Kaze no bon 2024

“The Wind Bon” refers to a festival that prays for a bountiful harvest, aiming to protect the pre-harvest rice from wind damage. The event is usually held around September 1st and is derived from the first day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.

This period coincides with the typhoon season, and in the agricultural calendar, it has been historically regarded as a special day with names such as “Hassaku” and “Nihyakutoka” assigned to it nationwide, signifying a day of wind-related misfortune. Over time, it transformed into the “Wind Bon” festival, where people pray for a good harvest despite the potential challenges.

In the Yatsuo district of Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, the “Owara Kaze no Bon” festival is held annually from September 1st to 3rd. This traditional event, passed down for approximately three hundred years, attracts over 200,000 tourists from all over the country.

During the “Owara Kaze no Bon” festival, silent dancers showcase refined dances along the hilly streets of the town to the melancholic melodies of the Etchu Owara-bushi. Each of the eleven towns organizes its branches and performs unique circle dances and street dances along their designated routes.

The “Owara Kaze no Bon” festival gained widespread fame after being featured in the romantic novel “Kaze no Bon Love Song” by Osamu Takahashi.