Experience Nagasaki culture! Nagasaki City festivals you can enjoy all year round

The Nagasaki Grouper Deep-Fried Festival is one of Nagasaki's three major events, along with Nagasaki Kunchi and Spirit Nagashi. It is held every year from early April to early May.

"Hata" means "kite".
The kite (grouper) of Nagasaki is said to have been introduced by Indonesians who came to Dejima as servants of the Dutch, and it is said that grouper flying battles began around the 18th century.
A grouper is a diamond shape made by combining two bones in a cross shape. The base colors of washi paper, white, blue, and red, are the basic colors, and traditional and simple designs such as the national flag, family crests, birds, and Dutch letters soar high into the sky.

Unlike kite-flying, where you fly high into the air, a grouper-flying competition is a grouper battle where you compete with other groupers and cut the line of your opponent's grouper! The idea is to cut the opponent's grouper thread with a special thread called ``Bidoro Yoma'', which is made by hardening glass powder with glue and applying it to the hemp thread ``Yoma'', and then drop the grouper. While reading the wind, you can freely manipulate the grouper up and down in the air to engage the grouper of your opponent. A serious battle to cut or be cut!

A grouper that is cut and falls becomes the property of the person who picked it up, so the sight of spectators running for the grouper the moment it falls is a unique feature of a grouper-age tournament. It is a heated festival where both participants and spectators come together as one.

The venue is Kazegashira, Mt. Inasa, Mt. Konpira, and the Eight Views of Kara. It is held in the mountains surrounding Nagasaki city. The sight of groupers with dozens of different patterns soaring into the sky is spectacular! You can also enjoy events such as demonstration performances by grouper frying experts and parent-child grouper frying classes.

The Nagasaki Minato Festival is held on the last Saturday and Sunday of July every year.
It is a festival that represents Nagasaki's summer, and is held with the aim of bringing together citizens and visitors to the port and reaffirming the splendor of Nagasaki's sea and port through the festival.

The venue, Nagasaki Port and Nagasaki Mizube no Mori Park, are lined with many stalls offering delicious-looking gourmet food. Dance and song performances will be held on stage, and the venue will be very lively!

The climax is a spectacular fireworks display. A whopping 2 fireworks will be launched over the two days, painting the night sky of Nagasaki in vivid colors! Enjoy music fireworks where you can experience the harmony of music and light, Nagasaki's largest "size 16,000 ball fireworks", and more, which are sure to be exciting!

It's beautiful from the venue, but you can also enjoy both the beautiful night view and the fireworks from Mt. Inasa and Glover Garden. We also recommend watching the fireworks from a distance.

On Sunday afternoons when the Nagasaki Minato Festival is held, the ``Nagasaki Peron Championships'' will also be held. Enjoy Nagasaki's summer to the fullest while listening to the heroic chant of "Yoisaa".

The "Nagasaki Peron Championship" will be held at Nagasaki Port. It is a summer tradition in Nagasaki that is held on the last Sunday of July every year.

"Peron" is a long and slender boat whose origin comes from the Chinese word for white dragon (pyron). It is said that the festival began when a Chinese ship moored in Nagasaki Port was severely damaged by a storm, and the Chinese people living there rented barges and rowed together in Nagasaki Port in order to appease the sea god's anger. I am. It is a traditional event with a long history that has continued for over 360 years.

The length of Peron is approximately 14m. A total of 26 people, including 30 rowers, taiko drums, gongs, coxswains, helmsmen, and akakumimi, board the long, bow-shaped boat and row 1,150 meters round trip.
Mighty drums and gongs reverberate on the sea as the boat rows its oars in time to the chant of ``yoisaa'' and moves forward powerfully. The excitement, splashing water, and the tension of the race, combined with the loud cheers of the cheering squad, fills the venue with excitement!

A free trial peron will also be held on the day. The Nagasaki Minato Festival will also be held on the same day.
Please enjoy Nagasaki's hot summer at the venue!

The Nagasaki Night Market is held on Saturdays and Sundays in early and late August every year.
This event, which is held on both banks of the Nakashima River that flows through Nagasaki City, continues the tradition of the ``river festival,'' in which the townspeople of Nagasaki expressed their gratitude for the Nakashima River, which was an important logistics hub since the Edo period. .

The scenery of the night market is very emotional. The illuminated Megane Bridge and approximately 200 lanterns decorate Nakashima River, creating a retro atmosphere that creates a festive atmosphere.

Enjoy Nagasaki gourmet food at the various stalls lined up on both banks of the river, enjoy live music and dance performances around Megane Bridge, take a walk along the river, and enjoy the sunset in Nagasaki!

"Spirit Nagashi" is held on August 8th every year.
This is a traditional event in Nagasaki where the families of the deceased, celebrating the first Bon festival, parade the spirits of the deceased through the city on elaborately hand-built boats, with the hope that they will safely reach the Pure Land of Paradise.

The boats called ``Shorobune'' are mainly made of bamboo, boards, and straw, and are luxuriously decorated with Bon lanterns and flower decorations. The long, trumpet-shaped bow of the boat has the family crest, family name, and town name written in large letters. The boats vary in size, from those that are several tens of centimeters long to those so large that they resemble festival floats.

I thought it would be a quiet atmosphere because it was a Bon event, but Nagasaki's spirit-nagashi ceremony was flashy and gorgeous!
As dusk approaches, you can hear the chimes of bells "Chacon Chacon" and chants of "Doi Doi" coming from everywhere. And the roar of firecrackers and the light of fireworks! The city is filled with the smoke and smell of gunpowder as they parade late into the night while setting off firecrackers to reach the "nagashiba" where the spirit ship arrives.

Please come and see the Obon events typical of Nagasaki.

``Nagasaki Kunchi'' is a grand autumn festival held at Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki's guardian deity, for three days from October 10th to 7th every year.
It is a traditional Nagasaki festival that has been going on for over 2 years since the Edo period, when two prostitutes dedicated a Noh song called ``Komai'' in front of the shrine at Suwa Shrine.

Dynamic and heroic dances, such as the ``Dragon Dance'' where dragons dance as if they are flying, and the ``Taiko Mountain'' where floats are carried along to the beat of taiko drums, as well as elegant and beautiful dances. The captivating Japanese dance ``Hondori'' and the humorous rendition of ``Oranda Manzai'' are a true example of Nagasaki's ``Japanese dance'', where Japanese culture is mixed with the strong influence of Chinese and Southern civilization. You can enjoy the unique atmosphere of Hualan culture.
The excitement in the venue reached its peak as the chants of ``motte koi'', meaning an encore, echoed through the splendid performance!

There are four venues (dances): Suwa Shrine, Otabisho, Yasaka Shrine, and Central Park. In addition, they will be presenting performances in front of businesses, government offices, and homes in the city to "distribute good fortune" and "celebrate." This is your chance to see your favorite performances up close!

Please enjoy the exotic and luxurious Nagasaki Kunchi to your heart's content.

Takengei is a traditional performing art dedicated at the autumn festival of Wakamiya Inari Shrine. It is held on October 10th and 14th every year.

Takengei is a dynamic acrobatics performed on the grounds of shrines. Two young people wearing white costumes and fox masks perform acrobatic acts on two bamboo trees approximately 2 meters in height.

This performance depicts a white fox, a messenger of the shrine, enjoying the divine virtues of Wakamiya Shrine and playing around in the bamboo thicket. The bamboo that serves as the stage for the acrobatics consists of a ``asoritake,'' which has 15 foot bars called kase, and a ``furitake,'' which has four skeins attached to a stand. To the sound of flutes, drums, shamisen, and chants, they perform aerial acrobatics such as upside-down and hanging movements. The assembled audience sweats as they watch the performers release their hands and stand on their heads one after another, gasp at the large, bending bamboo, and cheer loudly when their performance is decided.

Takengei is held both during the day and at night, so you can experience different attractions each time. Be sure to enjoy the inhuman acrobatics of the white fox, which dances dynamically under the blue sky and charms you bewitchingly under the night sky.

At the Nagasaki Lantern Festival, the city of Nagasaki is filled with lanterns. This festival has its origins in the Spring Festival, which celebrates the Chinese New Year, and is a major winter event in Nagasaki that is held every year for about two weeks from late January to late February, coinciding with the Chinese New Year.

Approximately 7 lanterns (Chinese lanterns) will be displayed at seven venues including the main venue, Shinchi Chinatown Venue (Minato Park), Chuo Park, and Hamamanmachi, as well as the city center, making Nagasaki's nights vivid. Shine.

Various events will be held during the period. One of the highlights is the lighting ceremony where approximately 1 lanterns are lit all at once! In an instant, the entire city becomes brightly colored, and the audience cheers as the glittering festival begins!

Each venue is packed with events with a rich Chinese flavor. The Emperor Parade, in which the Emperor and Empress parade along with the people, is extravagant and the colorful Chinese costumes are a must-see. In addition, don't miss out on other valuable events where you can experience Chinese history and traditional culture, such as the dragon dance, Chinese acrobatics, and Chinese lion dance!

There are also plenty of spots where you'll want to take photos, such as the lantern tunnel and lantern objects placed throughout the city! Around Meganebashi Bridge, the contrast between the retro stone bridge and the lantern lights flickering on the water is extremely photogenic.

Enjoy the gorgeous and magical lantern light and Nagasaki's winter to your heart's content.