Northern Japan · Iwate · Takizawa and Morioka

Chagu Chagu Umakko

チャグチャグ馬コ

Workhorses decked out in brightly coloured harness hung with some 700 bells walk about 14 kilometres, bells jingling, from Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine in Takizawa to Morioka Hachimangū Shrine in Morioka, Iwate. It is a festival of a region that has long lived side by side with its horses, held to rest them after the hard work of the fields and pray for their health. Held every year on the second Saturday of June.

12 June 2027

223 days away

Every year, the 2nd Saturday of June

Future dates: 12 June 2027 · 10 June 2028 · 9 June 2029

Origin

Iwate has bred horses since ancient times, and it is the home of the magariya, the L-shaped farmhouse in which people and horses lived under one roof. The Boys’ Day festival in the fifth month was the only day off in the busy farming season, and it became the custom to rest the horses and take them to the Sōzen shrines, which honour the guardian god of horses. In the mid-Edo period it became fashionable to dress the horses up for the visit, and this is said to be the beginning of Chagu Chagu Umakko. In 1930 Prince Chichibu visited Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine and was shown a parade of horses at Morioka Hachimangū; it was so well received that the walk to the Hachimangū became a yearly event. The date moved from the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to 15 June in 1958, and in 2001 to its present day, so that more horses could take part and more people could watch.

What to look for

Some sixty horses, bells jingling chagu chagu, cross the bridges over the Kitakami River with Mount Iwate behind them and make their way through the streets of Morioka. Each horse is led by two handlers and carries one child on its back. The harness is hand-knotted from fine hemp and coloured with purple-root and other plant dyes, and each family hands down its own colours and methods. The sound of the bells was chosen as one of the 100 soundscapes of Japan to be preserved. The procession leaves Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine in the morning and passes Takizawa City Hall, the old indoor riding hall in Aoyama, the Zaimokuchō shopping street, Morioka Station, Kaiun Bridge and Ōdōri before reaching Morioka Hachimangū in the early afternoon.

How to watch

Horses are very timid animals, so avoid loud noises such as car horns, and do not use flash photography. Drones may not be flown along the route. Never stand behind a horse while it is resting; it is very dangerous. At the tethering and meeting areas, such as Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine, you can take photos with the horses and meet them. If the parade is called off for severe weather, the Chagu Chagu Umakko Preservation Society announces it on Instagram. In 2017 the horses walked through bouts of heavy rain.

If you go

If you go, watch in central Morioka, at Morioka Station, Kaiun Bridge or Ōdōri, or at the start at Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine. Check the times the procession is due and the road closures on the route map the preservation society publishes each year. Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine has no car park; it is about 1.4 kilometres on foot from the car parks at Takizawa City Hall and Big Roof Takizawa. On the day, shuttle buses run between Morioka Station and Big Roof Takizawa. Morioka Hachimangū is about ten minutes by bus from Morioka Station to the Morioka Bus Center and a ten-minute walk from there.

Where

Onikoshi Sōzen Shrine to Morioka Hachimangū (Takizawa and Morioka)

Takizawa and Morioka, Iwate

Open in maps

Sources

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