Kyoto & Osaka · Shiga · Nagahama
Nagahama Hikiyama Matsuri
長浜曳山まつり
On the stages of Edo-period floats, young boys perform kabuki.
Next
9–17 April 2027
163 days away
Every year, 9 April, for 9 days
Future dates: 9 April 2027 · 9 April 2028 · 9 April 2029
Origin
The festival of Nagahama Hachimangū. Tradition holds that Hideyoshi, then lord of Nagahama castle, celebrated the birth of a son by giving the townspeople gold dust, and that each quarter of the town used it to build a float to pull in the shrine festival. Surviving scripts and records show the children’s kabuki was being performed by the 1700s. It is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and is one of the float festivals inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
What to look for
Nagahama has thirteen floats, each owned by one of the thirteen quarters of the old town — the yamagumi, or float guilds. Twelve of them carry a small stage at the front, about four and a half tatami mats in size, and the children’s kabuki is performed on it. Only four of those twelve take part each year, in rotation, joined by the Naginata-yama, a thirteenth float decorated with swords rather than a stage. The performers are boys of roughly five to twelve from the yamagumi. The plays are new every year, and each runs about forty minutes.
How to watch
These are children on stage: do not talk in front of them. Stay out of the floats’ path. The performances repeat as the floats move from place to place, so following is better than holding one spot.
If you go
The festival runs nine days, but the children’s kabuki can be seen only from the 13th to the 16th — the evening of the 13th, the morning of the 14th, and all day on the 15th and 16th. The 15th is the one day to see all four in succession: they perform at Nagahama Hachimangū and then again at the shrine’s resting place in town. Performance times vary by float and by day. Outside the festival, real floats are on display at the Hikiyama Museum. It is all within walking distance of Nagahama station.
Where
Nagahama Hachimangū and the town
Nagahama, Shiga
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