Central Japan · Aichi · Inuyama

Inuyama Festival

犬山祭

The festival of Haritsuna Shrine in the castle town below Inuyama Castle. Thirteen yama floats, each carrying mechanical karakuri puppets, roll through streets lined with cherry blossoms, and at night parade lit with paper lanterns. A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Held every year on the first Saturday of April and the Sunday after.

3–4 April 2027

153 days away

Every year, the 1st Saturday of April, for 2 days

Future dates: 3 April 2027 · 1 April 2028 · 7 April 2029

Origin

The festival is said to have begun in 1635, when two neighbourhoods joined the shrine’s procession with costumed displays, a “horse tower” and a tea-picking scene. Six years later the first float appeared, and karakuri puppets are said to have been offered from that time. After the castle lord Naruse Masatora encouraged the festival in 1650, one neighbourhood after another joined, and by the mid-Edo period it had largely taken its present form. It was originally held in the eighth month of the old calendar; from 1898 it moved to April, and after several further changes settled on the first Saturday of April and the following Sunday.

What to look for

Every one of the thirteen floats carries karakuri puppets, and at night they parade lit with lanterns. Each float stands about 8 m high in three tiers: the puppets perform on the top tier, the puppeteers work them from the middle, and musicians play on the bottom. On the second day, the main festival, the floats and costumed groups gather in front of Haritsuna Shrine from the morning and present their karakuri to the shrine in turn. The donden, when a team heaves up a float weighing over three tonnes to turn it around, is a thrill to watch. After dark the candles in each float’s 365 lanterns are lit, and the floats move beneath the cherry blossoms.

How to watch

The castle-town streets are narrow, and when crowds build, pedestrians are kept to one-way routes, so follow the stewards and security staff. Stopping suddenly, turning around or walking against the flow in the crowd is dangerous. When passing a float, do not get too close: mind the parts that jut out, and keep clear of the axle grease on the wheels. Do not cut through, sit down on or linger on private property. Drones may not be flown without the organisers’ permission. The festival is called off in rain.

If you go

On both days the floats set out at about 8 a.m. and return to their neighbourhoods at about 9:45 p.m. On the first day, the rehearsal festival, all thirteen line up in the afternoon in the square below the castle to show their karakuri; the second day, the main festival, is when you can see the puppets presented to the shrine one after another through the day. The floats parade at night on both days. On the Friday evening before, the neighbourhoods hold an “eve festival” with music practice and open float storehouses. The square in front of Haritsuna Shrine is a 15- to 20-minute walk from the west exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station. It is cherry-blossom season and crowds are large; car parks fill early and the roads around them seize up, so go by train.

Where

Haritsuna Shrine and the Inuyama castle town

Inuyama, Aichi

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Sources

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