２０２６年　唐津神社春季例大祭　お囃子の奉納

This is one of the annual events at Karatsu Shrine in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. Among the annual events, the Autumn Grand Festival is the most famous, known as "Karatsu Kunchi." This Spring Grand Festival, commonly called "Haru Kunchi," is held every year on April 29th. On this day, each neighborhood brings their float out of the float exhibition hall and displays it in front of the Civic Hall. The first music played is the same music played only during the Karatsu Kunchi festival on the morning of November 3rd, when the Red Lion float emerges from in front of Karatsu Shrine onto the national highway. It is a very elegant piece of music, and it is said that during the feudal period, the section from Karatsu Shrine through the main gate was considered part of the castle's third bailey, so quiet music was played to show respect. Following the abolition of the feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures, the need to express respect through the street music disappeared, and it naturally vanished, becoming a legendary, almost mythical, piece of music. However, when the Karatsu Kunchi Hayashi Preservation Society was established, it was recreated and revived based on the memories of the elders. The next piece to play is the auction music, which is the main piece of music used in the Karatsu Kunchi festival. It is a piece that deeply moves the souls of the people of Karatsu, and it is played in various places at crucial moments. (For example, when a high school from Karatsu City participates in the Koshien baseball tournament.) The transition from the street music to the auction music is played directly from the start of the Karatsu Kunchi festival. Finally, the Tateyama music is played during breaks when the floats are stopped during the Karatsu Kunchi festival. It is said that the Tateyama Hayashi (Tateyama Festival Music) previously had lyrics, and that the opening line was "The Tateyama Hayashi of Etchu Toyama..." In other words, it's not a festival music that "stands up" the "mountain" of the floats, but rather a festival music for "Tateyama" in Toyama. It is unknown why this music is used in the Karatsu Kunchi festival, but it is speculated that it may have been introduced to the Karatsu region when daimyo from all over Japan set up camp in Nagoya during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea. Photographed on April 29, 2026