Johana Hikiyama Matsuri Festival 城端曳山祭

When the gods are at the party

 

It is a feast of the senses, of high-level craftsmanship, the feast of the gods and that of men. The Hikiyama matsuri festival in the small town of Johana, Toyama prefecture, offers a unique and magical spectacle every year on May 4 and 5, not to be missed. It is registered since 2002 in the immaterial cultural heritage of UNESCO.

 

 

 

To welcome their guest as they should, the six chosen families have spent fortunes to set up a room facing the street so that any visitor can admire or pay homage to the guest god from outside. New tatamis, decorations, exhibition of precious objects, magnificent floral arrangements, surround the divinity.

The next day, they will be hoisted (each weighs about 100kg) on a float more than five meters high and about seven tons , beautifully crafted, to be paraded along the streets of the city.

Johana hikiyama-matsuri, un des six dieux de la ville

Johana hikiyama-matsuri, one of the six city gods

IoT

Yamayado, une famille devant la statue d'un dieu

Yamayado, a family in front of the statue of a god

IoT

On that day, they will then stop in front of all the houses whose owners have made a donation to the neighborhood committee to thank them with their songs and their pieces of music. The owners and their guests, meanwhile, are sometimes seated on tatami mats in a room of their house overlooking the street, and listen conscientiously to these songs from another age... Just like the day before when the families welcome and exhibit the statues deities in their homes and that visitors come to admire them, we remain amazed in front of such traditions and such fervor. The inhabitants of Johana offer us a real journey into the past .

In the evening, floats and iroi yatai are adorned with lanterns, the faces of the six deities are illuminated by their light and the participants redouble their energy to push or pull them for a final parade. The atmosphere is magical and unforgettable.

 

Johana hikiyama-matsuri de nuit

Johana hikiyama-matsuri by night

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Johana hikiyama matsruriI

Johana hikiyama matsruriI

IoT

les jeunes chanteurs et musiciens cachés sous un char lors du festival Hikiyama matsuri de Johana

young singers and musicians hidden under a float during the Hikiyama matsuri festival in Johana

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Johana hikiyama-matsuri, les textes des chansons

IoT


Address, timetable & access

  • Address

  • Timetable

    By car: 3 minutes from the Fukumitsu interchange on the Tokai-Hokuriku expressway From Kanazawa, take a Shinkansen to Toyama to Shin-Takaoka and from this station, change to the Johana line, get off at Johana (about 1 hour 10 minutes) .Or take an ordinary train from Kanazawa on the IR Ishikawa Railway・Ainokaze-Toyama-Railway line to Toyama and change at Takaoka to the Johana line, get off at Johana (about 1 hour 40 minutes)
  • Access

    May 4 and 5

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