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Encyclopedia of niime

Visiting Katsuyama in Fukui, the roots for Tamaki Niime

〈 part 2 〉

2024 . 06 . 15

On Saturday, February 24th, the day of the ‘Katsuyama Sagicho Festival,’ the air in Fukui was crisp and cold in the morning, but the sky was clear and blue. Once again, I boarded the Echizen Railroad to head to Katsuyama.

The train was scheduled to depart at 9:55. Expecting more passengers going to the Sagicho Festival, the train for this day had an extra second car, which usually has only one car. However, most seats were not filled with passengers, and I couldn’t feel much excitement for the festival on the train.

Driving from the central town of Fukui to Katsuyama City on the highway takes less than 40 minutes. However, the slow one-hour train trip made me excited to see the ‘unique festival’.

Getting off at Katsuyama Station, I went to Bontamaki again. At 11 a.m., I visited the store, and Kazumi drove me to see the Echizen Daibutsu, which I had missed the day before.

The Daishizan Seidaiji Temple, located at the foot of Mount Daishi in the suburbs not far from central Katsuyama, was established in 1987 by the late Kiyoshi Tada, a prominent local entrepreneur. Belonging to the Myoshinji School of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, the temple boasts an expansive 22-hectare precinct featuring a Great Buddha Hall larger than that of Todai-ji and Japan’s tallest five-story pagoda. Visitors can also enjoy numerous attractions, including the Nine Dragon Wall, a replica of a Chinese national treasure, a Japanese garden showcasing the seasonal beauty of trees, and the scenic Kuzuryu River that flows through the area.

From the parking lot, we headed to Monzen-Cho. Along the hilly slopes of the street, there used to be many busy stores, but nowadays, only a few are running. Kazumi chatted friendly with the store clerks whom she knew.

After walking up the wide, gentle steps, we came to a massive gate. A pair of Niou statues was so huge that they were out of scale.

Going inside the middle gate, we got into the Great Buddha Hall. It was a little dark, but after our eyes got used to the area, I was surprised to notice that countless Buddha statues were enshrined in multiple tiers on the walls of three directions in the building incorporated with natural light. Marvelously, their number is 1,281. It was impressive to look up at the vast Great Buddha Statue, which sits in the middle, surrounded by such small Buddha statues. Golden Birushanabutsu: Vairocana, 17 meters in height, looks calm and is good-looking. It watches over the living with it affectionate eyes. Watching the statue, I quietly put my hands together in prayer.

According to Kazumi, Mr Tada wanted the temple to be first-class, so he paid particular attention to the details of its construction. He even recreated some parts of the building because he couldn’t convince himself that they were good enough.

Tatsuo, Tamaki’s late father, established a listening group for his discussions when he was alive. Kazumi has been taking over that role now, which is why this temple is very connected with the Tamaki family. Even now, Daisuke says they come to morning worship on the first of every month.

Tatsuo was a business owner who worked a brutal 24/7 schedule without wasting any time. He loved reading to discover the value of learning daily. He was searching for the meaning of life. I could see how this overlapped Tamaki’s face, which was like a seeker inquisitive about finding something serious.

The present Bontamaki store is where they bought the house from neighbours, moved and renovated it. The ceiling at the entrance is open, and the beams are exposed and painted pure white, which was Tatsuo’s idea.

He loves white, which is the same as Tamaki’s preference. I heard the episode that Tatsuo came to Nishiwaki on his day off to paint the building of ‘tamaki niime’ for 2 years. Kazumi said, “He was so happy to do it.” Tatsuo used to place trees around Bontamaki, which looked like woods. I enjoyed imagining such structures in the old store.

Let’s go back to the episodes Kazumi and Daisuke told me.

Tamaki graduated from the local Katsuyama high school and left for the Kansai district. She then completed a four-year program in the Department of Home Economics in college and decided to study at a fashion vocational school to learn fashion more deeply.


Kazumi
I think she felt it was not enough to learn, so she went to the vocational school where she was aware of fashion. First, she specifically studied men’s clothing; after that, she began making shirts and explored clothing that both men and women could wear.


The French-style vocational school had a curriculum that encouraged you to learn by yourself on the project, not by example. She told me she learned a lot from it.

I also asked Kazumi about when Tamaki was back in Katsuyama.


Kazumi
She worked hard making clothes when she was back home, such as making uniforms for local restaurants. Mr Sakai was in charge of running the business. After that, she went to Kyoto, where she worked by trial and error for 2 years. After that, she found Nishiwaki, where she fit in. She met Mr Nishikaku, the weaver whom she could ask directly to solve problems.


—— Niime makes it very important to make clothes by touching fabrics with your hands. It’s because she learned to make patterns from a young age.


Kazumi
She likes to create things with her hands. She doesn’t like to work under people. She turned down joining a famous apparel company because the company was too big and she couldn’t do what she wanted, and she quit working at a large fabric company after working for a year and a half because the work they asked of her was not very interesting.


—— She was very independent.


Kazumi
I think so. She needed to set up her own business to create what she envisioned.


—— I see. I can see her consistent approach. After trial and error with Banshu ori, she made a breakthrough in the creation and promotion of the shawls.


Kazumi
Yeah, the shawls gave her a chance. Before that, she had exhibited blouses at a department store in Osaka, and I went to see it with my friend.


Daisuke
They now have more staff to create clothing based on various creators’ ideas. They have more items.


Kazumi
She liked making shirts before.


Daisuke
Yeah, it was a long time ago.


Kazumi
She likes to wear only comfortable clothes now.


Daisuke
Yeah, if she hadn’t searched for ease of wearing or being comfortable, she wouldn’t have invented that shawl.


—— I see…


Daisuke
She makes jeans now, but she didn’t like them before, right?


Kazumi
We didn’t see her wearing them before.


Daisuke
She is wearing them now.


Kazumi
She told me that the jeans she makes are very comfortable because people who hated jeans sought them out for comfort.


—— What do you think about seeing her doing so well?


Kazumi
The people we know often tell us that Niime’s work is excellent, and they want to support her. Our mayor also supports her work. We don’t know what she teaches precisely, but she gives lectures in the investigative course at Katsuyama High School. She was the type of person to work quietly. I have never thought she was good at talking or giving lectures.


Daisuke
She has just changed in recent years, right? She became better at being sociable or talking. She was not like that before.


Kazumi
She kept something hidden inside her before. She only wore monotone colours.


—— She likes whites and blacks.


Kazumi
It’s marvellous to me that her products have a lot of colours. So her colour sense has developed because her favourite colours were based on mono colours.


—— I see; it worked in reverse.


Kazumi
I always wear navy blue or dark colours. When Niime and Mutsumi came to see us, even Mutsumi mentioned to me that I looked dark (laugh), saying, “Why don’t you wear colourful clothes?”


Daisuke
She wears red or bright colours now, right?


—— I am surprised at her change of heart. (laugh)


Kazumi
I guess it’s true that people look bright when they wear colourful clothing. However, when I choose what to wear, I always pick dark colours.


Triggering the innovative ideas by ‘tamaki niime’, which is contrary to the original theory, Banshu ori districts became lively in final product development and sales; young designers worked on branding that added their value, the government helped, opening fabric marches, and so on.

However, the pandemic has caused problems with a lack of successors, which has decreased the number of enterprise owners.

Kazumi was initially surprised when Tamaki told her the prices of products such as shawls.


Kazumi
I told Niime that the prices were too high, but she said to me, “That’s not right; even though good products were made if they were priced down to cheaper, you wouldn’t know if the makers were happy to make them. If workers worked hard to make one product but just spent time making money, do you think they enjoy making products? The workers are not enjoying creation, and that spirit would transfer to the clothing.


—— Oh, I see.


Kazumi
She said, “People wouldn’t feel comfortable with such clothing. Each product is made by workers who enjoy creation; I am sure customers feel that spirit”. Niime believed in it and worked hard.


—— ….


Kazumi
After she said that, I understood it. As I watched the staff enjoy creating each item, I thought the prices were not too expensive.


—— Wow, she has been thinking very deeply.


Kazumi
That’s right. I was amazed.


—— Not only are her intuition and senses wonderful, but she also does it after thoroughly digging and thinking about what and how she should do it.


Kazumi
It looks like something comes down from heaven (laugh), just like when they made ‘Tamask’ during the pandemic because they didn’t sell it online before.


In February 2020, when they finally set up the long-awaited online shopping, the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly spread, and an Emergency Declaration was announced. They focused on one thing: making ‘Tamask’ and selling them while they couldn’t expect to make sales in the physical store. With the efforts of the whole company, they overcame such conditions in online sales.


—— Looking like winning a bet, she has something like God-like inspiration…


Kazumi
She looks well, watching how things run.


—— She has artistic and creative talents and excellent business sense.


Kazumi
She said, for even Japanese manufacturing, if she did everything, she wouldn’t help workers grow. She tries to make them do as much as possible. She said it is hard to let them do everything. She sometimes thinks that what she or he does is not right, but when they fix it, they learn by themselves and do their best to make it.


—— …Well, at last, will you tell me the things you expect Niime to do?


Kazumi
I just want her to do her best; no, I don’t want her to work harder than now. I wonder how she would do. She is not a normal person. She may not think she is a human being. (laugh)


—— (laugh) That’s true. She is out of the ordinary.


Kazumi
But they have many workers. I just hope they will keep doing the business smoothly like now and not make trouble for everyone. I just have worries as their business grows bigger. I just wonder if she sleeps enough or not. I am relieved to know she eats well. I just want her to take care of her health.


Kazumi’s words had sharp points of view and showed parental love for her daughter, which only a mother could give. Continuing to have customers at her store, she answered in the interview in between the busy customer service. I felt horrible about it again.

Bontamaki is in the centre of Katsuyama City. It is a busy and interesting store. During this visit, I learned that generations have loved the store as an old clothing store in this area.

Kazumi and Daisuke, thank you so much again while you were very busy. I could hear from you about very nice episodes which only the family knows.

At 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 24th, the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival finally started, inviting spring to the Okuetsu district. This year, signalled by the first drum on the scaffold of the Tachikawa district, all the scaffolds of 12 districts competed to play.

I asked to have my guides at ‘Yumeore Katsuyama’, which is the local silk weaving industry exhibition centre and the local information desk. First, I watched the movie, learned about the festival’s history there, and then walked outside to the city. Listening to my guide, Mr K’s witty conversation, he showed me the Shimofukuroda district’s scaffold and floating drum at the shopping district’s centre. He explained displays of ‘picture lanterns’ and ‘cultural creations’.

Guided by Mr. K, we now descend the slope of the river terrace from the ruins of Katsuyama Castle, where the city hall and civic centre stand today. The stone walls of the “Shichirikabe,” built on the terraced cliff and still preserved, once separated the samurai district on the upper level, which housed the castle and samurai residences, from the merchant town and temples on the lower level. After descending the slope and walking a short distance, we arrived at a bustling street filled with people. The 12 districts that host the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival are spread north and south, centred around the current shopping district.

The COVID pandemic has calmed down, and finally, the festival’s lively atmosphere has returned, with many people on the street. There are echoes of lively drums and the sounds of Shamisen and whistles. It was fun to stroll around the street, which has lined-up stalls in the Sagicho music that makes me feel excited with a light tempo.

On the second-floor stage of the magnificent scaffold built in the haiden style, performers called Ukite, dressed in long undergarments (naga-juban), take turns beating the Sagicho drums and performing playful, exaggerated gestures. Men and women, young and old alike, climb onto the scaffold, striking the drums to the festival music while singing “Choyo Hanayo♪.” Their joyful dancing and bright smiles signal the arrival of spring, brimming with vitality and hope. Watching them lifts the spirits, bringing an uncontrollable smile to the faces of onlookers.

Near the scaffold, pine decorations are placed on the street corners to honour the gosshintai (sacred objects of worship). Additionally, the area features ‘picture lanterns’ — street lanterns adorned with senryu, paired with illustrations reflecting current events. These clever depictions humorously convey the sentiments of ordinary people, making them enjoyable to observe. It is said that long ago, the lord of the Ogasawara domain declared the Sagicho festivities to be a time of bureiko (a suspension of formality), allowing the townsfolk to express their feelings through senryu and kyoka (humorous poems).

The ‘cultural creations’ are unique three-dimensional artworks inspired by the year’s zodiac animal (this year, the Dragon). They are crafted using household tools and everyday items. Each piece is accompanied by a song (kakinagashi) that incorporates the names of the materials used, adding another layer of creativity and charm.

I was amazed to learn that both the ‘picture lanterns’ and ‘cultural creations’ are original works crafted by residents of each district. The high level of cultural sophistication and the deeply rooted traditions of Katsuyama, passed down for over 300 years since the Edo period, left me in awe. The ability to stroll through the town, enjoying the performances and creative ingenuity displayed by the scaffold in each of the 12 districts, was truly delightful.

After taking an hour-long tour, I left my guide, Mr K, and the people with me, walked around each scaffold and Sagicho music and headed to the Yoshino district in the north of the town where there used to be Tamaki’s old home, and there was the scaffold that Tamaki and Daisuke used to make a performance. Even now he makes an effort to continue opening the festival.

I made a right turn on the north side of the shopping street, climbed a gently curving hill, crossed the main road, and turned left to a narrow street. There! There were displays of cute little snowmen. At the dead end of the street, there was a temple. Before the temple, there was a street to turn onto, where the scaffold was placed. I heard the sound of drums and musical accompaniment.

“You came to see us!” Someone said to me, and I turned around to look. Wearing a dinosaur headgear outfit with a long undergarment, Daisuke showed me a smile. At the festival stall, I bought a bowl of warm noodles to keep me warm and enjoyed a famous local sake, ‘ippongi’, which has a light and elegant flavour. In the back area of the Sagicho festival, which is away from the main shopping street, I feel that there’s a warm community of residents in this district.

‘Sagicho musical accompaniment’ was initially played as parlour entertainment until around 1975. The drum performers were mainly men, and a Katsuyama entertainment group performed Shamisen and songs.

After that, I heard that by holding a ‘children’s music competition’ and Shamisen practice by ‘The Sagicho Preservation Society’, children’s parents and ordinary ladies were put in charge of playing instruments such as Shamisen, whistles, instruments, and singing. ‘Katsuyama Sagicho gradually became like the Katsuyama Citizens’ Festival and developed fantastically into a whole-city Sagicho Festival.

‘The Katsuyama Sagicho Festival’ has experienced historical changes but still continuously inherits ordinary people’s spirits. Kazumi said it is thought that ‘after the Sagicho Festival has passed, Spring will come’. In Katsuyama, the period of New Year is considered until this traditional event.

Examples of local cities: the low birth rate and aging population, depopulation of urban areas, and hollowing out are influencing this city; however, after four years of the pandemic, all 12 scaffolds have recovered completely. This festival is called ‘Strange Festival’, but Mr Makoto Shiina, who is very interested in it, rephrased it as ‘a miracle festival’.

This cheerful ‘strange festival’ was raised in Oku Echizen, Katsuyama, which is surrounded by high mountains covered with white snow and has the Kuzuryu River in this rich land. It is a rare treasure in Japan.

On the last day of my Katsuyama trip, it was unfortunately raining.

On that day, I headed for the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.

Tamaki also recommended that I visit a museum that was recently renovated into a new building in July.

I headed for Katsuyama station by Echizen railroad again today. It was good that I bought the admission ticket for the dinosaur museum, but I made a careless mistake while spending time in the station. I missed the direct bus to the dinosaur museum.

I didn’t want to waste time waiting for the next bus, so I walked to Yumeore Katsuyama to take the city circulator bus there.

Rain was no bother, as soon as I crossed the Katsuyama bridge, I heard the music of the Sagicho festival. Compared to the ones of last year, there were fewer people who walked around in the shopping centre, but it was still the morning.

At Yumeore Katsuyama, as I asked the clerk for the bus stop for the circulation bus to the Dinosaur Museum, the manager approached me and took me to the bus stop across the street. He explained to me that there had been a route change because of the festival. While waiting for the bus, he came to see me again if I was worried about taking a different route. The Katsuyama people were really warm.

The Dinosaur Museum was designed by Kisho Kurokawa, one of Japan’s leading architects, and its design is inspired by a dinosaur egg. The moment I descended deep underground via an escalator to the exhibition hall, I was utterly blown away. The museum features a wide variety of dinosaurs, from massive to miniature, presented with the feel of a theme park while maintaining detailed, high-quality exhibits. It’s a remarkable museum that appeals to everyone, from children to enthusiasts, and it is bustling with families.

The exhibits also provide a clear understanding of the evolution of minerals and crops. Located near a fossil excavation site, the museum serves as a significant hub for dinosaur research in Japan. For lunch, I had a dinosaur-shaped curry modelled after Spinosaurus, made with ancient rice, at the museum’s restaurant. The self-service system, which requires visitors to handle food waste and separate dishes themselves, struck me as practical and thoughtful.

The new building features a symbolic “Dinosaur Tower,” showcasing Fukui’s local dinosaurs in a stunning lineup. In the special exhibition room, a 9-meter-tall by 16-meter-wide screen projected life-sized dinosaurs, bringing the Mesozoic era in Fukui to life in a breathtaking “Three-Screen Dino Theater.”

The exhibits, which combine entertainment and expertise to offer a global perspective from ancient times to the present, reminded me of Tamaki’s expansive vision, his enthusiasm for making everyday life enjoyable, and his insatiable curiosity.

In the afternoon, I visited the Hata Memorial Hall Yume-Ole Katsuyama. The building, a former textile factory, is a two-story wooden structure that once represented Katsuyama, which at one point surpassed Kiryu, the birthplace of silk textiles, as a leading production area. The facility, which recreates the appearance of an old weaving factory, offers excellent exhibits that can be toured for free. The high-quality displays, which preserve the town’s history and textile culture, radiate a deep love for the local heritage.

The heavy snow and abundant water resources of the region provided a climate ideal for silk textile production, attracting people from all over the country and fostering the industry. Like Banshu ori in Nishiwaki, Katsuyama thrived in textiles because of these natural advantages. I couldn’t help but feel that such history and craftsmanship were embedded in Tamaki’s very essence.

In the evening, I walked around each district to see each scaffold stopped by their break room tents and joined them to satisfy my hunger and keep myself warm. I overheard a conversation between a young girl who came home from the festival and an old man in the neighbourhood. It’s been a long time since they met. I had supper at the pub where it used to be a traditional wooden townhouse. I had ‘ippongi’, the fine sake there again, which was really good. How wonderful they have the festival, good food, and proud hometown.

The “Dondo-Yaki” ritual, which marks the finale of the Sagicho Festival, began at 8 p.m. on the banks of the Kuzuryu River at Benten Green Space. Sacred objects from each district were set aflame simultaneously. This grand finale prays for a bountiful harvest and fire safety for the year ahead.

Flames and smoke rose heavenward from the sacred objects arranged in a circle, their glow flickering fantastically against the pitch-black sky. In the cool night air with a light drizzle, the roaring flames inspired a sense of reverence. From the bridge on my way back to Katsuyama Station, I stood and gazed at the scene, reluctant to leave.

References:
“Heisei ‘Katsuyama Sagicho’ Memorandum”
Published by the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival Executive Committee.

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.