Japan’s Traditional Festivals Are Fading Due to an Aging Population
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On a national scale and more locally, the Japanese government has been designating important traditional events and festivals as official “intangible folk cultural properties” since 1975, attempting to acknowledge and protect these cultural assets for future generations. However, with Japan’s population aging fast, and the precipitous decline in births shrinking those future generations, more and more communities are finding it difficult to uphold traditions, officially designated or not. Festivals and other cultural celebrations are facing a shortage of organizers and enthusiastic participants, leading to a wave of disappearing events in recent years – a total of 102 cases across 31 regions.
Reports show that nine events have been delisted and lost their intangible folk cultural properties status since Japan’s cultural heritage designation system was introduced in 1975. However, in an additional 93 cases across 30 regions, officially designated events have been suspended or canceled. This is especially clear in Kumamoto Prefecture, where a total of 11 different traditions have fallen by the wayside, but other prefectures like Kochi, Fukui, Miyagi, Chiba, Nara, and Wakayama have also seen once precious cultural traditions disappear.
According to an investigation by the Mainichi Shimbun, event cancellations have shown a definite increase in the past 25 years, and for many of them the issues are similar. The vast majority of intangible folk cultural properties have been waning due to the decline in the younger population, especially in Japan’s less urban areas, as well as a shortage of fresh new festival organizers. In some cases, a lack of funds has also been cited as a hurdle too high for many small communities to conquer.
Moving forward, finding solutions to preserve Japan’s traditional festivals and cultural heritage remains a critical issue. If you want to be a part of supporting and maintaining Japanese cultural traditions, we recommend getting off the beaten path, and planning your next trip to Japan to include some of the country’s many unique festivals and other intangible folk cultural properties!
For more info and updates from Japan, check Japankuru for new articles, and don’t forget to follow us on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook!
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