The two highlights of the Kamakura Festival are Shizuka-no-mai and Yabusame. Shizuka-no-mai is a traditional dance at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine....
Themes:
Spectacle
, Culture
, History
, Religion
, Nature & Wildlife
, Entertainment
Yayoi is an ancient religious festival which originates in the eighth century ('Yayoi' meant the month of March in the traditional Japanese calendar)....
Themes:
Dance
, Culture
, History
, Religion
, Music
The charming old city of Takayama has two famous festivals, one at the height of the autumn colours and this slightly larger one at cherry blossom time....
29 April was originally celebrated as the birthday of Emperor Showa (Hirohito). After his death in 1989, it became known as Greenery Day or Nature Day...
Visitors travel to the Nagara River in Gifu to watch the incredible nighttime spectacle of fisherman fishing with cormorants. Using an ancient art that...
The aim of a fighting kite is to cut through your opponent's kite string with the ground glass on your own string and bring the opponent's 3m (9ft) square...
The focal point for three days of noisy celebration is the Asakusa Shrine in the grounds of Tokyo's famous Senso-ji temple. A long weekend of processions...
Themes:
Spectacle
, Dance
, Entertainment
, Religion
, Food & Drink
, Culture
, History
, Music
Constitution Day (Kenpo kinenbi) commemorates the introduction of the new Japanese constitution on 3 May 1947 after the Second World War. Although it...
Themes:
Culture
, Spectacle
, Entertainment
, History
The three gods of good fortune, on horseback, lead a colourful procession of 12,000 'matsubayashi' folk music players in Japanese ensembles and brass...
Greenery Day, or 'Midori no hi' in Japanese, is a day given over to the celebration of nature and forms part of what is known as Golden Week. Together...
The fifth day of the fifth month is more accurately known as Boys' Day (Tango no Sekku) as the girls get their Doll Day in March. The most dramatic sign...
The ancient Japanese dance-drama Noh is given heightened mystery in this open-air performance by the light of bonfires and torches at Kofukuji Temple....
Themes:
Culture
, Religion
, Spectacle
, History
, Dance
, Theatre & Film
, Music
The festival's main event features a procession of beautifully outfitted ox-carts accompanied by 400 people in Heian-period dress. Leaving the Old Imperial...
Also known as Mifune, the Boating Festival is an annual re-enactment on the Oi River of an imperial boating party from the Heian period when Kyoto first...
Themes:
Sport
, Dance
, History
, Spectacle
, Religion
, Art & Literature
, Culture
, Music
1,000 samurai warriors re-enact the funeral rites of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the great military leader and unifier of Japan who became the first shogun in 1603....
Themes:
History
, Dance
, Culture
, Religion
, Spectacle
, Music
This festival by the Atsuta Shrine, one of the greatest centres of worship in Japan, features various performances (martial arts, sumo wrestling and more)...
This 15km (9 miles) pilgrimage traditionally marks the close of the rice-planting season. One hundred horses colourfully attired walk in single file from...
Each year 12 young women are chosen to transplant the first rice seedlings in the paddy fields of Sumiyoshi Shrine, accompanied by traditional music and...
Fuji Rock is Japan's biggest music festival and is held in the unique mountain setting of the Naeba ski resort. One stage is only accessible by cablecar...
Nagoya Castle, one of Japan's most famous Edo period castles, is the pride of the city. And the Nagoya Castle Summer Festival, known locally as the Nagoya-jo...
Themes:
Music
, Theatre & Film
, Food & Drink
, Entertainment
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