HISAKO UENO, TIFFANY MAY2026年10月20日9月，在大阪府岸和田市的地车祭上，参与者们拉着地车完成了一次激动人心的转弯。 The Yomiuri ShimbunEvery autumn, hundreds of Japanese people come together and dash down streets while pulling ornate wooden floats in the shape of shrines, a tradition known as danjiri.每年秋天，数百名日本人聚到一起，拉着神龛形状的华丽木制地车冲过街道，这一传统被称为“地车祭”。But recent deaths and accidents are feeding anxiety about the ritual and bringing a somber note to the end of the mid-autumn festival season.然而，近期的死亡与事故正加剧人们对这一仪式的忧虑，也给中秋祭典季的尾声蒙上了一层阴郁。Osaka’s police department reported two deaths and several injuries in danjiri festivals in the cities of Izumiotsu and Izumisano on Oct. 10. In both instances, the floats, which weigh several tons, toppled over while turning corners, crushing participants who were standing on the side.大阪警方通报，10月10日泉大津市和泉佐野市的地车祭中发生两起死亡事件，另有多人受伤。两起事故中，重达数吨的地车均在转弯时倾覆，压到路边的参与者。Because danjiri performances are rooted in religious tradition, a board of community leaders, rather than the police, decides the rules and safety protocols. The local police are investigating the circumstances of the deaths, but most organizers have stopped short of abolishing the sharp turns or calling for them to be taken more slowly.地车表演根植于宗教传统，因此规则与安全规程由社区领袖组成的委员会决定，而非警方。当地警方正在调查死亡事件的经过，但大多数组织者并未采取取消急转弯或要求减速的措施。“Heatstroke, falls and bone fractures are common occurrences here every year — though, ideally, no one should get hurt,” said Katsunori Fujita, 71, a chairman of the liaison council in Izumiotsu, who helps decide on the rules for the parades in his district.“中暑、摔倒和骨折在这里每年都很常见——尽管按理说，谁也不该受伤，”71岁的藤田克典（音）说。他是泉大津联络委员会主席，参与决定其所在地区游行的规则。Mr. Fujita witnessed the accident in Izumiotsu as he patrolled as a volunteer. He said he would continue enforcing safety precautions and instruct participants on where to escape during trial runs. But his district was unlikely to change the rules and the police were unlikely to intervene in the Shinto religious rite, he said.藤田在作为志愿者巡逻时目睹了泉大津的事故。他表示将继续执行安全预防措施，并在试跑时指导参与者往哪里躲避。但他也说，自己所在的地区不太可能修改规则，警方也不太可能介入这一神道教仪式。The danjiri tradition dates back three centuries and began as a religious ritual during harvest season. Residents of Kishiwada, the southern city in Osaka prefecture where the tradition began, would carry a wooden float lit by hundreds of paper lanterns around the town before communal prayers at a Shinto shrine.地车传统可追溯至三百年前，最初是收获季节的宗教仪式。在传统发源地大阪府南部城市岸和田，居民会拉着由数百盏纸灯笼照亮的木制地车绕城巡行，随后在神社共同祈祷。Over time, danjiri spread to other cities across Japan. It also became more violent. Scuffles often broke out as floats jostled each other on narrow streets. The frequent tussles led to danjiri becoming known as the “fighting festival."随着时间推移，地车传到了日本其他城市，也变得更加暴力。地车在狭窄街道上相互推挤时，冲突时常爆发。频繁的扭打使地车祭得名“战斗祭”。In the 1950s, community leaders in Kishiwada began to establish new rules to address the violence, including introducing a one-way system to avoid collisions between floats. It has since evolved into a parade with great displays of showmanship. Performers in traditional uniforms balance and dance on the roofs of the floats, which themselves are symbols of the vitality of each local community. Children are recruited to take part while in elementary school, practicing the sharp turns with hand-pulled wagons.20世纪50年代，岸和田的社区领袖开始制定新规以应对暴力，包括引入单向通行制度以避免地车相撞。此后，它演变成一场极尽表演技巧的游行。身穿传统制式服装的表演者在车顶保持平衡、起舞，而这些地车本身正是各地社区活力的象征。儿童在小学时便被招募参加，用手拉车练习急转弯。1966年岸和田的地车祭。During the parade, young and old residents run ahead of each float, pulling it with ropes. They execute sharp 90-degree turns, known as yarimawashi, at full speed, as performers riding on the float lean in one direction to prevent it from tipping over.游行期间，老少居民跑在每辆地车前面，用绳子牵引。他们全速完成90度急转弯，称为“yarimawashi”，车上的表演者则向一侧倾斜，以防地车翻倒。But safety questions have been raised year after year. The fatalities earlier this month were not the first.然而，安全问题年复一年被提出。本月的死亡事件并非首次。In 2022 and 2023, four people died and 32 were injured in four incidences. One danjiri participant died in Maniwa, a city in Okayama, leading to a one-year hiatus of the festival before it resumed in 2025. In 2023, police in Tondabayashi, a city in Osaka, accused three danjiri festival representatives of negligence after one death and three injuries, but prosecutors did not indict them.2022年和2023年，四起事件造成四人死亡、32人受伤。冈山县真庭市一名地车参与者死亡，祭典因此暂停一年，直至2025年恢复。2023年，大阪富田林市警方在一人死亡、三人受伤后，指控三名地车祭代表存在过失，但检方未予起诉。Other festivals involving heavy floats have suffered fatalities. On Saturday, the deputy mayor of Saijo on Shikoku Island was killed while raising on his shoulders a three-ton float called a taikodai, which serves as a moving stage for drummers.其他涉及重型地车的祭典也出现过死亡事件。周六，四国岛西条市副市长在将一辆名为“太鼓台”的三吨重地车扛上肩时身亡，该地车用作鼓手的移动舞台。Hisao Arimoto, an associate professor who studies the danjiri festival at Konan Women’s University in Kobe, said that there had been calls for bans or changes every year, but few changes had followed. “It would be difficult to make drastic changes because it is an event that involves so many people,” he said by telephone.神户甲南女子大学研究地车祭的副教授有本尚央表示，每年都有人呼吁禁止或改革，但实际改变寥寥。“这是一个牵涉如此多人的活动，很难做出剧烈改变，”他在电话中说。Hideaki Karaki, a professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo, said that it would be impossible to eliminate risks altogether. “The very elements that create danger — its speed, its weight and the intense energy of the crowd — are also the core of what makes the festival so compelling,” he wrote in Wedge Online, a news and business magazine.东京大学荣休教授唐木英明表示，完全消除风险是不可能的。“制造危险的那些要素——速度、重量和人群的强烈能量——恰恰也是这个祭典如此引人入胜的核心，”他在新闻商业杂志《Wedge Online》上写道。But he added that the accidents would continue if organizers claim that they had taken enough precautions without conducting proper risk assessments. “To ensure that a 300-year-old tradition can endure for another 300 years, what is required is the courage to look the dangers squarely in the eye,” he wrote.但他补充说，如果组织者声称已采取足够预防措施，却不进行恰当的风险评估，事故就会继续发生。“要让一个三百年的传统再延续三百年，需要的是正视危险的勇气，”他写道。Hisako Ueno是常驻东京的记者/研究员，撰写日本政治、商业、劳工、性别及文化相关议题。Tiffany May是时报驻香港记者，报道香港和更广泛地区的政治、商业和文化议题。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。