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Asahi Shimbun

Vietnamese craftsmen save Yamagata ‘flower hat' fest

From right, Yoshiaki Henmi, president of Shobido, Yamagata Mayor Takahiro Sato, Kenji Koga, director of the Yamagata commerce information center of the Japan External Trade Organization, and Koga's wife, Tran, show off prototype 'hanagasa' floral hats crafted in Vietnam at the Yamagata city office on Feb. 13. (Koichi Anzai) YAMAGATA--Hats off to Vietnamese artisans who have come to the rescue of a long-established festival here that is famed for its beautiful dancers holding 'hanagasa' in their hands. The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is among the most renowned summer events in the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. Last summer, the organizer of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival discovered that the traditional flower straw hats carried by the dancers were in short supply. Causing this grave 'incident' was the dearth of materials and craftsmen. In the end, with the kind assistance of Vietnam, which has historically been skilled in making straw hats, the Japanese festival successfully overcame the crisis, at least temporarily. Hanagasa, adorned with imitation flowers and small bells as its Japanese name meaning 'floral hats' suggests, constitutes the essential part of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival. Shouting energetically and twirling flower-decorated hats in their hands, some 10,000 dancers, led by floats, parade through the central area of Yamagata city in the annual ritual period in early August. A total of 700,000 visitors attended the three-day festival in 2024, according to its organizer. More than 90 percent of the hanagasa are made and sold by Shobido, a souvenir wholesaler and retailer based in Yamagata city. Yoshiaki Henmi, 64, president of Shobido, said that his company sells 4,000 hats primarily to performers' groups every year. Despite this, Shobido had no choice but to decline orders for 1,000 hanagasa last year. LINKED VIA NHK TV DRAMA The hanagasa shortage in 2024 was attributed to not only underdeveloped sedge--the grass-like material used for the floral headwear--but also the lack of successors capable of weaving hanagasa. Sedge in Yamagata Prefecture is cultured mainly in Yamagata city alongside Iide and Obanazawa. The plant did not grow thick due to high temperatures and dry weather over the past few years. Thinner sedge stalks required more stems to complete each hat, reportedly resulting in a plunge in hanagasa output. Aside from this, hanagasa artisans in areas like the Nakatsugawa district of Iide, where the old-style hat is aggressively crafted by hand by farmers for earning money on the side in the off-season, are becoming increasingly elderly. About 15 individuals were engaged in hanagasa production in Nakatsugawa 10 years ago. Now, only five women in their 70s to 90s continue to make the headgear, marking a sharp decline in the number of makers. In the peak period, as many as 10,000 hanagasa were shipped annually from Nakatsugawa. The district has delivered 2,000 pieces in the face of the challenging situation in recent years. A dedicated training program was organized to nurture and develop younger craftsmen. However, the workshop was reportedly discontinued shortly thereafter. Last summer, 2,000 hats were barely completed. An additional 1,000 pieces were prepared by releasing stockpiled hanagasa and applying floral-printed surfaces to their frames. Still, the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival found itself short of 1,000 hanagasa. As a result, performer groups and individual dancers were encouraged to share floral hats in an effort to hold the event as usual. After the festival, Henmi therefore decided to secure a 'new procurement source.' 'We must preserve the representative summer festival of Yamagata,' Henmi recalled thinking at the time. Henmi contacted the Yamagata commerce information center of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) through the mediation of Yamagata city. Kenji Koga, 44, director of the center, aka JETRO Yamagata, had, incidentally, been stationed at the JETRO's Hanoi office in Vietnam for three and a half years. His wife, Tran, 37, is from Vietnam, too. After being consulted by Henmi, Koga quickly had an idea in his mind: importing the 'non la' cone-shaped headwear, which is worn to block the harsh sunlight in Vietnam, might work. The hat, commonly donned in the agriculture-rich country, resembles Japan's hanagasa in appearance. Koga suggested that substitutes for hanagasa 'could be made in Vietnam,' advising that Henmi purchase flower hats from makers in the country. Koga enlisted the help of an acquaintance in Vietnam for the plan at the same time. He likewise won his spouse's cooperation to embark on expanding the supply chain for the sake of the Yamagata festival. The project was further buoyed by the popularity of the 1980s Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) TV drama 'Oshin' in Vietnam, which was filmed in Yamagata, to enhance the Vietnamese affinity for the Japanese prefecture. Zai Tay village in the outskirts of Hanoi was specifically selected because 200 residents there produce 80,000 non la hats each year. The village mayor agreed to 'assist in Japan's hanagasa making given their difficulty' in response. Both the Japanese and Vietnamese sides discussed the issue numerous times via video conferences. Toward the end of last year, Koga and Henmi left for Vietnam. They spent three days at the village mayor's home so they could provide guidance on the weaving method for hanagasa. INTERVENTION SAVES THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL Vietnamese craftspeople promptly created a prototype hanagasa by combining palm leaves and bamboo bark, achieving strength and flexibility simultaneously. Seeing that, Henmi became confident about the plan's success. 'I was stunned by their adeptness, though the materials and techniques used were different from ours,' said Henmi. 'I felt that simply fine-tuning the details would lead to the completion of a quality hat.' Koga was similarly satisfied with the outcome. 'I covered all the costs of the business trip to attend meetings on my own, beyond my official duties at JETRO,' Koga said. 'It was a valuable experience for me, as a Yamagata citizen, to be able to think of and contribute to the conservation of the festival, taking full advantage of my personal connections.' Henmi placed an order for Zai Tay village for a total of 1,500 hanagasa in two sizes--33 centimeters and 48 cm in diameter, respectively--in late January of this year. They are expected to arrive in Yamagata by the end of May, with finished hanagasa inspected by Koga during his visit to Vietnam in late April. Koga expressed high expectations for the two nations' mutual relationship in the future. 'I believe it will be best for Japan and Vietnam if our initiative this time deepens the bonds between Vietnam and Yamagata,' Koga said. Henmi made a courtesy call to Yamagata Mayor Takahiro Sato in February. 'I have heard about the shortage of hats from citizens, so it is delightful for all relevant parties to come together with full force to start on a solution on an international scale,' Sato said about the hanagasa prototype presented to him. 'I am looking forward to seeing hats from Vietnam add color to the festivity.' Whereas the envisioned delivery from Vietnam will likely allow the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival to avoid a critical situation for some time, the lack of hanagasa producers remains unresolved. Offers have come from nearby Iwate and Miyagi prefectures to make up for the latest scarcity of hanagasa. 'We will maintain our deal with Vietnam for the time being, while fostering hat weavers in Japan in earnest,' Henmi said. The iconic scene of performers dancing in Yamagata while holding up made-in-Vietnam hanagasa will soon be seen this summer.