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Double Ninth Festival (Choyo no Sekku)

Also known as the Chrysanthemum Festival, this annual event of Chinese origin occurs on the 9th of the lunar Ninth Month

The Double Ninth Festival (Choyo no Sekku) is a festival celebrated on the Ninth of the lunar Ninth Month. Also known as the Chrysanthemum Festival, it is one of the five ceremonies traditionally held at the imperial court. Since ancient times, in the Chinese Yin-Yang tradition, odd numbers have been called "yang numbers" and have been regarded as auspicious. Double Ninth, or 9/9, when the two largest yang numbers overlap, is considered an especially auspicious day. In China, it was customary on this day to drink wine with chrysanthemum flowers soaking in the wine to flavor it. Drinking such wine was said to bring longevity and to protect against disasters.

       This tradition crossed over to Japan and became an annual court event during the Heian period. A chrysanthemum feast was held in the palace, where the emperor and his courtiers wrote poetry and drank chrysanthemum sake. In a later age, the custom of kisewata (chrysanthemums covered with cotton) was added. By covering chrysanthemums with cotton the night before the festival and then stroking the skin with this cotton on the morning of the festival, kisewata, it is said, extends life. Descriptions of this festival appear in The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu and other works.

       During the Edo period (1603-1867), the bakufu designated the Double Ninth Festival (along with Hinamatsuri and Tango) as one of the five seasonal festivals, and the festival became extensively celebrated by samurai families. Eventually, commoners took up the tradition, and customs such as decorating with chrysanthemums, drinking chrysanthemum sake, and cooking chestnut rice became common.

       In addition, there is a theory that the etymology of the term for the autumn harvest festival in the Kyushu region, "Kunchi," derives from the date of the Double Ninth Festival, "kunichi" (the 9th), and was adopted because the festival was held on 9/9 of the lunar calendar. Examples of this term include Nagasaki Kunchi, Sasebo Kunchi, Imari Kunchi, and Karatsu Kunchi.

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  • 9月9日に重陽神事が行われる。神前に菊花を供え、延命長寿・災難除を祈願。境内で子どもらによる烏相撲の取り組みが奉納され、菊酒がふるまわれる。

  • 9月9日に神前に菊花を供え、菊の挿頭を付けて舞う重陽の舞楽が奉納される。祭典終了後、菊酒がふるまわれる。

  • 9月9日に重陽の節会が行われる。法要の後、本堂の菊慈童像に菊の花を供え、謡と舞を奉納する。当日限定の茱萸(ぐみ)袋が授与される(有料)。

  • 9月9日に五節句・重陽の節句が行われる。菊酒が振る舞われるほか、茱萸嚢(しゅゆのう)、菊の着せ綿、後の雛飾りなど、平安時代の宮中の風習を再現している。

  • 重陽の節句の宮中行事、菊の着せ綿を再現。毎年9月9日より公開。

  • 10月18日(旧暦9月9日)に、菊供養会が行われる。本堂で読経が行われ、境内で「金龍の舞」が奉演。菊をかたどった「菊のお守り」が授与される。

  • 京都市観光協会が季節の行事を紹介。 重陽の節句に関連する京都市内のイベント情報などを掲載。

  • 重陽の節句の行事、楽しみ方について簡潔に紹介。

References

  1. 京都府京都文化博物館学芸第一課 編,京都文化博物館
  2. 福田アジオ, 菊池健策, 山崎祐子, 常光徹, 福原敏男 著,吉川弘文館
  3. サンプルページ「重陽」の項。
  4. サンプルページ「重陽」の項。
  5. サンプルページ「重陽」の項。