Yatsushiro Myōken Festival as a Chronicle for Yatsushiro’s Prosperity
At the beginning of the Edo period, Yatsushiro Castle moved to its present location and the area flourished as a shipping port for Nagasaki and Kamigata as nearby commodities concentrated in the town that formed around the castle.
During the Genroku period (end of the 17th century), when the townspeople’s culture was blossoming, elaborate plans for kasaboko (combined umbrella and halberd carried on floats) and other objects were devised and objects provided with every luxury imaginable were dedicated to the shrine.
Tadaoki Hosokawa, feudal lord of the Kumamoto domain, and the Matsui clan who controlled Yatsushiro Castle, put their minds to creating a festival to enhance the unity of the area.
A look at the picture scrolls of the festival drawn by the Matsui family’s painter at the start of the 19th century, we can learn about the grand festivals of those days when people from all different classes came together to celebrate.
Since that time, the Yatsushiro Myōken Festival has been passed down for generations as a valuable piece of the culture of Yatsushiro and the magnificent processions that have remained unchanged can be seen even today.
