Said to have continued since before the Edo period A New Challenge for the Otaya Festival, a New Year's Festival We want to make fireworks shine in the midwinter sky at the "Otaya Festival 2026! Project". Government crowdfunding is now open for applications.

The Chowa Town Hall is conducting a governmental crowdfunding campaign, "Make Fireworks Shine in the Midwinter Sky at the Otaya Festival 2026! Project", a governing crowdfunding campaign that will run until January 20, 2026 (Tuesday).

▼Crowdfunding and details

https://www.furusato-tax.jp/gcf/4963

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○What is the Otaya Festival?

The Otaya Festival, a major winter event representing Chowa Town, is an annual festival of the Furumachi Toyoke Grand Shrine located in Furumachi, commonly known as the Otaya Festival. It is a festival with a long history that welcomes many visitors from both inside and outside of the town, and attracts many people through the collaborative efforts of the town's residents, government, and private sector. The oldest record of the festival's origin is a document from the 11th year of Bunsei Era (Bunsei 11) in the late Edo Period, but it is believed that the festival has been held for a long time before this.

At the Furumachi Toyoke Grand Shrine, the relocation ceremony is held every 20 years, following the example of the Ise Jingu Shrine, and the annual festival is held from the evening of January 14 to noon of January 15 every year.

The Otaya Festival is characterized by its unique floats. Many people imagine a "float" to be something similar to a "portable shrine," but the floats of the Otaya Festival are displayed as if they were cut out of a scene from a period drama. This is an expression of the original purpose of "floats," which is to show off the entertainment that is dedicated to the gods and the prosperity of the town. As a valuable traditional culture that passes on the simple farmers' art, it was designated as a Nagano Prefecture Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1963. Currently, it is produced by preservation groups in five locations in ward units.

Float 1

Float 2

The challenges we are facing and the "Otaya Festival 2026: Making Fireworks Shine in the Midwinter Sky! Project."

However, due to the recent population decrease caused by the declining birthrate and aging population, there is a shortage of people to make floats, and the recent sharp rise in the cost of living has made it difficult to secure financial resources.

Under these circumstances, the "Let's Brighten and Cheer Up Chowa Town" has been able to produce over 400 fireworks displays with the support of many people who have donated to the project in the wake of the long-running Corona disaster and other disasters that have occurred across the country.

We believe that the fireworks not only add to the excitement of the festival by looking beautiful in the midwinter night sky, but also help to convey the image of the festival to all people, especially local children, in an easy-to-understand manner and encourage people in and outside the town to reconsider the shortage of people to make the floats.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the merger of Nagawa-cho, and we hope to make the festival even more exciting.

Since your support and cooperation are essential to solving these issues and making the fireworks display associated with the Otaya Festival sustainable, we have decided to conduct "Government Crowd Funding".

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○What is Government Crowdfunding?

Government Crowdfunding" is a type of hometown tax payment, which allows you to not only donate but also select a gift as well as a regular hometown tax payment for those who live outside the town.

When you make a hometown tax payment to Chowa Town, you can choose this project as one of the ways to use your donation.

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New 2025 Koshihikari rice grown in ultra-soft water with a hardness of 17

Project Outline

Project name: We want to make fireworks shine in the midwinter sky at Otaya Festival 2026!

　　　　　　　　 Project

Period ： Saturday, November 29, 2025 0:00 - Tuesday, January 20, 2025 23:59

URL ： https://www.furusato-tax.jp/gcf/4963