Photo/Illutration Thirteen floats are lined up in front of Tensonjinja shrine during the Otsu Festival in Otsu on Oct. 12. (Yuhei Nakahodo)

UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Dec. 11 added six items from Japan, including festivals and craftsmanship, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

In the “Yama, Hoko and Yatai float festivals in Japan” category, the committee added: the Ofune Festival in Hitachi-Otsu held in Kita-Ibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture; the float event at the Murakami Festival in Niigata Prefecture; the Hikiyama and Tsukiyama event at the Houjoudu Hachiman Shrine Festival held in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture; and the Hikiyama event at the Otsu Festival held in Shiga prefectural capital.

The committee also added Echizen Tori No Koshi, traditional paper crafted in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, to the category of “washi, craftsmanship of traditional Japanese hand-made paper.”

And Teori Nakatsugi Omote, the traditional skill of crafting tatami mats, was included in the category of “traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan.”

UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage covers festivals, traditional craftsmanship skills, performing arts and social practices.

The six additions will not change Japan’s total number of intangible cultural heritage registrations, which remains at 23, because they joined the already registered 23 categories.

9-YEAR WAIT IN OTSU

Supporters and organizers of the Otsu Festival’s Hikiyama event cried out in joy when the UNESCO decision was announced just before 3 p.m. on Dec. 11.

Nine years have passed since the Hikiyama event of the Nagahama Hikiyama Festival, one of the three major festivals of Lake Biwako, was added to the list in 2016.

Organizers in Otsu, also on Lake Biwako, were patiently awaiting their turn.

“It was worth waiting nine years,” said Hiromi Furuya, chairman of the Otsu Festival preservation society. “From now on, the challenge will be how much we can protect these cultural properties. We want to nurture this festival and its float event into something that we can boast to the world.”

Furuya and others involved had been projecting the Intergovernmental Committee’s meeting in India onto a screen for public viewing at the Otsu Festival float exhibition hall since Dec. 9.

After the announcement, those in attendance celebrated with three cheers.

Hiroaki Funahashi, chairman of the nonprofit organization Otsumatsuri Hikiyama Renmei (Otsu Festival Hikiyama federation), strengthened his resolve to preserve the event.

“We must show gratitude for the predecessors who have kept this festival alive for 400 years,” he said. “We need to pass it on to the next generation and make it a festival known to people around the world. I feel a heavy responsibility.”

From 6 p.m. on Dec. 11, a commemorative ceremony was held in front of the exhibition hall, featuring the unveiling of a signboard celebrating the registration and the opening of a sake barrel.

This year, the pre-festival “yomiya” event was held on Oct. 11, while the main Otsu Festival was held on the following day, featuring 13 gorgeously decorated floats proceeding through the town.

The event attracted a combined total of about 180,000 visitors over the two days.

Boasting nearly 400 years of history, the festival was designated as an important intangible folk cultural property by the Japanese government in 2016.

(This article was compiled from reports by Ryo Jozuka and Yuhei Nakahodo.) 

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