Chagu Chagu Umakko

Display of a Chagu Chagu Umakko horse costume at the Morioka History and Culture Museum


Chagu Chagu Umakko (チャグチャグ馬コ) is a horse festival in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Held on the second Saturday in June, approximately one hundred horses with colourful fittings and bells parade depart from Onikoshi Sozen Shrine(ja) in Takizawa to Morioka Hachiman-gū.[1] The term chagu-chagu is an onomatopoeic expression for the sound made by the horses' bells.[2] In 1978 the festival was recorded as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property.[3] In 1996 the sound of the bells of the Chagu Chagu Umakko was selected by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan.[4]

  1. ^ "Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival (Takizawa Village; Morioka City)". Iwate Prefecture. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  2. ^ "Chagu Chagu Umako Horse Festival". Japan National Tourism Organization. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  3. ^ "Database of National Cultural Properties". Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  4. ^ "北海道・東北 - チャグチャグ馬コの鈴の音". Ministry of the Environment. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2011.