In our
last blog post we talked about Takayama,
one of our favourite cities in Japan. Located high in the Hida Mountains, its
home to one of Japan’s most popular festivals. The Takayama Festival actually
refers to two festivals, the Takayama Spring Festial, or Sanno-sama Festival, and
the Takayama Autumn Festival, or Hachiman Festival. Though separated by 6
months, the events that happen during the festivals are remarkably similar.
Keep reading for more!
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| The Takayama Festival Floats are testaments to the craftsmen of Takayama Source: Flickr |
A Little History
Before we get into the details of what happens in the
festivals, let’s talk about how they got started. The first mention of the
Takayama Festival was in a letter written in 1692. This letter states that the
Festival has been held for the last 40 years. The accuracy of this letter is
open to debate, but it’s the closest anyone has to a starting date.
But how did the yatai, or beautiful floats, associated with
the festival come about? Long ago, rich artisans and merchants in Takayama were
forbidden from using their wealth to buy bigger houses, richer clothes or other
status symbols of their social standing. Instead, the merchants came together
and formed several small communities, and each community used their pooled
money to build a flat for the community. With Takayama being home to incredibly
talented artisans and carpenters, the merchants began to one up each other,
always looking to build more beautiful, more impressive floats.
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| A close up of some of the details on a float at the Takayama Festival Source: Flickr |
The Floats
The floats of the Takayama Festival are one of the main
attractions. Each festival, both spring and autumn, have about a dozen floats
each. The floats are put on display during the festival, and are decorated with
carvings, dolls, thick, woven curtains, bamboo blinds and lacquerware. Overall,
the floats are elaborately decorated and uniquely beautiful. Every part of the
floats are decorated, not only on the outside, but inside the doors and even
under the roofs!
The colours and beauty of the floats, combined with the
natural beauty of the cherry blossoms in spring, and the autumn golds and reds
of the leaves, reflecting on the surfaces of the many small rivers that
criss-cross Takayama is an unforgettable experience.
Spring and Autumn
The Spring Festival, which happens between April 14th
and 15th is a celebration of the end of winter. The snows are
melting, the cherry blossoms are coming out, and everyone is looking forward to
the warmer weather ahead.
The Autumn Festival, on October 9th and 10th,
is the sign that the locals should start to get ready for winter. The warm
weather is starting to fade, the leaves are changing colour, and people are
preparing for the snows that will come in a few months.
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| One of the Karakuri Ningyo doll performs on top of a float Source: Flickr |
Regardless of which festival you go to the events are mostly
the same. From morning until mid-afternoon, the Festival Floats are displayed
on the streets of Takayama. Some of the floats have complex mechanical dolls
called karakuri ningyo, and they put on a performance in the mid-morning.
In the early afternoon, there is a parade through the town,
with the portable shrine, or mikoshi, being carried around the town during the
day. Finally, in the evening, the floats are adorned with hundreds of paper
lanterns. This is considered, by many, to be the highlight of the festival.
The Takayama Festival is amazing. So amazing, in fact, that we have arranged a special, 8 night tour, with the Festival at it's heart. This special Autumn tour is a once in a lifetime chance to get the best Takayama has to offer in Autumn. Whether you go during when
the snows are melting in spring, or when the cooler winds of autumn blow, the
Takayama Festival is part of our April and October Japan
Discovered small group tours. Alternatively, we can arrange a self-guided tour
which takes in the Takayama Festival, and any of the other incredible sights in
Japan.
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