Friday, October 24, 2008

The Takayama Festival

Takayama Festival is one of Japan’s three most beautiful festivals. It is being held twice a year, one in spring and one in autumn. It is being held on two days. Fortunately, our group had witnessed this festival during the autumn in the month of October. The Autumn Festival is formerly called Hachiman Festival in honor of the Hachiman Shrine.


There was a display of festival floats on the streets during daytime in the old town and several of the floats have the karakuri performance by mechanical dolls dancing and moving. We had witnessed the Mikoshi procession where the portable shrine that contains the Shinto deity was carried around and it’s the only time of the year that is being brought out.


The highlight of the festivities is the Evening Festival where the floats were pulled through the streets being lighted up. This celebration in Takayama City in Gifu prefecture of Japan is truly entertaining and that it attracts many visitors from all over the world.