Chichibu Night Festival

Enormous Floats

The Chichibu Night Festival is held at Chichibu Shrine in western Saitama Prefecture on December 2 and 3 each year. It is one of Japan’s three great float parade festivals, along with Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri and Gifu’s Hidatakayama Matsuri. The festival-eve vigil takes place on December 2, with the main event staged the next day.

During the event, which has a history dating back over 300 years, six enormous floats are paraded around the city. Two of the floats feature a kasaboko, a decorative combination of a halberd and an “umbrella” of lights. The dances performed on the floats and those accompanying the festival are designated as an important intangible folk-cultural property. Another major draw of the event is the fireworks display staged at the climax.

(© Pixta)

(Originally written in English. Banner photo © Pixta.)