Tobata Gion Oyamagasa Ritual

13-15 July, Kitakyushu (Fukuoka prefecture)

On the afternoon of 14 July, four Yamagasa floats with 12 long flags and gold and silver cloth parade in the city. This style of the floats is called “Hata Yamagasa”, which simply means Yamagasa float having flags.

At night, the Yamagasa floats are decorated with 309 lanterns and change to “Chochin-Oyamagasa (lantern Yamagasa)”. They also parade in the city with children’s floats from each area.

This ritual starts with the assembly and decoration of floats on 13 July. The floats get together at Yahata Shrine on the noon of 14 July and hold the ritual of the divine possessing the floats. Then, the floats and children’s floats depart to the coast for “Oshioi-tori” ritual (purifying floats and people). The parade of lantern floats is in the evening and each float parades in its own area on 15 July.

Thus, two different types of Yamagasa floats parade are held in this festival: flag floats parade and lantern floats parade. Due to its scale and the special features of the parade, Tobata Gion Matsuri is one of the representational traditional festivals in this country.

Organizer:

Tobata Gion Oyamagasa Shinko Kyokai

Contact Details

〒804-8510

Fukuoka Kitakyushu Tobata Senbou 1-1-1

Tobata Gion Oyamagasa Shinko Kyokai

TEL：093-871-2316

Website

Tobata Gion Oyamagasa Shinko Kyokai Official Website

http://tobatagion.jp/