Over 1,300 Years, Village Festival in Japan Honors Baekje Royalty
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
In a remote mountain village of Nango in Miyazaki Prefecture, residents still celebrate the Shiwase Matsuri, a festival held for more than 1,300 years to honor the spirits of Baekje (an ancient Korean kingdom) royalty who settled there. The highlight, the ‘‘mukaebi’‘ (迎え火, welcoming fire), features some 30 towering flame pillars and a lively night market where villagers grill game and share drinks. The ritual reenacts the arrival and tragic fate of King Jeongga and his son Bokji, whose spirits are paraded from Hiki Shrine to Mikado Shrine across roughly 90 km with rites at key sites. Archaeological finds, a local Baekje exhibition hall and a sister-city link with Buyeo (Korea) support the village’s Baekje legacy. Visitors also enjoy Nango’s “bijin onsen” (미인 온천, “beauty hot spring”), local wild venison dishes, cedar forests with millennia-old trees, and nearby coastal scenery like the Umagase trail. Practical info: daily flights from Incheon to Miyazaki are available; a rental car is recommended for northern mountain areas, and local inns accept reservations via hotel sites.
