The Setamai San Nen Sai (三年祭)

If you spend any amount of time in Japan, you will quickly realize there is one aspect about the culture here that is hard to miss ― the festivals. Japan loves its festivals, and has a plethora of them to choose to attend. And while there many famous, large-scale matsuri, across Japan drawing in thousands of visitors every year, the large majority of these events are smaller, local affairs. Here in the Kesen area there are many to choose from, especially in the summer months.

In Sumita, being a smaller, rural community makes it more of a challenge to hold a major festival every year and so, like the Olympics are instead held once every few years. In the central area of Sumita, called Setamai, a spring festival is held every three years during the Golden Week holiday on May 3rd and 4th. This year, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in this festival once again. While the actual festival is held the first week in May, the planning and preparations begin many months earlier. Setamai is made up of six neighborhoods, and each one has a large wooden float on wheels to use in the festival, which is pulled by rope. Each group spends weeks decorating their float. A main feature of the festival is the dancing where as many as 50 dancers from one neighborhood perform in front of their float, wearing colorful yukata (a casual, cotton kimono). The dance teams learn three or four dances set to music and rehearsals are often held nightly for more than a month before the event. The dances are also accompanied by a variety of taiko (drums), fue (bamboo flutes) and shamisen (a three-stringed lute). The drums are usually played by elementary and junior high school students, while the flute and shamisen are performed by older members of the community.

The two-day event starts with a somewhat lower-key beginning in which each group can perform for their respective neighborhood extensively and iron out any kinks in their performances. The main event takes place on May 4th and is an all-day affair. The floats slowly make their way to the downtown main street and perform for most of the day, stopping only briefly for lunch. It truly is an amazing event to watch. At the end of the day though, floats are put away in protective buildings and yukata are cleaned, folded and put away until the next event three years later.

Never fear, should you not be in Sumita for 2022, 2025, or 2028 to watch this special festival, Sumita does hold an annual summer festival the last Saturday of every July, complete with dances, local performing groups (including the Goyo Matchlock Samurai Corps and the Shishiodori, Deer Dancers) and fireworks to finish off the evening.