Nonogawa River Valley Float Festival and Race

Did you see Shimosaki's team? They started training every weekend with the previous year's float base and sandbags!

— Kyuunan team leader

Yeah, but they have several members in college. They have to do it that way. We just have mostly old... err, older guys who aren't going anywhere. There's only 3 of us under 40.

— team member

*glares*

— Kyuunan team leader

by Freepik

The trio of towns that make up the Nonogawa River Valley in Okayama (Nonogawa, Shimosaki, and Kyuunan) are particularly competitive, especially for the annual summer float race.
They take turns holding the event and host thousands of spectators. The winning team gets bragging rights. Though, the rural district towns come together in the end to build a big float that will make the rounds throughout the year to each of the areas that contributed.

Preparation

by AWV + fatboy29basic

Over the course of a year, each town builds an ornate bamboo, wood, and textile float that weighs about 1 metric ton. The top piece of the float will be part of a stack and coordinate with the other towns' float pieces to form a unified display representing the entire valley. After the race, the valley's display will tour each locality, then finally stop in the winning town.
The victors from the previous year have the privilege of commissioning the designer for the unified float and giving input for the overall look. Artisans from each town unite to create the pieces.

by Surang

Tickets for the best seats at the finish line are sold out a year in advance. Good luck finding a "free" spot along the road.

Handmade Floats that Stack Together

Artists from all over the prefecture take on apprentices in September. What better time to train the next generation than a fun festival commission? Woodcarvers, doll makers, cloth spinners, weavers, dyers, carpenters, lantern makers, calligraphers, flower arrangers, and more will all help with the year's creation.

by Smashicons

First to be completed is the base for the unified float. It will be made of bamboo poles with specialized joints tied together with rope. Then a platform is placed on top. No nails are used. Then the wheelless bases for each town's section are built similarly, but with long poles and dangling ropes to move the float.
Overall color schemes are decided for the floats. On the platforms, the woodworkers will secure the intricately carved and decorated statues and scenery items. Historic and mythological figures and landscape features, such as mountains and waterfalls, are popular. They leave spaces on the float for the team leader to sit and for the taiko drum and its performer. Then fabric banners with stenciled crests, wooden plaques with calligraphy, and floral arrangements are added to complete the display.

Team Uniforms

Team members are given a happi coat, white fundoshi, and a headband. They need to purchase their own black tabi boots.
Team leaders verify everyone's uniform is in good shape and replacement pieces are purchased as needed.
The over all style is similar on each of the happi coats to show the unity of the community. But each locale has a color and pattern. On the back of each is a white circle and the town's symbol.

Nonogawa has blue waves with a rice plant

Kyuunan has red flowers with a persimmon

Shimosaki has black keywork with a pine branch

Training

Senior team members teach how to:

help build the base so they learn the traditional techniques

wear and tie the fundoshi so it stays put, the front of the happi coat so it stays out of the way and the headband so it's effective in keeping sweat out of the eyes

sing and clap for the local songs and team signals

carry/drag the float and not damage their backs and stay in rhythm so they move efficiently

how to swap out team members quickly on a signal

The Day Before

by Justicon

Before they transport the float to the start line, each of the teams goes through a purification ritual and dedicates thier float to the Kami at their local shrine.
Purification varies a little for each town, but it usually involves washing thoroughly, then soaking in an ice-cold bath (with water from the river) as a team. Then they pay respects to the kami by providing offerings of food and sake and bow deeply in front of the shrine.

by Freepik

Spectators and news crews arrive in all three towns and scout the race site for the best viewing spots. The floats are on display in their respective towns. The teams and spectators party well into the night, even though they'll have to be up again before dawn. Floats are paraded to the starting line, led by a cart with taiko drums and bells.

Race Day

by AWV + fatboy29basic

Teams are in place at the starting line by 4:30 am. The crowds gather around 2 am and cheer the participants as they arrive.
Team leaders whip up the crowds by having the teams sing local songs. Meanwhile, the townsfolk spray the track with water to help make the surface easier to drag the float along. They also hand out water buckets to splash on the roads and participants.

by Imaginationlol

As the teams line up, the team leaders and the taiko drummers climb onto their respective seats on the floats. Leaders will spur their teams on with shouts of "Oisa!" as they wave symbols of the town to help synchronize the team's movement. The officials will time each team through the course and teams will be sent out every 5 minutes. The fastest one wins. You'll hear the drum beats way a head of each float.
When the official counts down and hits "one", the team lifts the float via long beams onto their shoulders and drags the float through the hilly, 3 km track. To add to the complexity, the track has tight u-turns.
Unburdened team members follow and the leaders watch for the signal to stop and switch out with those who are struggling. Tugging the float is grueling, so participants swap out often.

by Surang

Onlookers throw water in front of of the floats and on the teams to keep the path as smooth as possible and the teams cool. (If you go, expect to be soaked. Spectators get splashed too!)

by AWV + fatboy29basic

The finish line is always on a hill to test the participants' endurance. When a team reaches it, they move the float out of the way and clap in a sequence specific to their town to signal their team has completed the challenge.

by Freepik

Half an hour after each team runs the course, officials announce the winner. This allows the teams to catch their breaths and congratulate each other. Valley breweries and pubs give the teams beers and sake for their hard work.

The Prize

They put the winner's float on top of the touring display stack—a source of local pride.

by AWV - photography, artisans of Hakata ward in Fukuoka for the float

Uncertain Future

The towns are doing their best to attract young people, even giving away houses to fix up. But the populations are aging, never-the-less. Changes to the festival will be needed for it to continue.

by Freepik

One concerned resident suggested that the floats be put on wheels, but the idea was quickly shot down. It broke tradition. The topic keeps coming up as the town populations decline. Maybe it will go through someday. Who knows?
The agenda for the next tri-town planning meeting includes the following topics: adding wheels (again), allowing children to take part in a smaller version of the race to encourage more families to move to the valley, having a women-only team, shortening the route, and introducing the new team leader for Kyuunan—Nabeshima Yoshi (who wasn't a unanimous vote). It will be an interesting meeting for sure!

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by Pacyopi

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Float Stats

Weight

approximately 1 ton (metric)

Height

5 meters

Qualities

handmade, no nails are used in the construction

Event Details

Observance

Yearly on the 1st full weekend of August

Route and Hosting Town

Published on the Nonogawa River Valley website, under Festivals

Hotels and Camping

rooms and spots are booked well in advance, consider a day trip if you haven't reserved a place to stay.

Participants and Key Roles

artisans, team leaders/trainers, the big team of the men (and sometimes women) who lug the massive float, spectators

Primary Related Location

Nonogawa River Valley

Important Locations

• Kyuunan
• Nonogawa
• Shimosaki

by AWV

Music for the Festival Mood

Local Businesses Rely on the Event to Prosper

Every hotel and ryokan in the valley is booked out months in advance. Enterprising families with larger homes may even rent out rooms via online sites like Airbnb.
Larger temples and shrines will rent out spaces to sleep, too.
Restaurants and grocery stores ensure to be well stocked for the influx of hungry spectators.
And vendors sell street food such as okonomiyaki, grilled meats, corn on the cob, taiyaki, shaved ice, sweet potato sticks, chocolate covered bananas, and more.

by Andinur

Shrines sell special collectable omamori.
Vendors also sell fans and keychain fobs with the town symbols on them.

Cultural Significance

Not only is the festival a source of local pride and a chance to show their towns are still vibrant and thriving, they help support local artisans (who make the floats) and the shrines.
Festivals like this one create excitement that charges the deities with power, which help them in turn protect the valley and keep it prosperous. Despite the shrinking size of the towns, they keep reaping the benefit of the protector spirits.
Despite the competition, the race brings the valley towns together. Old friends catch up and make wagers on the winners.

History

The valley first started carrying floats around towns in 1604 to raise the resident's spirits and fend off a plague. At that time they scurried around their village carrying a priest who blessed the residents with water and asked the kami to protect them. It evolved into a race.
Floats used to be taller and heavier. But after powerlines were installed, floats had to be made short enough to go under the lines. And when most of the population migrated to the big cities, like Tokyo, the floats had to be made light enough for the remaining participants, many of whom are aging, to lug them.
Nakamura Hisako was the first woman to be on Nonogawa's team. It took her quite a bit of convincing that she, a diminuative female, could help hoist the float. Yes, she had to wear the fundoshi and happi coat, but was allowed to wear a tanktop underneath for a bit of modesty. People learned to respect her being on the team.