Paper short abstract:

Depopulation affects both city centres and rural villages. Rather than killing matsuri, however, a lack of local caretakers has inspired various adaptations, transforming matsuri by giving them new networks, functions, and meanings. This paper surveys survival strategies through case studies.

Paper long abstract:

This first talk of the panel introduces the issue through a few brief case studies. What strategies are matsuri caretakers using to keep their local matsuri alive and relevant in a context of depopulation? In what ways do their efforts change the mode of the matsuri? And how does the changing meaning of a matsuri under new circumstances affect its design?

Depopulation can take many forms. Not only remote villages, but also central city districts lose residents, and disasters have emptied towns and villages alike in a single blow. In this presentation I will introduce examples of matsuri in a city, a rural area, and a disaster zone, all equally emptied of inhabitants; and yet, the festivals that constituted the main events of these places have survived and even thrived. In the process, however, they have taken on different meanings and new social functions.

Enlarging the pool of caretakers by inviting in relative outsiders is a widespread practice in matsuri around the country. In many cases, this is systematised through active recruitment. Volunteer groups take on tasks that were once the exclusive domain of locals, and matsuri communities make special efforts to engage children by means of so-called “mini matsuri.” Ideally, outside volunteers revisit the festival, and eventually even take on central roles in its organisation. In the process, the matsuri enlarges its catchment area by drawing on human resources from elsewhere. I will illustrate this process by discussing some examples from city festivals.

Matsuri that have become less visible can also take on new meaning as a mysterious treasure of local tradition. This can inspire local groups to experiment with the local matsuri format in new settings, creating novel events with new human networks and meanings. A rural festival will be adduced to exemplify these processes.

Finally, a disaster can give a festival new significance, and, in the process, new life. I will investigate this process through a matsuri that was temporarily wiped out by the 2011 tsunami, but that has since survived both evacuation and Covid19 – while undergoing a radical reorientation.