History – Shizuoka Festival Official Page

Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hanami

gobusiness — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 00:52:26 +0000

Sunpu Grand Imperial Palace Historical Picture Scroll
The Shizuoka Festival began in 1957, following the legend that Ieyasu Tokugawa, who became a great lord, took daimyo (feudal lords) and hatamoto (feudal warlords) along to view cherry blossoms.
According to records, Ieyasu Tokugawa, who moved his castle to Sunpu in 1607, took a group of daimyo (feudal lords), hatamoto (feudal retainers), and others to Sengen Shrine to view cherry blossoms, as recorded in “Tousho Daigongen KARINA Engi”. According to the “Toshodai Gongen Kari-enki”, “The accompanying people were dressed in elaborate and elegant costumes, and the sight of them competing with each other was a rare and spectacular sight…” This describes the gorgeous cherry blossom viewing scene of the time. The Sunpu Seijo Roku (Sunpu Record of Political Matters) also records that Hanami was held under the flowers in full bloom and a Noh play was dedicated to the gods.
under the cherry blossoms in full bloom of Ryoura ensyoku
This is the origin of the Ogosyo hanami procession held at the Shizuoka Festival. The scene of the procession, which is said to be made up of a row of “Ryora” (a kind of garment with a glossy color) sleeves, must have been like a picture scroll of the times, reminiscent of the prosperity of the Grand Imperial Palace period.
Yoshino Cherry Blossom Viewing
What is recalled as hanami in the Warring States period is the hanami held by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Yoshino (1594). It is historically famous as the Yoshino Hanami. It was a few years after Toyotomi Hideyoshi achieved unification of the country, at the very height of his power. It is said that a total of 5,000 tea masters and renga poets, including Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Date Masamune, and other military commanders, accompanied this cherry blossom viewing. During their stay, they held “poetry,” “tea,” and “Noh” parties, and it seems that their days were filled with banquets.
Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) to make the world of Tokugawa known to the world
It is not clear what Tokugawa Ieyasu had in mind at this time, but it can be inferred that the cherry blossom viewing in Sunpu was a reminder to the whole country of the change from Toyotomi to Tokugawa rule, analogous to the cherry blossom viewing in Yoshino.

Shizuoka Festival and Sunpu 96 Towns

gobusiness — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 14:00:02 +0000

Sunpu Ninety-six Towns” refers to the townscape where the foundations were laid during the Imagawa period and developed during the Tokugawa period.
The ninety-six towns along the old Tokaido highway were the center of many people’s gatherings.
What is Sunpu?
Sunpu, a shortened form of Fuchu in Suruga Province, is the city where the national government of Suruga Province was located.
The name is an abbreviation of Suruga Province Fuchu, but it was called Sunpu or Fuchu for a long time after the Ritsuryo period and until modern times, and during the Edo period, the name Fuchu simply referred to Sunpu.
After the Meiji era, the city showed its reverence to the new government because it was associated with the Tokugawa family.The name was changed to Shizuoka after the city’s Mount Shizuhata.
This is the area that forms the center of Aoi Ku in Shizuoka City.
What is Suruga Province?
Suruga Province is the former name of the country that covers the central and eastern parts of Shizuoka Prefecture.
It was bordered to the west by the Land of Totoumi and to the east by the Land of Izu.
In ancient times, people only needed to know the names of places within their own sphere of activity, and it was the central government that needed extensive country names.
Totoumi was the name of the distant Omi, the Sea of Danube (Totsu Awaumi → Totsu Oumi Tohotoumi). (Awamia is Lake Biwa.)
The name of the country is said to have originated from the fact that the flow of the Fuji River is extremely fierce and swift.
History of Sunpu
During the Ritsuryo period, the provincial government of Suruga Province was established and it became the center of Suruga Province.
Although no kokufu has been found, the most likely location is near Hase Town, Aoi Ward, located on the north side of Sunpu Castle.
Sunpu flourished as the castle town of the Imagawa clan from the Muromachi period to the Warring States period.
The Imagawa clan built the city of Sunpu on the model of the capital of Kyoto, and even today the names of places and towns are the same as those of Kyoto.
Many court nobles and cultural figures who fled the devastation of the capital of Kyoto moved to Sunpu, and the area was called “the capital of the eastern provinces” or “the capital of the eastern provinces,” where the Imagawa culture, one of the three major cultures of the Warring States period, flourished.
However, after the defeat of Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, the Imagawa clan fell into decline and Sunpu was burned to the ground and temporarily devastated by Takeda Shingen’s attack on Suruga.
Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who spent his childhood in Sunpu as a hostage of the Imagawa clan, established Sunpu as his home in 1585, built the castle, and restored the city to its former prosperity.In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu was transferred to the Kanto region, and Nakamura Kazuuji under Toyotomi Hideyoshi entered Sunpu, but after establishing the Edo shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu decided to go into hiding and once again resided in Sunpu Castle.
Masufu Ninety-six towns
During the reign of the great lord Ieyasu in Sunpu, a town called “Sunpu Ninety-six Towns” was developed and the population was said to be 100,000 or 120,000, making it a metropolis on par with Kamigata (Kyoto and Osaka) and Edo (150,000).
The term “Sunpu Ninety-six Towns” is commonly used in various documents on towns in the Edo period, such as “Sunpu Kueki”, “Sunkoku Zasshi”, and “Suruga Kokushi Hoi”.
This term refers to the total number of towns when the town was divided (urban development) in 1609, the year after Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Sunpu Castle as the great lord.It is also the generic name for the Sunpu Castle family.Craftsmen, merchants, and other townspeople were assigned to each castle town according to their occupation.
There are some ancient town names dating back to the Nara period and some from the Imagawa period.
The name of the town conveys the philosophy of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu, who bet on the creation of a new castle town based on Fuchu, which was built by the warlord Imagawa clan.
The Keicho town layout was a major land readjustment project. It stopped the cul-de-sac style of the Warring States period and created a Kyoto-style (grid) corridor, which is the foundation of Shizuoka City today, more than 400 years later.
The population of Sunpu at that time was said to be 100,000 or 120,000, making it a major city on par with Kamigata (Kyoto and Osaka) and Edo (150,000).
The names of towns from this era are still preserved in Shizuoka City in a coherent manner and are a valuable cultural asset.

Shizuoka Festival and Shizuoka Sengen Shrine Hatsukakae Festival

gobusiness — Sat, 02 May 2020 14:00:04 +0000

Origin of the Shizuoka Festival
The Shizuoka Festival began in 1957 as a response to the Hatsukakae Festival at Shizuoka Sengen Shrine.
In 1949, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the city’s incorporation, Shizuoka Sengen Shrine revived the children’s procession, and the Cherry blossom viewing parade was organized by the Shizuoka Shotenkai, creating the prototype for the Shizuoka Festival.
The current “Shizuoka Festival” began in 1957.
Shizuoka Sengen Shrine
The three Shinto shrines of Kambe Shrine, Sengen Shrine (two shrines in the same building) and Otoshimioya Shrine are collectively known as Shizuoka Sengen Shrine (commonly called Osengen-sama).
Kambe Shrine was established about 2,100 years ago under the reign of the tenth Emperor Sujin as the ancestor god of Suruga’s development and the great god of Suruga’s national spirit.It is the oldest shrine in the region, and is described as Miwa Myojin in the “Kokunai Shinmeicho” and as a subordinate in the “Ruiju Kokushi”.
Sengen Shrine was enshrined in the first year of Enki Era (901) at the imperial request of Emperor Daigo from the main shrine of Mt.Fuji.Since then, it has been revered by the national government as Fuji Shingu.
The Otoshimioya Shrine was founded in the 4th year of Emperor Ohjin (273), about 1,700 years ago, as a guardian deity of the “Abe no Ichi”, which was the center of distribution and commerce in this region in ancient times.That is listed as Shonii Nakoya Myojin in the “Kokunai Shinmeicho” and is the local deity of Shizuoka City.
All three shrines are highly revered by the imperial court, national governors, and military commanders, and are widely worshiped as the general shrines of Suruga Province, the local deities of Shizuoka, and the major shrines of Suruga.
In addition, there are four other shrines within the precincts of the shrine: Hayama Shrine, Yachihoko Shrine, Sukunahikona Shrine, and Tamahoko Shrine, for a total of 40 shrines (there is also Toshogu Shrine, which enshrines Ieyasu Tokugawa).
The main hall of Shizuoka Sengen Shrine (designated as an Important Cultural Property by the national government) is a three-story, two-story tower with a gabled roof with a staggered gable on the first floor and a gabled roof on the second floor.
Hatsukakae Festival
The Hatsukae Festival, the annual festival of Shizuoka Sengen Shrine, is a celebration that heralds spring in Shizuoka and is held for five days from April 1 to 5 every year.
It used to be called “Bugaku-kai” because of the dance and music performed by the children.
The essence of the Hatsukae Festival is considered to be the “chigomai” and “neri”.
It is said that the origin of the dance performance is that when Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu visited the Kannon Festival at Takyo Temple during his stay at Sunpu Castle, he was pleased with the dance performed by the children, and dedicated it to the Sengen Shrine on the 20th of February to pray for peace and good harvest.
Currently, “Furihoko,” “Nasori,” “Anma,” “Kanjogaku,” and “Taiheigaku” are performed as part of the children’s dance and music, and are designated as Intangible folk cultural assets by the government.。
The Chigomai, which has been handed down through the ages, is usually dedicated on April 5.
Chigomai
The Chigomai is performed on February 20th of the lunar calendar at the Shizuoka Sengen Shrine’s annual Hatsukae Festival (Old Okaishiki), which is now held on April 5th.
When the children arrive at the shrine after parading around the city with the parade of parishioners (neri = floats), a grand festival is held and the Chigomai is dedicated.
At 11:00 a.m. on April 5, every other year, a procession of young children riding palanquins will depart from Ikazuchi Shrine in Shichiken-cho or Ogushi Shrine in Konya-cho, accompanied by floats.When we arrived at the shrine at noon, we were greeted by the children, who performed a parade and entertainment.Around 3:30 p.m., the children’s dance and music will be performed at the Buden.
It is also a valuable folk performing art and is designated as an intangible folk cultural asset by Shizuoka Prefecture.
It has a long history, and it is written in the “Record of Lord Kototsugu” that Yamashina Kototsugu, a nobleman of the Warring States period, watched the Chigomai.
In September 1556, Kototsugu visited his aunt-in-law, Jugei-ni (the mother of Imagawa Yoshimoto).He stayed in Sunpu for six months until March of the following year.There is a record that on February 22, the 3rd year of the reign of Koji, he received a gift of sake and snacks from Jukei-ni and observed a children’s dance at Sengen Shrine.
The Chigomai was handed down from Takyo Temple (abandoned in the beginning of the Meiji era), which was located in Takyo, Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City, and it was customary to go to Sengen Shrine from Takyo Temple to dedicate the dance.
Takyo Temple was built in the 13th year of the Hakuho Era (684) as the family temple of the Hata Clan, and Shizuhata Shrine, which enshrined the deity of the Hata Clan, was located at Sengen Shrine.
Today, it is famous as the Chigomai dedicated to Ieyasu Tokugawa, but it had declined with the fall of the Imagawa family during the Warring States period, but when Ieyasu entered the castle in Sunpu as a great lord, he followed the precedent and restored the dedication from Takyo Temple.
From then on, the children who performed this dance were selected from the children of shogunate officials, and the procession of children from Takyo Temple to Sengen Shrine was guarded by yoriki and doshin, and was given the status of a daimyo procession (equivalent to 100,000 koku).
In addition, officials such as Kaban erected high-hanging lanterns to guard the outer moat of Sunpu Castle, and under the patronage of the Edo Shogunate, the event was held in a grand manner.
It is said that when the dance was over, the cherry blossoms and mountain ashes were carried to the Edo Castle by a ferryman to report the end of the dance as a “Hanaosame Ceremony”.