A cityscape in Japan. The image is not directly related to this article. [123RF]
A cityscape in Japan. The image is not directly related to this article. [123RF]

A sitting deputy mayor in Japan was crushed to death by a massive festival float weighing 2 to 3 tons at a local matsuri festival.

According to Jiji Press and other outlets, Deputy Mayor Nabae Akihiro of Saijo, a city in Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in western Japan, was pinned under a daikodai — a large wheeled festival float — at the Saijo Matsuri at around 5:45 p.m. Saturday, Yonhap reported.

Nabae, who took office as deputy mayor in July, was participating in the festival as one of the carriers pulling the float when the accident occurred.

He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead.

No other injuries were reported. Saijo police are investigating the circumstances of the accident.

A daikodai is an oversized festival float that participants carry and pull on their shoulders in procession at Japanese festivals.

Heavier than the smaller mikoshi portable shrine, it is also fitted with wheels and is mainly used in western Japan, including the Kansai and Shikoku regions.

The daikodai involved in the accident stood about 5.3 meters tall and weighed between 2 and 3 tons.

The Saijo Matsuri, a traditional event dating back to the Edo period, mobilizes more than 100 festival floats, including mikoshi and daikodai.

Accident at another Japanese traditional event in February

Meanwhile, three participants were left unconscious at another traditional Japanese event in February.

Six male participants were injured and taken to hospital at the Saidaiji Eyo festival, held at Saidaiji Kannon-in temple in Higashi Ward, Okayama, on the afternoon of Feb. 21, local media including Kyodo News reported at the time. Three of the six — men in their 40s and 50s — were reported to be unconscious.

The event, commonly known as the "naked festival" (Hadaka Matsuri), has been held for about 500 years since the Muromachi period.

Male participants wearing only a fundoshi — a traditional Japanese loincloth — compete to grab wooden talismans thrown into the air. The scramble to seize the talismans was believed to have caused the injuries.

Casualties have occurred on occasion when large crowds converge, as in this case. In 2007, one participant was crushed to death by other participants.

Organizers said at the time that about 1,150 people from the police, fire department and private security firms were managing the scene on the day of the event.


yul@heraldcorp.com