2017 Volume 16 Pages 59-71
This paper aims to consider the modernization of urban festivals in Japan by analyzing the regulation of “violence” in the case of the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival.
A traditional festival held in Osaka, the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival is characterized as one of the most dangerous festivals in Japan. Sudden fights and accidents are highly common, and even expected from the audience despite enforcement by the police. The highlight of this festival is called yarimawashi, which refers to the float turning a corner without slowing down. In recent years, Yarimawashi is getting faster and more dangerous. Why is this happening?
The Kishiwada Danjiri Festival has undergone changes throughout its history. The festival has been “sportized” (Elias & Dunning 1986) between the internal and external aspects of the festival. Internally, the boundaries of membership have been changed to exclude violence and control the festival. Externally, negotiations with the police help keep the festival in line with the values and norms of modern society. The interdependence between these two surfaced as the focal point of competition in the festival, which later became radicalized and extreme. In the present day, performing yarimawashi has become a competitive event that is seen and scored by a large audience.
This paper will analyze how the “sportization” of the festival has enabled participants to pursue an extreme form of yarimawashi within the rules. However, participants are potentially “individualized” and graded on a scale of merit; they have become increasingly likely to be treated as fungible assets.
