【This is the Year of the Horse】Preserving the Traditional "Chagu Chagu Umakko" for Future Generations: Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture, Launches Government Crowdfunding

Future Link Network Inc. (Headquarters: Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, Representative Director: Takeharu Ishii, hereinafter FLN), which champions regional revitalization, is supporting a Government Crowdfunding (GCF) project by Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture, aimed at preserving the traditional "Chagu Chagu Umakko" festival.

This project seeks to ensure the sustainable inheritance of this culture by addressing the severe issue of declining working horses, which are central to the festival, through the city's unique horse resource securing initiative.

## Project Launch Background: From 100 to 60 Horses. To Keep the Flame of Tradition Alive

Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture, is a city where a rich horse culture has thrived for centuries, symbolized by the "Nanbu Magariya" farmhouses where people and horses lived under the same roof.

The symbol of this culture is the traditional "Chagu Chagu Umakko" festival, held annually on the second Saturday of June.

The sight of horses adorned in colorful costumes, carrying children and parading approximately 14 km, has been selected as one of the "100 Soundscapes of Japan to Keep for the Future" by the Ministry of the Environment.

However, the number of participating horses, which once stood at 102 in 1990 (Heisei 2), has now decreased to about 60.

With the mechanization of agriculture, continuing to raise horses has become a significant economic and physical burden for farmers, leading to a yearly decline in the number of horses bred in the city.

Currently, the festival is maintained by borrowing horses from within and outside the prefecture.

To confront this crisis of "depleting horse resources," Takizawa City itself owns female working horses and provides the born foals free of charge to local horse owners, thereby building a community-wide system for raising horses.

This GCF project has been launched to support the passion of these horse owners and pass the baton to future generations.

## Project Overview

Project Name: 【This is the Year of the Horse!】For the Inheritance of the "Chagu Chagu Umakko" Festival, Praying for the Health of Beloved Horses in Fiscal Year Reiwa 8

Application Period: April 8, 2026 - July 6, 2026 (90 days)

Target Amount: 1,000,000 yen

Use of Donations: 1. Chagu Chagu Umakko Horse Resource Securing Project (rearing and breeding management of city-owned horses, etc.) 2. Chagu Chagu Umakko Related Projects (parade implementation, dispatch of costumed horses, etc.)

Project URL: https://www.furusato-tax.jp/gcf/5226 *Donations to this project are eligible for Furusato Nouzei tax deductions.

## About Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture's Furusato Nouzei

Takizawa City offers local specialties, nurtured by the rich nature overlooking the magnificent Mt. Iwate, as return gifts.

Main Return Gifts: Takizawa watermelon (seasonal), Iwate brand rice, apples, livestock processed products, etc.

Donation Reception Desks:

Furusato Choice: https://www.furusato-tax.jp/city/info/03216

Rakuten Furusato Nouzei: https://www.rakuten.co.jp/f032166-takizawa/?s-id=furusato_pc_area-iwate_f032166-takizawa

Furunavi: https://furunavi.jp/municipal_single.aspx?municipalid=233

*This GCF project is exclusively accepted through Furusato Choice.

## About FLN's Furusato Nouzei Support

As professionals in regional revitalization, FLN collaborates with local governments and operating partners nationwide to support Furusato Nouzei operations.

Our support aims not only at simply increasing donation amounts but also at pursuing the ideal form of Furusato Nouzei that directly addresses regional issues such as the promotion of local industries, city promotion, and, as in this case, the "inheritance of traditional culture."

We will contribute to maximizing regional value and realizing a sustainable local society.

## Company Overview

Company Name: Future Link Network Inc.

Representative Director: Takeharu Ishii

Location: Nishifuna Narushima Bldg., 4-19-3 Nishifuna, Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture

Business Activities: Operation of regional information platform "Myplé," Furusato Nouzei business support for local governments, creation of related population projects

URL: https://www.futurelink.co.jp/