Held every six years (next: 2028) across April and May, Onbashira Matsuri (Festival of the Sacred Pillars) is one of Japan's oldest and most spectacular festivals, associated with Suwa Grand Shrine—believed to be over 1,200 years old. Sixteen enormous fir trees are felled on Mount Yatsugatake, dragged through forests, and—most dramatically—ridden downhill by brave volunteers in the Yamadashi stage, before being raised as corner pillars of the four shrine buildings. The log-riding (kiotoshi) draws tens of thousands of spectators who watch participants cling to rolling logs on near-vertical slopes.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Spring
- Month
- April–May
- Region
- Chubu
- Prefecture
- Nagano
- City
- Suwa
Highlights
- ◆Participants ride massive fir logs down steep hillsides
- ◆Ritual renewal of Japan's oldest Grand Shrine
- ◆Sixteen sacred pillars erected at four shrine buildings
- ◆Held once every six years (sexennial)
- ◆Over 1,200 years of continuous recorded history