The Hitachi Furyumono (日立風流物) is a parade in Hitachi city, Japan.[1] It is held during Hitachi Sakura Matsuri (日立さくらまつり), the annual cherry blossom festival in April, and the Great Festival at the local Шаблон:Ill once in every seven years in May.[1][2] It is inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists as a part of "Шаблон:Ill", 33 traditional Japan festivals.[3][4]
Furyumono is a puppet show performed onstage on the floats.[5] Each of four local communities - Kita-machi (北町), Higashi-machi (東町), Nishi-machi (西町) and Moto-machi (元町) - has their own float.[1] During the annual festival, one community presents its parade float each year.[1] During the Great Festival at Kamine Shrine, the four communities compete for the most skilled puppeteers and the best hospitality to the local deity.[1]
The floats are five tons in weight, 15 meters in height, and from 3 to 8 meters in width.[6] Each of them has a five-storied stage, and on each stage puppets play a scene of one story respectively.[5]
Each puppet is controlled by three to five puppeteers manipulating the ropes.[1]
History
The origin of the parade goes back to 1695.[5] According to Kamine Shrine, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the second lord of Mito Domain, appointed Kamine Shrine as the Sou-Chinju, the local tutelary shrine.[7] People held religious festivals and dedicated floats to the shrine.[5]
In the early 18th century, a puppet show began supposedly imitating Ningyō jōruri, the puppet theater with chanted narration that was very popular in Edo and Osaka area at that time.[5]
In 2009, it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists with the Yamahoko parade of Gion Matsuri.[4] In 2016, these two parades and 31 traditional festivals were registered on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists[4] as "Шаблон:Ill", the representative examples showing the diversity of Japan local cultures.[3]
