An annual tradition! Kitakyushu’s Flamboyant Coming-of-Age Ceremony: The Creator of the Strong Costumes Talks about “The Two People Who Became the Kickstarter”.

With the April 2022 enforcement of the revised Civil Code and the lowering of the age of majority from 20 to 18, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, has changed the name of its “Coming-of-Age Ceremony” to the new “Commemorative Ceremony for 20-Year-Olds. Although the name has changed, the young people who gather at the venue wearing flashy costumes remain the same.

There was a time when the coming-of-age ceremony was a wild affair, with “family cars” driving up to the venue and fights between local delinquent teams, but in recent years such troubles have almost completely disappeared. Compared to five years ago, when the author first visited the area to cover the event, the number of riot police and police vehicles has drastically decreased.

The delinquents have become quieter since their flashy costumes first attracted attention. I haven’t seen biker gangs for years. I guess they think that the coming-of-age ceremony is not a place for rioting or obstructing, but rather a stage for spending money and time on costumes and hair styles.

In recent years, not only the Japanese media but also foreign media have come to cover the event. Miyabi, a costume rental store in Kokurakita Ward, has been handling the flashy costumes for these newcomers. We interviewed Mr. Masashi Ikeda of Miyabi, who is no stranger to local young people.

In 2003, the “flamboyant costumes” project began with the wish of two newcomers to adulthood.

Two boys came to the store saying, ‘I will celebrate my coming-of-age ceremony next year. At that time, it was normal for men to come to the store two to three months before the coming-of-age ceremony to choose a costume, but they came to the store one year before and said, ‘I want to wear a two-tone gold and silver costume for my coming-of-age ceremony. At that time, we only had ready-made costumes in gold and silver, but they said, “I don’t want to wear this. I want something more flashy,’ to which I lightly replied, ‘I’ll look for it. But then they started bringing in 5,000 yen or 10,000 yen every month as a costume fee, so I knew they were serious (laughs). I felt strongly that I wanted to meet their request, so I decided to make the most flamboyant gold and silver hakama ever from fabric. This was the beginning of the flashy costumes we call ‘Kin-san and Gin-san.