.

Matsuri are closely associated with Japan's four seasons. In the countryside, farmers pray for their harvest in spring and give thanks in the fall, while summer matsuri is typically held in urban areas to ward off evil spirits causing sickness. Significant work goes into maintaining a matsuri, with organizers and participants spending up to a year on preparations. Also integral are the craftspeople that make and repair the mikoshi, costumes and ritual paraphernalia that reflect local colours, traditions and motifs.

Before the pandemic, many folk rituals struggled to attract participants as community ties frayed and the population rapidly ages and shrinks. For many smaller festivals that lack willing organizers and resources, COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed on gatherings were the final nail in the coffin.


The JT on the efforts of reviving the magic of the matsuri and getting the young ones involved:

"Matsuri are very organic, and have been constantly changing over time," says Manabu Haga, a professor of sociology at Sophia University. "But from a sociologist's perspective, a major transformation took place in the 1970s and 1980s." That period, Haga says, is when local communities began disintegrating as the number of nuclear families and single-person households grew. Urban dwellers became more individualistic, while graying rural villages suffered from depopulation. "From around 2000 onward, maintaining community-based lifestyles became difficult, a societal trend that has had a direct impact on festivities," Haga says. Many matsuri died out, while others adapted and survived.

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