Held on the first Saturday and Sunday of April at Haritsuna Shrine in Inuyama, the Inuyama Festival is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and one of the finest float festivals in the Tokai region. Thirteen towering sansha floats, each up to 8 metres tall and decorated with gold lacquerwork and silk tapestries, are paraded through the old town along the Kiso River with Japan's only surviving original castle—Inuyama-jo, dating from 1537—as a backdrop. The floats are crowned by automated karakuri puppets that enact delicate performances accompanied by hayashi festival music, and at night the floats are hung with 365 lanterns each, transforming them into radiant towers of light. Cherry blossom season typically coincides, creating one of Japan's most photogenic festival scenes.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Spring
- Month
- Early April
- Region
- Chubu
- Prefecture
- Aichi
- City
- Inuyama
Highlights
- ◆UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage float festival
- ◆13 gold-lacquered sansha floats with karakuri puppets
- ◆Night procession with 365 lanterns per float
- ◆Backdrop of Inuyama Castle, Japan's oldest original keep
- ◆Cherry blossom season coincides for spectacular photography