Tendo City, which produces over 90% of Japan's shogi pieces, hosts its autumn Jinzuri Shogi (人間将棋) reenactment inside Maizurujo Park when the park's maples and ginkgos reach peak colour. Elaborately costumed participants representing shogi pieces are directed across a giant board by a grandmaster in period samurai dress, to the delight of large crowds gathered among the autumn trees. The park's castle ruins setting provides a dramatic forested amphitheatre for the spectacle. Tendo's ryokan and craft shops offer shogi-piece carving demonstrations, making the city a distinctive cultural autumn destination beyond standard leaf-peeping.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Autumn Leaves
- Season
- Autumn
- Month
- Early–Mid November
- Region
- Tohoku
- Prefecture
- Yamagata
- City
- Tendo
Highlights
- ◆Live human shogi match with costumed participants on a giant board
- ◆Maizurujo Park castle ruins in peak autumn maple and ginkgo colour
- ◆Shogi-piece (koma) hand-carving workshops in local craft studios
- ◆Grandmaster ceremonial direction of period-costumed players
- ◆Convenient access from Yamagata Shinkansen Station by local train