Mitsumatsu Myodo Gyō Nenbutsu (Chanchan-hiki)

Mitsumatsu Myodo Gyō Nenbutsu (Chanchan-hiki) is a Bon event in which participants circle the settlement to the sounds of drums and a gong, accompanied by nenbutsu chanting. It includes elements of honoring ancestors and life-cycle rites, and a local preservation association works to pass it on.

About Mitsumatsu Myodo Gyō Nenbutsu (Chanchan-hiki)

Mitsumatsu Myodo Gyō Nenbutsu (Chanchan-hiki) is a Bon event with two elements: honoring ancestors and life-cycle rites.

Participants beat drums and a gong and chant nenbutsu as they follow a set route through the Mitsumatsu settlement.

This traditional event in Mitsumatsu, Kaizuka City, is preserved and passed on by the neighborhood association as part of its community-building efforts.

It is a Kaizuka City-designated cultural property and has also been selected by Osaka Prefecture as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property for which measures should be taken to create a record.

Festival highlights

The highlight is the procession’s sequence of movements: a shime-daiko leads, followed by a gong, as participants sing the “road song” while making their way through the settlement.

After circling Mitsumatsu, the group follows the old Mizuma Kaido road to Tsujido and the communal cemetery.

At each place, they set down the drums and chant nenbutsu wasan and other verses several times, letting you follow how the sounds are linked to the route.

Finally, they return to the Doba and chant nenbutsu wasan.

A Bon event honoring ancestors, with drums and nenbutsu linking the roads of Mitsumatsu

What to expect

The event begins with everyone gathering at the Doba, at the center of the settlement.

Accompanied by a shime-daiko and gong, participants set off singing the “road song.” After circling the Mitsumatsu settlement, they follow the Mizuma Kaido to Tsujido and the communal cemetery.

At each place, they set down the drums and chant nenbutsu wasan and other verses several times, then return to the settlement.

They finish the procession by chanting nenbutsu wasan at the Doba.

How to take part

As for the roles in the event, it is explained that originally all boys aged 18 by traditional Japanese age, known as nen-gyoji, took part.

Today, a preservation association works to preserve and pass it on.

The available information does not say whether general visitors may participate or what the current requirements are for participants.

Location and access

Venue and address: The Mitsumatsu settlement, including the Doba, Tsujido, and communal cemetery / Mitsumatsu, Kaizuka City

Address Mitsumatsu, Kaizuka City

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Dates and season

Season: Every year August 14
Frequency: Every year

Origins and History of Mitsumatsu Myodo Gyō Nenbutsu (Chanchan-hiki)

Mitsumatsu Myodo Gyō Nenbutsu is considered a traditional event that may date back to the medieval period.

According to information from the Mitsumatsu neighborhood association, it is said to have begun when Myōjunji Temple was founded in the medieval period, but Kaizuka City’s description cautiously presents this as a possibility.

After it temporarily ceased in the 1930s, a preservation association was formed, led by people who had taken part in it at the time, and this led to its preservation and continuation today.

It was designated a Kaizuka City cultural property in Heisei 10 and selected by Osaka Prefecture for record-keeping in Heisei 13.

Official information

貝塚市「三ツ松の明土行念仏（チャンチャンヒキ）」www.city.kaizuka.lg.jp