Hassaku Festival creations
If you are interested in art and traditional crafts in Japan then while you are in Kyushu definitely make time to visit Yamato town to see the Hassaku Festival creations. These amazing objects, made entirely of natural materials, are created each year and paraded through town during the Hassaku Festival. Once the festival is over they are placed around Yamato town to be enjoyed the rest of the year.
There is also a Hassaku visitor center with information about the creations and history of the festival and you will find some of the largest creations displayed in the area in front of this building. From the visitor center you can pick up a map of where all the creations are displayed and it’s fun to stroll around the sleepy little town and try and find them all.
The Hassaku creations
The creations are called Otsukurimono in Japanese – literally ‘made things’. But this term does not do justice to the time, effort and ceative energy that goes into them. The tallest can be around 4 meters high and they have to be paraded by truck. Hassaku is traditionally the name given to the first of August, however the festival actually takes place the first weekend in September over 2 days. During the festival people dress up, music is played and the creations are paraded through the town for everyone to see.
About Hassaku Festival
Yamato town’s Hassaku festival has a history of over 240 years and is said to have been started after a bad harvest by the Hosokawa clan who ruled the Higo domain. (Higo is the old name for the Kumamoto region). The purpose of the festival is to ask for a good harvest. Each community creates a large object to be paraded at the festival. These creations take months to design and make. Sourcing all the natural materials can also take months. The building of the creations also involves many members of the community.
There is a competitive aspect to the festival, prizes are awarded to the best creations. The creations are based around topical events each year but the end results are very unique ; some are cute, some are satirical and funny, some are scary and others are incredibly dynamic and artisitic.
Tsujunkyo Bridge
While you are in Yamato Town make time to see one of Japan’s most unique bridges. Kumamoto has the most stone bridges of any prefecture in Japan and Tsujunkyo bridge is without doubt its most famous. The bridge was designed to carry water to irrigate rice fields and was designed with a unique outflow system to release water and prevent silting up. The water release has now become a tourist attraction and takes place most weekends and national holidays. Tsujunkyo bridge is also a great place to see the red spider lilies (Higanbana) in mid September. There’s also the dramatic 50m high Gorogataki waterfall around 15 minutes walk from the bridge which is worth visiting.
How to get to Yamato town
Like many places in Kyushu, Yamato town is easy to visit by car but not very easy to visit by public transport as there is no train line and only local buses.
By car from Kumamoto City it takes around an hour if you use the highway – though there are tolls. If you avoid tolls it adds an extra 20 minutes on to your journey.
There are several buses a day, the journey will take around 2 hours. For example there’s a bus from the main Sakuramachi bus terminal in Kumamoto City that departs at 08:55 that arrives at Hamamachi (the bus stop in Yamato) at 11: 03 and costs around 1,500 Yen one way.
You could also visit the Hassaku creations and Tsujunkyo Bridge as part of a customised Takachiho Gorge Tour or incorporate it with a visit to Mount Aso. Contact us to find out the details and pricing