Takayama Matsuri

The Takayama Matsuri consists of two festivals: the Sanno Matsuri in the spring and the Hachiman Matsuri in the fall. The people of Hida have long been skilled in architecture and sculpture, and are known as “Hida artisans.” The Takayama Festival showcases the stalls that these artisans have painstakingly built.

The festival is one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan, and the highlights of the festival are the 12 gorgeous yatai pulled along the red Nakabashi Bridge and Shinmei Street, the karakuri dedication of three yatai (Sanbaso, Ryujin-dai, and Ishibashi-dai), and the pulling of the yatai during the night festival. (If it looks like it will rain, the floats will not leave the warehouse.)

History
The festival is said to have originated in the late 16th or 17th century, and has been passed down to the present day as a traditional event that retains traces of the Edo period. The “Hachiman Festival,” which dyes Takayama in autumn colors, is an annual festival of the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine, which is the guardian deity of the northern half of the former Takayama Castle Town. On October 9 and 10 every year, visitors can enjoy traditional festivities such as the “Hiki-Mawashi” (pulling of floats around the town) and the dedication of the “Karakuri” (a kind of mechanical device used in the construction of a machete stand).

Highlights
1: Yatai Hikimawashi (float pulling parade)
Under the autumn sky, 11 yatai floats of the Hachiman Festival, designated as a National Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property, are pulled together. Visitors can admire the details of the yatai, such as the carvings on the floats, the farewell curtains, and the structure of the floats, and many people are impressed by this event.

No.2: Karakuri Dedication
On the grounds of Hachimangu Shrine, a karakuri dedication will be performed twice a day on the 9th and 10th. The performance of the puppets is so impressive that it is hard to believe that they are moving on a rope.

3: Yoimatsuri (evening festival)
During the Yoimatsuri, which begins in the evening of the 9th, 100 lantern-lit floats each make their way around the town. The sight of the floats returning to their respective warehouses while singing the traditional Hiki-Farewell song “Takakayama” (High Mountain) stirs up the emotions of autumn.