Shurijo celebrates harvest with ‘Chushu-no-Utage’

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Chusu-no Utage is one of the seven annual celebration that were held to entertain the ‘Sapposhi’ envoys of China.

Chushu-no-Utage (Mid-Autumn Harvest Celebration) is one of the seven banquets that during the Ryukyu Kingdom Era were organized to show hospitality to ‘sapposhi’ envoys of the emperor pf China.

The King and Queen play a central role in all Shurijo Castle events, but this time, a new King and Queen will be selected in a contest during the Chushu-no-Utage celebration.

Chushu-no-Utage always took place Aug. 15th of the lunar calendar under the full moon. This year the lunar Aug. 15th falls on Sep. 27th of the western calendar, and in honor of the tradition, the Shurijo Castle holds a Chushu-no Utage celebration on both days of the weekend, on Sep. 26th and 27th.

The highlight of the event is four Okinawan Living National Treasures showcasing authentic traditional performing arts that were once performed exclusively for the nobility of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Now everyone can enjoy this real and prestigious performance for free. In addition to the show, the next new King-and-Queen contest will be held.

A video of the ceremony is at http://oki-park.jp/shurijo/information/detail/2004

The ceremony is held on Sep. 26th and 27^th from 18:30 to 21:00 on the ‘Unaa’ courtyard in front of the main castle. Admission to the ceremony is free.

Program

9/16, Saturday

The ceremony includes plenty of traditional performing arts that invoke the pomp and circumstance of the past.

18:30 Ryukyu traditional performing arts by students of the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts
19:00 performance by Living National Treasures of Kishun Nishie, Tokutaro Shiroma and Choichi Terukina.
19:40 Traditional Ryukyu dance performance by Living National Treasure Noho Miyagi.
20:00 ‘Kumiodori’ (Okinawan traditional musical drama) by students of the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.
20:50 Traditional Ryukyu dance performance by students of the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.