Nagasaki Kunchi

Suwa Shrine was established in its present form in the 1620s, when the shogunate was suppressing Christianity in what had been Japan's most Christian city, and the festival served in part to bind the population to the shrine. In 1634, two courtesans, Takao and Otowa, performed a komai (dance) before the shrine to accompany the chanting of a song, an event taken as the festival's beginning.

Over the following decades the city's districts took on the performances, and the influences of the Chinese quarter and the Dutch trading post on Dejima entered the repertoire.

The performing districts, called odorichō, are divided into seven groups, and each group performs in turn, so a given district presents its dance only once every seven years. This rotation makes each year's programme different and each district's turn an important event, prepared for months with rehearsals that begin in early June.

Performances are repeated several times over the three days, at the shrine, at the otabisho (the temporary shrine near the harbour) and at other venues, and districts also visit businesses and homes in the streets.

Not every performance appears every year, since each belongs to a particular district in the rotation. The best known combine Japanese dance with the spectacle of large props hauled or carried by teams.

On 7 October, the deities of Suwa Shrine descend in mikoshi to the otabisho at Ōhato by the harbour, in the procession called okudari; on 9 October they return in the onobori. The three days are known as maebi, nakabi and atobi.

Spectators are part of the performance. The call 'Motte kōi!' demands that a float or dance be brought back for an encore, and 'Shomōya-re!' asks for more. Hearing the calls ring out from the stands at Suwa Shrine is one of the lasting impressions of the festival.

The stands at Suwa Shrine and the otabisho are allocated in advance, but many performances can be seen from the streets of the city centre, where districts perform in front of shops and houses. Nagasaki is reached by the Nishi-Kyūshū Shinkansen from Takeo-Onsen, with connections from Hakata. The festival programme and the year's performing districts are published by the organisers ahead of each festival.