Girl with great big smile in shower of flowers in Yoneyama Yakushido Shrine.
Kotaro Yamada
– Tsukagoshi Flower Festival (Chichibu-shi, Saitama Prefecture）
Children scatter flowers as they walk the path toward Yakushido Shrine.
In the Tsukagoshi district of Kamiyoshida, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, there is a traditional spring festival called Hana Matsuri (flower festival). It’s literally a flowery festivity to gather flowers from around the village and scatter them in the local shrine. That way, people celebrate the birth of Buddha but the festival itself is all carried out by local children. The tradition has actually been handed down from the Edo period by children in the village. Hana Matsuri is held in early May every year. This year, it was prepared and performed by 14 local children. They decorated a Hanamido portable shrine with flowers and berries and carried it to Yoneyama Yakushido shrine that sits on a small hill. They wore bamboo bags around their waist and the bags were filled with flowers. The children scattered the flowers as they walk to the shrine. When they arrived at the shrine, they put down the small shrine and poured Ama-cha hydrangea tea over a small Buddha statue placed in the middle of the portable shrine. The festival ended when they stood in a circle and throw flowers in the air.
Portable shrine called Hanamido (flower hall) decorated with Japanese tree peony flower, Japanese aucuba berries, pinus densiflora fresh needles, azalea buds, etc.
Children pour Ama-cha hydrangea tea over a small Buddha statue placed in the middle of the portable shrine.
(May 18, 2014)