The is a

Japanese festival Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance to ...

(

matsuri Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance ...

) which is held annually to celebrate the legacy of

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

Kōfu is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Toponymy Kōfu's name means " ...

, the capital city of

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

. It is the "largest gathering of

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

" in the world.

Background

, of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''

'' in

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to Japanese Paleolithic, prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millenni ...

with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. Shingen was the feudal lord of present-day

. Shingen was admired by his followers and rivals. He had a legendary rivalry with

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known a ...

and they fought a series of five battles during the

Battles of Kawanakajima The were a series of battles fought in the Sengoku period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province from 1553 to 1564. Shingen and Kenshin contested each other for control of the plain of Kawanakaj ...

. Shingen died of a disease during his pursuit to conquer all of Japan. 24 retainers (generals) served under Shingen. They are noted for their exceptional contributions to Shingen and the

Takeda family The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

. They are a popular topic for

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

and

bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteers ...

.Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
"Shingen Takeda (Character) from ''Kagemusha'' (1980)
retrieved May 17, 2013.

Description

This is a three-day festival that starts on the first or second weekend of April. Takeda's death anniversary is on April 12. There's a reenactment of

's Koshu Battalion Deployment. People dress in traditional and

costumes of the

Sengoku Period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. An actor plays Takeda Shingen and he is surrounded by his Twenty-Four Generals. After the Shingen-ko Tea Ceremony, Takeda leads his army through the streets of Kōfu. They march from the plaza in front of Kosu station through the streets of

Maizuru Castle Park was a Japanese castle located in the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, in the Chubu region of Japan. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 2019. The castle is also known as Maizuru Castle, and the present-day surround ...

which contains the ruins of Kōfu Castle. On the third day they reach the . A Shinto ritual is held on the anniversary of Takeda Shingen's death. There are multiple parades going to and from these locations. These parades are very theatrical involving serious reenactments who practice the rest of the year for this one weekend in April. The parades reflect the different comings and goings of Takeda Shingen during his life. This is one of the largest

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...

s in Japan. In 2012 the festival was included in the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the "largest gathering of samurai" in the world with 1061 participants. The role of daimyo

is usually played by a Japanese celebrity. The 24 generals have extra detailed armor. Seeing so many people in traditional costumes and more than 1000 samurai gives an impression of what the

was like (1467 – 1600 CE). What's special is that anyone can join after a short application. Exchange students of the

University of Yamanashi The , abbreviated to , is a university that has campuses in Kofu and Chūō, Japan. The University of Yamanashi has its origin in “Kitenkan” which was founded in 1795 as a branch school of “Shoheizaka-School” of Tokugawa Government (late ...

are usually the guard samurai group of the princess. The princess can also be represented by exchange students from Asian countries. So the festival is not fully historically accurate. Each festival has more than 100,000 visitors from all over Japan and international tourists. In 2013 there were 130,000 visitors during the 3 days of the festival. Daimyo

was played by the actor

Ken Matsudaira is a Japanese actor and musician from Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. His real name is . Career In 1974, he joined Shintaro Katsu's production company and made his debut with the television series Zatoichi as a guest. For a quarter of a century, he ...

. Part of the proceeds went to support the area affected by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

Events

Each day has different kinds of events such as: * Shingen-ko Tea Ceremony * Ritual Prayer * Street stalls with Yamanashi local products, food and drink stands * Koihige Beard Style Contest * Koihime Beauty Contest *

Food Sampling * "Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan" Dance Parade with 1000 performers * Koshu Battalion Deployment * Child

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

Parade * Takeda Period Parade *

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

Tournament * Japanese Drum

Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

Performance * Kofu Hayashi Performance – A Japanese traditional "

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

" performance in celebrating the battle victory * Educational Lectures

Gallery

File:Shingen-ko_Festival_201904b.jpg, The army corps in front of

(2019) File:Shingen-ko_Festival_201904c1.jpg, Takeda Jiro Shin Shintai Corps with students of

(2019) File:Shingen-ko_Festival_201904c2.jpg, Mrs. Oi procession (2019) File:Shinji_Yamashita_201904a.jpg, Actor plays Takeda Shingen (2019) File:Shingen-ko_Festival_201904h.jpg, Shingen Gourmet Yokocho (2019) File:Paradeimregen2.JPG, Onna-Bushi (Female Warriors) with

Naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...

(pole weapons) File:Paradeimregen5.JPG, Takeda Shingen File:Paradeimregen3.JPG, Japan had more handguns than the rest of the world in the

File:Wappen der 24 Generäle.JPG, The coats of arms of the generals who appear. File:Shingenko Festival 1.jpg, 1918

References

{{reflist Festivals in Japan Samurai