Held annually on August 5–7, the Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri is one of the Tohoku Four Great Festivals. Participants wear traditional costumes and safflower-decorated kasa hats while dancing along a 1.2 km city-centre route. The festival celebrates agricultural heritage and draws roughly one million visitors over three evenings. The chant 'Yassho, Makasho' echoes through the streets creating an unforgettable communal atmosphere.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Summer
- Month
- Early August
- Region
- Tohoku
- Prefecture
- Yamagata
- City
- Yamagata City
Highlights
- ◆10,000+ dancers in traditional safflower-hat costumes
- ◆1.2 km evening parade route through the city centre
- ◆Live Hanagasa Ondo folk music accompaniment
- ◆Visitor participation dance sessions available
- ◆Part of the celebrated Tohoku Four Great Festivals