The second of saturday of june is the chagu chagu umako horse festival in Tohoku Japan. Around 100 horses, fitted with brightly colored harnesses and a lots of bells,Children ride colorfully adorned horses during the Chagu Chagu Umako Festival in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture.The parade, which dates back to the early 17th century, is held to thank the horses for their help in farm work.
The phrase "chagu chagu" comes from the sound that bells in the harnesses make as the horses trot along. Parade along a distance of approximately 15 km from Takizawa village to Morioka city. Chagu Chagu is an onomatopoeic expression for the bells sounding as the horses trot along. This simple yet pleasant sound has been selected by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the 100 best sonic scenes of japan to be preserved into the future. The donut-shaped accessory hung below he neck of the horse, which also makes a pleasant sound, which originally a bell for warding off wolves.
It was about 200 years old that this event was the first organized as a reward for the horses wich had toiled so hard in rice planting. At 9:30 on the festival day, the horses depart from sozenjinja shrine, dedicated to the deity of horses, in Takizawa villege, and after passing in front of JR Morioka Station, arrive at the Morioka Hachiman-gu shrine located in Morioka city around 14:00. They recommend that they go as far as Takizawa-mura which is a pretty village at the foot of Mt. iwatesan, if you wich to savor a very traditional atmosphere.
