Osaka’s Aizen Festival

April Dykes
6月30日
読了時間: 5分

Osaka’s Aizen Festival, also known as the Yukata Festival, marks the beginning of summer. One of Osaka’s 3 main summer festivals and Japan’s oldest summer festival, the Aizen Festival has a rich history that dates back to the Asuka period (538-710). Since 2015, the Aizen Festival has been recognized as an intangible folk cultural property by the city of Osaka. Every year at Tennoji’s Aizendo Shomanin Temple on June 30th until July 2nd, the streets are filled with joy, laughter, delicious foods, and colorful yukatas.

In 593, the Aizendo Temple was founded by Prince Shotoku, an influential leader, who encouraged the spread of Buddhism. “He established 12 courtly ranks indicated by colored caps, supported merit-based promotion, drew up a 17-article constitution, and advocated politics based on harmony and centered on the imperial ruler to those who served in the imperial court. As a devout Buddhist, he gave lectures and wrote commentaries on the Lotus Sutra and other such texts. He also dispatched envoys to China and encouraged the adoption of culture from the Asian continent” (NIPPON).

The festival, originally a religious ceremony, was created to pray for health and happiness on a day dedicated to the temple’s main deity, Aizen Myouou. Its activities included rituals to ward off food poisoning and diseases, as a means to usher in good health. The community would come together to pray, and while the festival is no longer held to ward off food poisoning, that same sense of community can be seen in the people who frequent it today.

The Aizen festival has 4 main events that are spread throughout the 3-day festival

The Hoekago Parade
Nagoshi no Harae
The Aizen Musume Contest
The public viewing of the Aizen statue, Aizen Myouou (also known as Ragaraja)

The Aizen Musume are an integral part of the Aizen festival, from the Hoekago Parade to the Aizen Musume Contest. On the first day of the festival, the Hoekago starts at Tennoji Park and ends at the Aizen Temple. As the parade advances through the city, the Aizen no Musume take turns being carried in the hoekago, a type of palanquin that got its name from the Houei Era (1704-1711). But did you know that before Aizen Musume came to be, the original female participants were geisha?

“During the Edo period, geisha would ride in Hoe-Kago palanquins to pray for business success and marriage, and the "Hoe-Kago Procession" was held, with geisha from Kitashinchi and Imazato-Shinchi playing the leading role in the parade until the early Showa period. In modern times, this has changed into a parade with "Aizen Girls" in yukata riding along Tanimachi-suji, chanting "Aizen-san ja, hoekago, peppin-san ja, hoekago, business success, hoekago" (ラジトピ).

Do you wear yukatas to summer festivals?

The geishas who were involved in the Hoekago Parade are the reason the festival became known as the “Yukata Festival”. When the geishas rode in the hoekago, they would “dress up in their full attire” (Blue Signal: JR West). Their form of dress inspired the locals to create the tradition of wearing a yukata and showing your first yukata of the year to Aizen. Over time, “Aizen Girls” were introduced, and while geishas still participate in the Hoekago Parade, they are not involved in the same capacity they once were. After taking turns riding in the hoekago, each Aizen Musume walks around the festival and gives beads to lucky, yukata-wearing individuals.

“On each of the three days, the first 100 visitors wearing yukata will be given prayer-bead bracelets by the Aizen women, and there will be dance and comedy performances at the temple. The temple's statue of the Buddhist deity of love Aizenmyouou, which is usually kept from public display, will also be exhibited, and various stalls in the temple grounds will offer refreshments, goods, souvenirs, and games” (Japan Times). It is said that these bracelets serve as good luck charms, bringing their wearer good fortune, success in love, and protection from the Aizen Temple deity.

Nagoshi no Harae is a Shinto ritual held on the first day of the festival. This is a ritual to remove all sins and bad luck from the first half of the year, ensuring good fortune and health for the remainder of the year. Although Aizen Temple is a Buddhist temple, a special prayer service is held during the Aizen Festival. High-ranking monks come from Shitenno-ji, one of Japan’s oldest temples, to perform the ritual. This is very rare and uncommon for the two religions to mix.

Every April, hundreds of young women apply to enter the Aizen Musume Contest, hoping to become a finalist. With recruitment beginning in April, open to women ages 18-35, the judges get to work to find someone who embodies a ‘daughter of Aizen’, an Aizen Musume. “The criteria for the selection are not focused on looks, but on 'energetic, charming, and eager to participate in the traditional festival' and 'able to participate for all three days and the PR activity day" (Weblio). While the final number of Aizen Musume varies year to year, this year, 8 finalists were tasked with learning about the history of Aizendo Shomanin Temple and promoting the Aizen Festival through interviews and promotional events.

On the second night of the festival, July 1st, the Miss Aizen Contest is held on stage. During the event, contestants compete for the title of Miss Aizen Musume based on their talents and personality. The winner is then crowned Miss Aizen and given a tiara by the previous year’s Miss Aizen. After being crowned, Miss Aizen will have PR activities until the following year’s Aizen Musume are chosen. Aizen Musume are chosen not only from Osaka-born Japanese women but also from non-Japanese women. If you’re hoping to become an Aizen Musume next year, you can find information on the town’s official website and the town’s local newspaper for the 2026 Aizen Festival.

Another highlight of the Aizen festival is the public viewing of the Aizen Temple deity, Aizen Myouou (also known as Ragaraja). Aizen Myouou “is said to be the most powerful of all Buddhist deities, especially in terms of finding a good match, getting married, and having a happy marriage” (Good Luck Trip). The statue of the deity can be viewed throughout the festival, but if you miss it, you can see it again during New Year’s.

Aizen Festival has so many interesting activities and tons of food stalls to try, so if you’re interested, check out the official website, grab a yukata, and be sure to stay hydrated.