Nabekamuri Matsuri

Nabekamuri Matsuri (Pan-on-Head Festival)

May 8

The Nabekamuri or Pan-on-Head Festival held in Sakata at the Chikuma Shrine is one of the most unusual of all Japanese festivals. Its roots can be traced back to a time when a previously married woman arrived in Sakata balancing a pan on her head, perhaps to signify her domestic history. Today, about a dozen children march in a parade through town, wearing enormous papier-mâchÉ pans on their heads that are tied under their chins. Other parade participants include lion dancers, people wearing Noh play costumes, flutists, and young girls carrying sacred mirrors.

CONTACTS:
Japan National Tourist Organization
1 Rockefeller Pl., Ste. 1250
New York, NY 10020
212-757-5640; fax: 212-307-6754
www.jnto.go.jp

SOURCES:
JapanFest-1965, p. 148

Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.