【2022. 8. 2】神奈川県湯河原町で「湯河原やっさまつり」が開催!/ "Yugawara Yassa Festival" at Yugawara Town, Kanagawa Prefecture

8月2日と3日に、当プロジェクトの運営機関でもある神奈川県湯河原町の「湯河原やっさまつり」が開催されています。

2日の日中には、神輿や山車が町中をまわり、湯河原町全体が賑やかに活気づいています。3日には、湯河原温泉花火大会も行われる予定です。

このような祭りにおけるイベントや儀式の実施には、地域住民の協力が大きく関わっています。高齢の方をはじめ、子ども・若者世代やその家族、また地域に根差した飲食店などの事業者や地方行政機関(湯河原町役場)など、多世代・多機関の地域住民が参画して盛り上げている様子でした。

当プロジェクトのネットワークに参加するタイの自治体26か所でも、コミュニティ活動が盛んに行われており、地域の儀式や祭りなどで、高齢者が「伝統文化を次世代へ継承する担い手」として活躍している地域もあります。

このような「コミュニティ活動を通じた高齢者の社会参画・生きがいづくり・健康増進」という意味でも、神奈川県湯河原町をはじめとする日本の地域とタイの地域との共通点や相違点を生かしながら、コミュニティ同士の学び合いがより活発化することが期待されます。


On August 2 and 3, a community event of the traditional festival called "Yugawara Yassa Matsuri " is taken place at Yugawara Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Yugawara Town is also the implementation agency of this SMART & STRONG Project utilizing the framework of the JICA Partnership Program.

Residents having international backgrounds
Senior citizens with the traditional dance of this festival

During the daytime of August 2nd, the entire town of Yugawara Town seems to be surrounded by a lively and vitalized atmosphere, with Omikoshi (portable shrine) and Dashi (floats) going around the town. On August 3rd, the fireworks display event is going to be held.

Such a community-based festival needs the participation and cooperation of local community residents to implement events or rituals. In Yugawara Town, the residents from various generational groups and organizations engage in this community festival, such as elderly persons, children/youth generations, their family members, private sectors (ex. local cafe/restaurant), and local government (Yugawara Municipality).

26 Thai municipalities participating in this project's network also actively conduct each community activity. In some municipalities, elderly persons have the important roles to tell and transmit the traditional culture of the community to the next generation, through local festivals, rituals, etc.

In the sense of "social participation, creating ikigai (≒ purpose/meaning of living), or health promotion for the elderly persons through community activities," it is expected to activate the mutual-learning among local municipalities/communities by utilizing this project's network and similarities/differences between local areas of Japan and Thailand.