Inuyama Festival

Overview

The Inuyama Festival (Inuyama Matsuri) is a spring festival held on the first Saturday and Sunday of April each year as the rite of Haritsuna Shrine in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture. Set in the castle town below the National Treasure Inuyama Castle, thirteen three-tiered floats known as yama, each about eight meters tall, are drawn through the streets, and mechanical puppets are dedicated to the accompaniment of flutes and drums. It is one of the representative float festivals of the Owari region of Aichi, and its greatest highlights are the gorgeous floats and the intricate mechanical puppets.

The Inuyama Festival is said to have begun in 1635 (Kan'ei 12), and the fact that all thirteen floats carry finely crafted mechanical puppets, each performing a different program, is regarded as unparalleled anywhere in Japan. By day the floats parade in dazzling splendor among the cherry blossoms in full bloom, while by night each float is lit with 365 lanterns for the "Yoyama" (night floats), offering two utterly different faces within a single day. The thirteen floats were designated a Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Aichi Prefecture in 1964 (Showa 39), the float event was designated a nationally Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2006 (Heisei 18), and in 2016 (Heisei 28) it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list of "Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals in Japan."

History and Origins

The origins of the Inuyama Festival date to 1635 (Kan'ei 12). When Haritsuna Shrine still stood in Naguri-cho, the towns of Shimohon-machi and Uoya-machi are said to have presented parade displays (nerimono), which marked the beginning of the festival. Nerimono were processions of ingeniously fashioned figures and costumed performers reflecting the fashions and tastes of the time, and at first these displays were the main attraction. The Inuyama Festival began not as a festival of crafted objects, but as one enlivened by the performances of its people.

The occasion for the festival's major development came around 1650 (Keian 3). Through the encouragement of Naruse Hayato-no-sho Masatora, the attendant chief retainer of the Owari Tokugawa house and lord of Inuyama Castle, many parish towns came to present decorated floats and parade displays, and by the mid-Edo period the basic form of today's festival had largely taken shape. The backing of the castle lord elevated the festival into a large-scale rite embracing the entire castle town. During this period the emphasis shifted from a nerimono-centered festival to one centered on the crafted floats.

In Inuyama, the floats are written with the characters for "car mountain" and read "yama." Drawn floats of this kind are found throughout Japan, called variously yama, hoko, yatai, dashi, or danjiri depending on the region, and Inuyama's distinctive term "yama" and its float form symbolize the individuality of this town's festival. In the Owari region, floats developed independently in each locality under the influence of the festivals held in the castle town of Nagoya during the Edo period. In Inuyama, at the northern edge of Owari, the distinctive float form known as the "Inuyama type" was refined amid this current.

The festival date has changed over time. Originally the main day (hongaku) fell on the 28th day of the eighth lunar month, the day of the first enshrinement of Haritsuna Shrine, but after the Nobi Great Earthquake of 1891 (Meiji 24) devastated the castle town, the date was changed to April by the new calendar in 1897 (Meiji 30), once all the towns could again turn out their floats together. After several further changes it settled on the present first Saturday and Sunday of April. The festival was suspended once in 1945 (Showa 20) due to wartime conditions, but after the war it was carried on by the townspeople's organizations of the castle town and continues to this day.

Highlights

The Three-Tiered Floats (Yama)　The stars of the Inuyama Festival are the thirteen floats. All but one boat-shaped float are of the "Inuyama type" developed here, divided into three tiers called, from top to bottom, uwayama, nakayama, and shitayama. The uwayama is the stage for the mechanical puppets, the nakayama is where the puppeteers work, and the shitayama is where young men and children play the festival music. Combining Japanese architectural techniques such as karahafu gabled roofs, balustrades, and grape-motif pillars with a structure sturdy enough to withstand violent turns, the floats possess both functional and decorative beauty.

Puppet Dedication by All Thirteen Floats　That all thirteen floats carry finely crafted mechanical puppets, each performing a different program, is a great distinction of the Inuyama Festival. It is said that nowhere else in Japan do so many floats together dedicate puppet performances. The puppets have been handed down since the Edo period, and through repair and restoration have been passed down in each town for generations. On the day of the main festival (hongaku), each float dedicates its puppet performance in turn before Haritsuna Shrine.

"Donden" and "Shagiri"　The "donden," in which the teko crew boldly lift a float weighing more than about three tons to change its direction, is the most thrilling scene of the Inuyama Festival. It is a display of skill and strength as the enormous floats are turned at the narrow crossroads of the castle town, and it never fails to excite the crowd. Together with the "shagiri," another turning technique, it makes one keenly feel that the floats are not mere exhibits but living festival implements moved by the skill of their bearers.

Yoyama (Night Floats)　When evening falls, 365 lanterns are lit on each float. The "Yoyama," in which these lantern-lit floats parade among rows of cherry trees in full bloom, is the climax of the Inuyama Festival. Against the backdrop of Hakuteijo (another name for Inuyama Castle) floating in the night sky, the procession of floats glowing in the lantern light is praised as a scene of unrivaled beauty in its age. A fantastical, resplendent sight, quite unlike the daytime splendor of the carvings, envelops the castle town.

Three Nerimono That Convey the Origins　Although the festival now centers on the floats, the tradition of the nerimono that enlivened the early Inuyama Festival is still carefully carried on by three towns. Thirteen float towns and three nerimono towns, sixteen towns in all, take part in the festival, and in the coexistence of the crafted floats and the human performances of the nerimono one can see the layered history of the Inuyama Festival.

The Decorative Beauty of the Floats　The decoration of the floats differs from one to another, with water-drapery curtains, gold-brocade curtains, ornamental metal fittings, mother-of-pearl inlay, lacquer, and carvings. The ornamentation, refined by each town through its own independent development, is itself the finest of local craftsmanship, and seen up close its detail is overwhelming. The gold jackets (kinjuban) worn by the children's music troupe also add color to the festival.

Access and Practical Information

• Location: Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture (the castle town below the National Treasure Inuyama Castle, around Haritsuna Shrine)
• Venue: In front of Haritsuna Shrine (Inuyama Castle Plaza) and throughout the castle town
• Timing: Two days each year, the first Saturday (trial festival, shingaku) and Sunday (main festival, hongaku) of April
• Access: About a 20-minute walk from the west exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station to the main venue at Inuyama Castle Plaza
• Viewing: The float procession and puppet dedication in the castle town are free of charge. The puppet dedications are performed before Haritsuna Shrine on the main festival day. Traffic is restricted on the day, and use of public transport is recommended
• Inquiries: Inuyama Festival Preservation Association / Inuyama Tourism Association

Nearby Attractions

The stage of the Inuyama Festival is Inuyama, a castle town centered on the National Treasure Inuyama Castle. Inuyama Castle is one of Japan's surviving original keeps, also called "Hakuteijo," and its figure rising on the bank of the Kiso River is beautiful. From the Inuyama Castle Plaza where the floats gather, one can look up at the keep, and the festival season, when cherry blossoms, floats, and keep are captured in a single view, is especially exceptional.

Old townscapes remain in the castle town, and strolling can be enjoyed at times other than the festival as well. Shops and food stalls making use of the old machiya townhouses line the streets, and one can walk while savoring the atmosphere of the castle town. Haritsuna Shrine sits at the center of the castle town and has long drawn faith as the guardian deity of Inuyama.

Inuyama City has many other attractions besides the castle. The cormorant fishing on the Kiso River, the Museum Meiji-mura, which preserves relocated Meiji-era buildings, and the Japanese garden Urakuen (including the National Treasure teahouse Joan) are scattered about, and the city is known as a sightseeing destination themed on history and culture. By timing a visit to the festival, one can plan a full itinerary combining the Inuyama Festival with the castle town and its famous sites.

Related Information

• Month: April (first Saturday and Sunday)
• Location: Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture, Chubu region (northern edge of the Owari area)
• Origins: Began in 1635 (Kan'ei 12) when Shimohon-machi and Uoya-machi presented nerimono; expanded around 1650 (Keian 3) through the encouragement of Inuyama castle lord Naruse Masatora, with the basic form established in the mid-Edo period
• Scale: Thirteen three-tiered floats from thirteen towns, plus nerimono from three towns, sixteen towns in all. Floats are about eight meters tall and weigh more than three tons
• Cultural Property Designation: Floats designated a Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Aichi Prefecture (1964, Showa 39); float event designated a nationally Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (2006, Heisei 18); inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list of "Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals in Japan" (2016, Heisei 28)
• Organizer / Preservation Body: Haritsuna Shrine / Inuyama Festival Preservation Association

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