Greater Tokyo · Tochigi · Nasukarasuyama

Karasuyama Yamaage Festival

烏山山あげ祭

The summer festival of Yakumo Shrine in Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi, and the largest travelling open-air theatre in Japan. Young men raise by hand a towering backdrop “mountain” made of washi paper painted with landscapes, and in front of it local dancers perform Kabuki dance to tokiwazu music; the whole stage moves to a new spot in town for each show. Held every year over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday that include the fourth Saturday of July.

23–25 July 2027

264 days away

Every year, the 4th Saturday of July, minus 1 day, for 3 days

Future dates: 23 July 2027 · 21 July 2028 · 27 July 2029

Origin

The festival is said to have begun in 1560, when Nasu Suketane, lord of Karasuyama Castle, brought the deity Gozu Tennō to Karasuyama to ward off epidemics and pray for good harvests and peace. The entertainments offered to the god were at first sumo and lion dances, but as Edo Kabuki flourished and tokiwazu dance pieces became popular, these were offered instead. In 1666 the first “mountain” is said to have been made from the local washi paper, and from around 1738 Kabuki dance plays were staged. The rite was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1979, and in 2016 it was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list as one of the yama, hoko, yatai float festivals. Today six neighbourhoods take turns to host it.

What to look for

Close to a hundred young men of the host neighbourhood, moving in perfect unison, set up the “mountains” along some 100 metres of street. Each is a harika-yama, a frame of woven bamboo covered in layer upon layer of Karasuyama washi and painted with landscapes. Working back from the stage set in front of the audience, the shrine front, stage, room, wave-swept pines, mansion and the near, middle and great mountains are put in place in moments, in perfect perspective; raising the mountains by hand is what gives the festival its name. On stage, local dancers perform to the shamisen and song of tokiwazu, and at the climax a supernatural figure appears. When the show ends, stage and mountains are taken down just as briskly, carried to the next spot and put up again. On the middle day, Yakumo Shrine’s portable shrine is carried through the town.

How to watch

The yamaage performances are offerings to the annual festival of Yakumo Shrine, and six neighbourhoods take turns to host and run them. During the festival, parking on the street is banned throughout, and cars may be left only in the temporary car parks; visitors are told never to park at nearby shops except as customers. Do not fly drones to film. Late July is expected to be very hot, so if you feel unwell, rest in the shade. When it rains, shows move to designated wet-weather spots, and a show may be called off for rain or severe weather once it has begun.

If you go

If you go, go on the Saturday or Sunday. Shows move several times a day, so follow them with the programme in hand. Check the times, places and pieces in the programme Nasukarasuyama City publishes each year. The festival fills central Karasuyama around Yakumo Shrine, near Karasuyama Station on the JR Karasuyama Line. Drivers should use the temporary car parks and take the free shuttle bus into town. Paid seats are set up near each performance spot and go on sale an hour before each show.

Where

Yakumo Shrine and central Karasuyama

Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi

Open in maps

Sources

← All festivals