Katsuyama Sagicho: Red-Robed Drummers and a Bonfire

Katsuyama is a snowbound former castle town on the upper Kuzuryu River in Fukui Prefecture. On the last Saturday and Sunday of February, it holds the Katsuyama Sagicho Matsuri. Twelve wooden towers go up across the town centre, and on top of each one adults and children in bright red under-kimono beat a drum. The reason locals call it an eccentric festival lies in the way they play. Designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property by Fukui Prefecture, it has been held for more than 300 years, since the Ogasawara family took up residence here, as a rite of the lunar new year.

The Floating Drum

Walk through the town and a tower appears on almost every street. A drum sits on a raised wooden frame, and a player in a red robe kneels behind it. Shamisen, flute and hand gong join in, and a brisk, light-footed rhythm begins. The drummer does not play with grim concentration. Instead the body sways, the head tilts, and the performance becomes a deliberate piece of clowning with the drum as a partner. This style is said to exist nowhere else in Japan, and watching it tends to produce an involuntary grin. The music bounces off snow-lined alleys, and each neighbourhood has its own timing and gestures.

Satirical Displays and Paper Lanterns

Drumming is only half of it. Each neighbourhood builds a display satirising the events of the past year, and paper lanterns light the eaves along the streets. On Saturday afternoon these displays and lanterns are judged in a competition, and comparing them as you walk is how regular visitors spend the daylight hours. Saturday opens with prayers in each district from 9:30, and the festival formally begins at 1 in the afternoon with the first drum, struck in the Kamigo district. Sunday at 10 brings a children's contest, where small performers execute the comic gestures with entirely serious faces.

The Bonfire That Ends It

The festival closes on Sunday night with the dondo-yaki bonfire. In the late afternoon the sacred object is carried down to Benten Kawara, the riverbank beside the Kuzuryu. At 7:30 in the evening a flame kindled at Shinmei Shrine is carried over by torch, and at 8 a signal rocket sets the whole pile alight at once. Stacked new year decorations and sacred straw ropes become a column of fire, staining the snow-covered riverbed red. The fire is a prayer for good health, a good harvest and protection from fire in the year ahead.

Tips for Visiting

Snow is still on the ground in Katsuyama at the end of February. Waterproof boots with grippy soles and thick gloves are not optional, and the packed snow around the towers can be genuinely slippery. Each neighbourhood plays with its own quirks, so rather than settling at one tower, visit at least three. For the bonfire, the moment of ignition is the highlight, so be on the riverbank a little before 8 at night. Standing near the fire warms your front while your back stays freezing, and a heat pack helps more than you might expect.

Getting There

The venue is about a 10-minute walk from Katsuyama Station on the Echizen Railway Katsuyama Eiheiji Line. During the festival, free shuttle buses run between the station and the festival area at roughly 30-minute intervals, timed to train arrivals. By car it is about 10 minutes from the Katsuyama interchange. Some temporary car parks open on Saturday only and others on Sunday only.

Practical Information

• Dates: the last Saturday and Sunday of February, originally the 14th day of the first lunar month
• Venue: central Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture; the bonfire is held at Benten Kawara on the riverbank
• Organiser and enquiries: Katsuyama Sagicho Matsuri Executive Committee, Katsuyama City, tel. 0779-88-8114
• Programme: Saturday, district prayers from 9:30, first drum at 13:00, judging from 13:30; Sunday, children's contest from 10:00, bonfire lit at 20:00
• Access: 10 minutes on foot from Katsuyama Station; free shuttle buses roughly every 30 minutes
• Parking: Katsuyama City Hall, the education hall, Sukoyaka and Benten green space
• Designation: Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Fukui Prefecture
• Official website: https://katsuyama-navi.jp/

* Dates, details and prices are subject to change. Please check the official website before you go.

(Sources: Katsuyama City official website, Katsuyama City official tourism website, Fukui Prefecture official tourism website)