Tomida Ishidori Matsuri

What Is the Tomida Ishidori Matsuri?

The Tomida Ishidori Matsuri is a festival held each summer in the Tomida district of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The "Ishidori Matsuri" is a festival widely transmitted in the Hokusei region (northern Mie Prefecture), known as a spirited and lively summer festival in which "festival carts" (saisha) fiercely beating drums and gongs parade through the town. It is a summer tradition distinctive to the Tomida district, belonging to the lineage of the Ishidori festivals made famous by the Kuwana Ishidori Matsuri, which is also called "the noisiest festival in Japan."

History and Origins

The Ishidori Matsuri is said to derive originally from the rite of "ishidori," in which pure stones used in a shrine's festival were gathered from a river. In the Hokusei region, this stone-gathering event developed into a lively festival in which festival carts are pulled while drums and gongs are beaten. The Tomida Ishidori Matsuri, too, inheriting the faith and tradition of this region, is a festival that has been protected by the hands of the townspeople. The festival carts that each neighborhood takes pride in are gorgeous, adorned with intricate carvings and metalwork, conveying to this day the spirit of local people.

Highlights

The greatest attraction is the spirited sight of festival carts parading through the town while drums and gongs are beaten with all one's might. The powerful playing, in which the ringing of the gongs and the belly-shaking sound of the drums become one, is the real charm of the Ishidori Matsuri. The sight of festival carts beautifully adorned with lanterns advancing through the town at night is magical, enlivening the festival together with the fervor of the musicians. The beauty of the lavishly decorated festival carts themselves is also a highlight. Visitors can experience a lively and energetic festival that colors the summer of Hokusei.

When It Takes Place

The festival is typically held in summer (August) in the Tomida district of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. As a summer festival, its season is summer. The operation of the festival carts is centered on the night. Because the details of dates and routes vary from year to year, visitors are advised to confirm in advance through official announcements from Yokkaichi City and the local organizers.

Access

The Tomida district can be reached from Tomida Station on the JR Kansai Main Line and Kintetsu-Tomida Station on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line. Located in the northern part of Yokkaichi, it can be accessed by JR or Kintetsu from the direction of Nagoya. As traffic restrictions and crowds are expected in the area during the festival, public transport is recommended.

Around the Area

Yokkaichi is a core city in northern Mie Prefecture where one can enjoy factory night views and the seafood of Ise Bay. In the same Tomida district, the "Tomida Kujirabune Festival," also inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, is held, though from fiscal 2025 that event has been held on the Saturday and Sunday following September 23, a different season from the Ishidori festival. In nearby Kuwana, the "Kuwana Ishidori Matsuri," famed as the home of the Ishidori festival, is held, along with tourist destinations such as Nabana no Sato and Nagashima Onsen. It is an area where one can savor the festival culture and tourism of the Hokusei region.

Venue and Access Details

• Venue: Toride Shrine (2-16-4 Tomida, Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture) and the streets of the Tomida-nishimachi, Kitamura and Mofuku neighborhoods
• Access: About 8 minutes on foot from Tomida Station on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line, or about 8 minutes on foot from Tomida Station on the JR Kansai Main Line
• Date and Season: August 14 for the processions within each neighborhood, and August 15 for the joint procession of the three neighborhoods centered on Toride Shrine
• Admission: Free. The floats are watched from the streets, and no paid seating is announced.
• Inquiries: Cultural Affairs Division, City Promotion Department, City of Yokkaichi, tel. 059-354-8238

The floats move mainly after dark, and the detailed timetable and route change from year to year, so visitors should check the announcements issued by the Tomida district association and the City of Yokkaichi before setting out. The area in front of Kintetsu-Tomida Station, the old Tokaido road and the Chuo-dori avenue all lie on the route of the floats and become crowded.

Three Floats, Three Neighborhoods

The festival is carried out by three neighborhoods: Tomida-nishimachi, Kitamura and Mofuku. All three of their floats were obtained from Kuwana, and each has its own history and decoration. The float of Tomida-nishimachi is said to have been built between 1847 and 1859, at the end of the Edo period, and was handed over from the former Higashi-Sembamachi neighborhood of Kuwana in 1922. It has both an upper valance and a body curtain, its canopy is decorated with a phoenix, and its musicians play the itsutsu-byoshi, the five-beat pattern. It is regarded as the neighborhood with the longest history of holding the Ishidori festival in Tomida. The float of Kitamura was built during the Bunsei era and was purchased from the Akasuka district of Kuwana in 1921. For many years it remained plain zelkova wood, but its lacquering was completed in July 2022, and the rounded lower section now bears a maki-e design of the cherry blossoms of the local Jushi River. Its canopy shows a kirin, its musicians play the nanatsu-byoshi, the seven-beat pattern, and its drum measures about 84 centimetres around the body, the largest in Tomida. The float of Mofuku was built in 1826, the ninth year of the Bunsei era, and still carries the inked signature "Nonogaki" on one of its members. It passed from the Misakidori-nishinokumi group of Kuwana to the Akasuka first group in 1899, and came to Mofuku in 1923. It has a single-tier frame of the rounded type, a canopy of Chinese lions and peonies, and also uses the seven-beat pattern. The cultural property notes of the City of Yokkaichi likewise single out the Mofuku float as one that preserves an old form.

The Rhythms Differ by Neighborhood

The musical patterns of the Ishidori festival differ from one neighborhood to another, and in Tomida they can be told apart by ear. Kitamura and Mofuku use the seven-beat pattern, while Tomida-nishimachi uses the five-beat pattern. The patterns of Kitamura and Mofuku closely resemble each other, but the Mofuku version is said to be slightly longer. The high, piercing sound of the gongs overlaps with the low resonance of the drums, and when several floats draw near one another their rhythms collide, producing the density of sound that has earned this type of festival the nickname of the noisiest in Japan. Lanterns are hung along the yamagata frame at the top of each float; those of Mofuku bear the character for "Mo" in vermilion on the front and the words for "sacred light" in black ink on the back. The City of Yokkaichi renders the sound as "gon-chiki-chiki," while the Tomida district writes it as "chiki-chiki gon-gon."

Cultural Property Status and Origins

"The Ishidori Festival of Tomida" is the collective name for the Kitamura, Mofuku and Tomida-nishimachi festivals, and it was designated an intangible folk cultural property of the City of Yokkaichi on 13 January 2011. The holders of the designation are three bodies: the preservation society for the Kitamura float of Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine, the preservation society for the Mofuku float, and the federated neighborhood association of Tomida-nishimachi. The cultural property notes of the City of Yokkaichi explain that the festival is thought to have developed when Ishidori floats were added to traditional agricultural observances such as the mushi-okuri insect-driving rite, under the influence of the Ishidori festival of Kuwana. The rite of gathering stones and offering them to a shrine belongs to the Kuwana festival; what distinguishes Tomida is that it adopted the floats and their music and tied them to the observances of the Bon season. It is a folk event rooted in the community and carried out by the neighborhoods as a whole.

Nearby Festivals at the Same Time of Year

Toride Shrine is also known for a second festival, the Kujirabune or whaling-boat event, which is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan and was inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2016 as one of the thirty-three "Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals." According to the guidance of the City of Yokkaichi, however, from fiscal 2025 it is held on the Saturday and Sunday following 23 September, so it now falls in a different season from the Ishidori festival in August. On 14 and 15 August, meanwhile, the neighbouring town of Tomida-isshiki holds the Kenka Matsuri of Asuka Shrine, and Amagasuka holds the Ishidori festival of Sumiyoshi Shrine. All of these reflect the custom of the coastal towns of the Hokusei region, which hold their festivals during Bon. The Ishidori festival of Kuwana, the home of this festival type, centres on the first Sunday of August with the eve held the previous day, and was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in March 2007; it is, however, a separate festival from the one in Tomida, so check both the dates and the location before visiting.

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