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Sawara Grand Festival Registered UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage , the Deity of of Deity the , ǀ

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Sawara Grand Festival Registered UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage , the Deity of of Deity the , ǀ SawaraSuperior to Edo Grand Festival Inoh Tadataka RegisteredRegistered UNESCOUNESCO IntangibleIntangible CulturalCultural HeritageHeritage NationallyNationally designateddesignated ImportantImportant IntangibleIntangible FolkFolk CulturalCultural PropertyProperty G The Sawara Grand Festival, which happens twice a year, once in July and once in October, is a tradition that has been passed on for 300 years. This festival has been nationally designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. There are 10 floats in summer and 14 floats in autumn. The majestic floats are pulled around the city to the melody of U the sawara bayashi festival music that fills the air, at times in a graceful manner and at times with liveliness. I Inoh Tadataka, the D man who created the first complete map of Japan through surveying, was born in 1745 in Koseki E Village in Yamabe District, mmer tum um r ut n Kazusa Province (present SS A day Kujnjkuri, Chiba Yasaka Shrine (D-6) Suwa Shrine (E-1) 10 FLOATS FLOATS Prefecture). He then later Before the seperation of Shinto and Suwa Shrine dates back to around 1694, 14 married into the Inoh Buddhism in 1868, Yasaka Shrine when the local people began developing M Friday, Saturday, family in Sawara Village, Friday, Saturday, enshrined Gozu Tennǀ, the deity of the land west of the Ono River. During this and Sunday pestilence believed to cause epidemics, time, they transferred Takeminakata-no- and Sunday on the Katori District, Shimǀsa who was both feared and propitiated for Mikoto, the god of war, from Ino in Narita weekend of the following July 10th protection. Epidemics would often break City to Sawara’s Suwa Shrine to be this Province. At the time, out during the rainy month of July and as a new area’s protective deity. The current second Saturday of Tadataka was 17 years A result, the people of Sawara would hold a main building of the shrine was built in October festival in July to try to appease Gozu 1853. The Sawara Grand Autumn Festival old, and his wife, Michi, Tennǀ. This festival became the Sawara is held in October to thank Takeminakata- was 22 years old. The / Grand Summer Festival. Yasaka Shrine no-Mikoto for the good autumn harvest. now enshrines Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Inoh family was a wealthy Shinto equivalent of Gozu Tennǀ. merchant family that # P traded rice, operated a sake brewery, and served 2 as the village head of the Honjuku Area of Sawara Village. Tadataka, who had always enjoyed learning, studied astronomy in his free time, and when he was 49 years old, he retired and went to Edo to focus on his studies. Then, after he turned 55, he went on 10 expeditions to survey the entire country. During that time, he walked a distance of over 35,000 km (21,748 miles), equivalent to walking one time around the world. The complete map of all of Japan’s land and shores was the result of his surveying. However, Tadataka died at the age of 73, three years before the map’s completion, and so, it was finished by the hard work of his disciples. Inoh Map The 2,345 documents related to Inoh Tadataka in the Inoh Tadataka Museum’s ( #664#%6+105 possession were designated as national treasures on June 29, 2010. 1 Please check out Nationally Designated Katori City’s website Nationallyoallyesgonally DesignatedDesig Inoh Tadataka’s Former Residence Inoh Tadataka Museum 1 HistoricHistoric SiteSite Hours 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM I-1722-1 Sawara, Katori City 0478-54-1118 Access 10 min walk from JR Sawara Station Hours 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM & Parking 70 spaces at nearby Historical District Parking Lot Access 10 min walk from JR Sawara Station Closed New Year’s holiday Parking 70 spaces at nearby Historical District Parking Lot Closed Monday (open if the Monday is a public holiday)・ New Year’s holiday Inoh Tadataka lived here for over 30 years during the Edo era. At the ※Open everyday during the Iris Festival time, the Inoh family operated a sake brewery business. Part of the ※For more information, please visit our website. shop, which was converted from a storehouse, the front gate, and the storehouse with earthen walls still remain unchanged. As the head of a wealthy merchant family, Inoh Tadataka displayed an incredible aptitude for business during the first half of his life. He then retired, dedicating the second half of his life to completing a map of Japan. At the museum, you can learn about the various events that took place in Inoh Tadataka’s life and see the Inoh Map, the fruit of his achievements, up close. 5178'0+45 ★Individual ★Group (15 people or more) Suigo Sawara Float Museum Adult……………….............¥500 Adult……………..............…¥450 Students (elementary, junior high)... ¥250 Students (elementary, junior high)….¥200 I-3368 Sawara 0478-52-4104 Registered UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Hours 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Two floats always Access 15 min walk from JR Sawara Station Sawara Grand Festival Parking 20 spaces on display! Closed Monday (open if the Monday is a public holiday)・ New Year’s holiday ※Open everyday during the Iris Festival ※For more information, please visit our website. With two floats measuring over 9 meters tall on display and an impressive video, this museum takes you to the scene of the Sawara Grand Festival, one of the three greatest float festivals in Kanto. The festival floats were built in the beginning of the Edo era about 300 years ago. You Toyo Bridge can see the essence of Sawara in the large dolls You can hear water falling from Toyo Bridge, which is located in and elaborate wooden carvings, which were front of Inoh Tadataka’s Former Residence, every 30 minutes from 9 crafted by skilled craftsmen. AM to 5 PM. This bridge, fondly known as Ja Ja Bridge (ja ja is the Individual Group (15 people or more) onomatopoeia for gushing water), was once a part of a large pipe ★ ★ that carried agricultural Adult………………....¥400 Adult………..........…. ¥350 water for over 300 years Youth (15 & under)....¥200 Youth (15 & under)....¥150 beginning in the Edo era. The sound of water falling An Edo Travelogue through Four Hokuso Cities - Suigo Sawara Float Museum + from this bridge has been Japan Heritage Reliving Edo in Hokuso’s Historical Districts Inoh Tadataka Museum designated as one of the Ticket Combo 100 Soundscapes of ◎Adult…¥800 ◎Youth (15 & under)…¥350 Japan by the Ministry of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Sawara Float Festival the Environment. Natural History Museum and 1697-1 Katori Access 10 min by car from JR Sawara Katori Shrine 0478-57-3211 Parking 300 spaces Institute, Chiba - Otone Branch Sawara Area Map To Kashimajing Ha-4500 Sawara 0478-56-0101 To Kashima・ To Itako JǍnikyǁ Boat Ride Annual Passports NationallyNationally DesignatedDesignated ImportantImportant CulturalCultural PropertyProperty Hours 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Itako Natural History Museum and Institute, Access 20 min by bus from JR Sawara, Chiba - Otone Branch Suirakusǁ The annual passport provides unlimited Enshrined deity: Futsunushi-no-Mikoto get off at Ayame Park, walk 10 min entries into Suigo Sawara Ayame Park, Suigo Sawara Float Museum, and Inoh Katori Shrine (KDWRUL -LQJnj), the head of 400 Parking Lot max 30 cars Ǎ Katori Shrines (Katori Jinja) throughout the Closed Monday (if Monday is a public Station Tadataka Museum. Please visit any of the three facilities to purchase. country, was established in 643 B.C., making it holiday, the museum will be opened one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan. It on Monday and closed on Tuesday) has been worshipped by many since its ※Open everyday during an exhibition beginning, but after the violent Middle Ages, it ※Only groups with reservations can visit the museum from October to became revered by samurai families as a Juniky shrine that provided divine protection to those March Lake Yodaura Station Adult.........................................................................¥200 佘Adults...¥2,000 佘Youth (15 & under)...¥1,000 involved in the military. In particular, its main Young Adult (high school, university).......................¥100 Boat Ramp ǁ hall, worship hall, and Students (elementary, junior high)・ Senior (65+)...Free Oku Suigo Tourism Cooperative tower gate, which were Group discounts available Suigo Sawara Ayame Park built by the Tokugawa This museum focuses on the nature and history shogunate in 1700, and of the Tone River and the farms of Chiba. the framed calligraphy on the tower gate, Suigo Sawara Ayame Park written by Admiral Tǀgǀ 101 Heihachirǀ, illustrate 1837-2 Ogishima 0478-56-0411 Katori Shrine’s Hours 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM popularity among the (subject to change during events) the military. Access 20 min by bus from JR Sawara, Roadside Station・ Riverside Station get off at Ayame Park Nationally Designated Mizu-no-Sato Sawara Parking Lot 500 spaces Important Cultural Property National Treasure Kaijnj Budǀ Kyo 356 To Choshi Closed Monday, New Year’s holiday Yokotone Lock (Open everyday during events) Adult.........................................................¥200 - ¥800 To Highway 356 To Katori IC Legend Senior (65+).............................................¥150 - ¥700 Tone River To Choshi Station Purifying Well Parking Lot Bus Stop Students (elementary, junior high)............¥100 - ¥400 Sobataka Shrine Archery Range Ranka-ji Temple Tsunomiya Torii River Bank Nationally Designated Map Water Well Group discounts available (20 people or more) Important Cultural Property ※Free admission from December to March Wheelchair Accessible Restroom At Suigo Sawara Ayame Park, located next to Katori Shrine Handicap Restroom Lake Yodaura, 1.5 million Japanese irises, 51 Ubayama Shrine representing over 400 species, bloom in full Musashiya glory in June, while in summer, you can enjoy To Katori IC Katori over 300 species of lotuses. 125 Observation Deck Station Kankǁ-tei Sakura-no-Ba-Ba Mt.
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