【長崎くんち2025 賑町】初の女性大太鼓×鮮魚店4代目の挑戦　生きた鯛釣る恵美須船

Nagasaki Kunchi is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The festival began in 1634, when the courtesans Takao and Otowa offered a small dance to the gods. This year, the six towns of Shimbashi-cho, Suwa-cho, Shindaiku-cho, Enokizu-cho, Nishifurukawa-cho, and Nigi-cho will each present their own elaborate performances. Nagasaki Kunchi is said to be the most carefully practiced festival in Japan, and we'll introduce the charms and highlights of each town. This time, we'll be looking at Nigi-cho, which serves as the main performer with a dedication to Suwa Shrine the day before the festival. This is the sixth of a six-part series introducing the six towns of Nagasaki Kunchi 2025. You can read more from the related articles. [Shimbashi-cho] A vanished town name, inherited pride: Geisha dance "Holland Banzai" [Shindaiku-cho] Everyone's first attempt at Nehiki! The only "Hidanjiri" boat preserving 120 years of tradition. [Enozu Town] A 3-ton riverboat: Three generations of net-fishing and a grandfather's handmade carp. [Nishi-Furukawa Town] 350 years of ties to sumo: Brothers on oar drums and a Ukrainian wrestler's challenge. [Suwa Town] A blue-and-white dragon soaring through the sky: A 139-year-old traditional dragon dance. The spectacular "Bokotai" technique, echoing calls, and three father-son boats in full motion. The Ebisu-bune boat celebrates a bountiful catch. Adults and children from the town steer the three boats together, performing fishing in the open sea. "Ho-ei-ei-yaa!" Children and adults perform a heroic boat spinning ritual in Nigiwa Town's Great Catch Celebration Ebisu-bune, chanting for a bountiful catch while chanting "Ho-ei-ei-yaa." Nigiwa Town faces the Nakajima River and is named after Ebisu, the god of bountiful catches. There used to be a fish market along the Nakajima River. This marks the sixth dedication of the Great Catch Celebration Ebisu-bune boat. For the past 39 years, the Ebisu boats have been dedicated to Ebisu, the god of bountiful fishing. It all began with a fresh catch of sea bream. Two small boats celebrate the bountiful catch, while the main boat, the Ebisu boat, is a three-way fishing expedition. Intensive boat-turning practice, which began before the summer, began in mid-June. The 20 nehiki (fishermen) have been working hard since March, half of them newbies. The boat weighs approximately 4.5 tons. To maneuver this heavy boat, they turn it over and over again. The motto of training in Nigiwacho is... "Practice, practice, practice. Complaining is the result of repeated practice, so just keep practicing." The children's boat weighed 300 kg in July. Children also joined in the practice. The boats turned by elementary school to high school students weighed 300 kg. They used swift movements to find schools of fish. The "netters" who catch the catch in one net, the boatmen who guide the boat, and the musical accompaniment. 59 children, aged 1 to 17, perform a sea fishing performance. Fishing a Sea Bream Made of a Plastic Bottle Six-year-old Nakanishi Kiwa, a boatman, practices fishing with a plastic bottle representing a sea bream. He is instructed by his father, Nakanishi Issei. Nakanishi Issei: "Up to your knees! Okay! Come on! Come on!" Kiwa is a kindergartener, and things aren't going as well as his father hoped. Nakanishi Issei: "I'm worried about how it will go. He still has a long way to go." A fourth-generation fishmonger uses live sea bream for the main event. Yoshikawa Fresh Fishmongers has been in business for over 80 years. Nakanishi is the fourth generation. The fish used for the offering will also be provided by Yoshikawa Fresh Fishmongers. Of course, Kiwa will also catch a sea bream! "I want a lively one, and a cool one, lifted up in a way that is fitting for Ebisu-san." For the main event, a live sea bream will swim through the dancing arena. A real sea bream, moving and heavy. Will Ikuwa-kun have a great catch? The town's first female taiko drummer. The taiko drummer is the heart of the Ebisu boat, responsible for signaling the boat's movements. It's a tradition in Nigiwa to guide the entire boat with just a single drum, without using a flute. This time, the role will be played by Kawaguchi Sara. This will be the first time in the town that a girl has played the taiko drum. Kawaguchi Sara: "There's a lot I need to remember, so it's difficult at times, but I'm determined to do my best." Her father, Masateru, also used to practice when he returned home. His father, Masateru, is his teacher. Masateru is a senior who played the taiko drum when the town dedicated its first Ebisu boat 39 years ago. Sara Kawaguchi: "They teach me, and if I ask, they teach me right away. My goal is to offer a better taiko performance than my father." Masaki, her father: "I'm so happy. I'm honored and humbled that my daughter is allowed to do this." The father is the assistant taiko drummer, and the daughter is the large taiko drummer. The mother an...