A tradition rooted in craftsmanship

For centuries, danjiri festivals have also celebrated woodworking. “Daikugata” directly translates as carpenter; the festival’s prized role was once reserved for the people who made the floats. Each danjiri is adorned with hundreds of individual figures, chiseled by hand.

Today, artisans like Akihiko Maeda continue the tradition. The 48-year-old gave up riding the danjiri about a decade ago, but still builds and restores floats for communities in Osaka.

“I’ve been working mainly on danjiri for several decades now,” Maeda says. “I’m constantly trying to find ways to capture the cool poses of the sculptures, so that they look as if they’re about to start moving.”

Maeda says the process of making a bespoke danjiri can take five years. The district pays around $650,000 for each one.

“Once a danjiri is built, it’s used for an average of 70 to 80 years,” the artisan says.

But demand for Maeda’s work is waning as the number of festival participants declines.

With record-low birth rates across Japan, the country’s population is shrinking. In 2020, almost 28% of Osaka’s population was over 65, compared to the global average of just over 9%.

Kazuma Nakao, who has participated in Otori’s danjiri festival for over 40 years, says there aren’t enough physically-able people required to pull their float.

“We need to borrow people from other districts. Every town is like that now,” he says.

What this year’s cohort lacks in numbers, they make up for in enthusiasm. Some take part in multiple towns’ festivals, one after the other, a feat of endurance that lasts well into the evening.

Ogura hopes that increasing the global profile of danjiri festivals will help their traditions survive into future generations.

“I want people from overseas to see them when they come to Japan,” Ogura says. “I hope that this will continue to be a festival that small children can enjoy.”