Steeped in over six centuries of tradition, Hakata’s New Year festival stands as a venerable testament to Japan’s rich cultural heritage, famed for its unique method of divining fortune. The festival sees participants, clad in traditional sumo wrestler belts, divided into ‘beach side’ and ‘land side’ teams. They engage in a spirited contest over a significant wooden ball, measuring 28 cm in diameter and weighing 8 kg, believed to possess the power to repel misfortune and attract good luck. This fierce competition plays out along a 250-meter path leading to the main shrine, a spectacle of strength and determination. The climactic moment arrives as the final contender triumphantly hands the ball to the shrine’s clergy at the tower gate, sealing the ritual’s conclusion. Legend has it that the ball’s possession by the beach side foretells an abundant fishing season, while the land side’s triumph indicates a year of plentiful harvests.
• 1/3 (Wed.)
• 13:00~14:30
• Free viewing
• Hakozaki Shrine (Tamatori Ebisu Shrine ~ inside Hakozaki Shrine)
• 1-22-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka
• https://www.hakozakigu.or.jp/omatsuri/tamatorisai/
• https://www.instagram.com/hakozakigu.official/
