Shiizu’s Karadami

Festival highlights

Highlights include the manto decorated with kiriko lanterns, baren, curtains, and artificial flowers, topped by a statue of Kotaro.

In the manto procession, people beating the dōko, elementary school students playing recorders, the women’s association dancing as they proceed, and children and people of all ages pulling ropes form the procession.

People dressed in costumes of their own choosing also join in, followed later by the Karadami procession, in which participants run while carrying a coffin.

Shiizu’s Folk Culture, Conveyed Through the Manto and Mock Funeral Processions

What to expect

The event begins in the morning with making the manto, which the youth association decorates on a dashi.

At 6 p.m., sutras are chanted and other rites are held at Zuianji Temple. At 7 p.m., the manto procession sets off, passing Zuianji Temple and Yasaka Shrine on its way to beside Anesaki Elementary School.

The Karadami procession begins at around 8:30 a.m. The group carrying the coffin runs to Zuianji Temple and circles the grounds of Yasaka Shrine and the temple three times each.

Finally, at 9 p.m., the group runs to the back of the temple. People who have offered incense before the graves receive one pear and head home.

Location and access

Venue and address

Around Shiizu, Ichihara City / Zuianji Temple, Yasaka Shrine, beside Anesaki Elementary School, and other locations

Address Shiizu, Ichihara City

Dates and season

Season

Recorded as an event held every year on August 15 (the day of Obon for sending off the spirits)

Frequency

Every year

Accommodation and hotels PR

Nearby attractions

Museums and art museumsIchihara City

市原歴史博物館

千葉県市原市立の歴史博物館。

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Photo and data sources×

写真：AsPJT / CC0

Photo source ·

Facility data source

Attractions in the same municipality. Check each attraction’s official website for travel distances from the venue and current opening information.

Origins and History of Shiizu’s Karadami

Two accounts of the event’s origins have been passed down: one says that a mock funeral was held in memory of Shiizu Castle’s lord, Shiizu Kotaro Yoshimasa; the other says a fake funeral was used to deceive the enemy and help someone escape.

Until around 1961, fishermen are said to have held segaki memorial rites for people who drowned or died sudden, violent deaths, with sutra chanting and women turning rosary beads also taking place.

After suspensions from before the war through the postwar period, its continuation by the volunteer fire corps, and its revival by local volunteers in 1972, it has been passed down by the Shiizu Youth Association, formed in 1973.

Official information

Cultural property materials from the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education introduce Shiizu’s Karadami as a prefecture-designated intangible folk cultural property.

Shiizu’s Karadami at a Glance

Shiizu’s Karadami is a folk event centered on the manto and a mock funeral procession, combining memorial rites with local traditions.

It progresses from making the manto to chanting sutras, the manto procession, and the Karadami procession carrying a coffin, with a variety of elements including music, dancing, costumes, and running.

Several accounts of its origins have been passed down, and after interruptions and revivals during and after the war, it has been carried on primarily by the Shiizu Youth Association.