Uozu Tatemon Festival

Overview

The Tatemon Festival, known formally as the Tatemon event of Uozu, is a spirited fire festival held as the annual festival of Suwa Shrine in Uozu City, Toyama Prefecture. It is a signature scene of a summer night in which young men vigorously haul about the tatemon, a great pillar about 16 meters tall from which more than ninety lanterns are hung in a triangular shape. It is an observance in which the parishioners of the fishing town of Uozu dedicate the tatemon in prayer for a great catch and for safety in navigation and operation at sea, and the sight of the huge lantern structures, set upon runner-shaped bases without wheels, advancing through the night streets while their countless lantern lights sway, combines boldness and splendor.

A tatemon is a fabricated object weighing about 5 tons in total, with lanterns hung on a great pillar set upon a boat-shaped base, and it is hauled and moved by as many as about 80 people. At the climax of the festival, this enormous tatemon is spun violently within the precincts of Suwa Shrine, and the outpouring of the bearers' strength and the shouts echoing over the sea make the onlookers grip their hands in suspense. This observance, with a history of about 300 years, has been designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

History and Origins

Tracing the origin of the Tatemon Festival, it is said that from about 300 years ago the feelings of the parishioners praying for a great catch and for safety at sea gradually took this form. For Uozu, a fishing town facing the Sea of Japan, an abundant catch and the safety of the boats were an earnest wish that supported daily life, and the form in which that prayer came to fruition as an observance of dedication to Suwa Shrine is the starting point of the Tatemon Festival.

There are several theories about the origin of the name tatemon. It is said to imitate the form of offerings heaped up in mountains on three sides and presented before the deity, or to imitate a whole fishing boat with its sail raised, and it is also said that the word for presenting and dedicating offerings before the deity became corrupted into the name tatemon. Every theory tells of how deeply this observance is rooted in dedication to the deity and in prayer for the fishing industry.

The form of the tatemon has changed greatly with the passage of time. Originally each district hung several lanterns on a base and carried it about the district, but the number of lanterns gradually increased, reaching 25 in the Meiji era and 50 at the beginning of the Taisho era, developing into the grand form of today with more than ninety lanterns hung. It is also said that the reason the lower part is a runner-shaped base is a vestige of the days until the early Showa 30s, when a sandy beach spread out and the sea continued right in front of Suwa Shrine, and the tatemon was hauled over that sand.

The evaluation of it as a cultural property has also risen in stages. In October 1972 the seven tatemon were designated a Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Toyama Prefecture, and in 1981 the Tatemon event of Uozu Bay was selected as an intangible folk cultural property for which measures such as the making of records should be taken. Then, on December 15, 1997, the Tatemon event of Uozu was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and furthermore, on December 1, 2016, it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of the 33 float festivals of Japan under the title of Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals, and its value was recognized worldwide.

Highlights

A Giant Lantern Structure 16 Meters Tall The greatest feature of the tatemon is the great pillar about 16 meters tall set upon the runner-shaped base. The figure, with more than ninety lanterns hung in a triangular shape from this great pillar and a painted panel attached below, is a grand thing reaching 10 meters in length and about 5 tons in total weight, and the countless lights floating up into the night sky beautifully illuminate the lantern structure shaped like a fishing boat.

Bold Spinning within the Precincts The greatest highlight of the festival is the scene in which young men vigorously and boldly spin the wheelless tatemon within the precincts of Suwa Shrine. The sight of turning a huge fabricated object weighing 5 tons by human strength alone is full of a force that seems to make heaven and earth pulsate, and the outpouring of the bearers' strength overwhelms the spectators.

A Contest of Seven Tatemon On the nights of the first and second days of the festival, seven tatemon are brought out from the parishioner districts of Suwa Town. The sight of multiple tatemon, hauled about by spirited young people in happi coats, advancing through the streets as if competing with one another's lights, brims with a vitality that is unique to a fishing town.

A Night Scene Woven of Lights and Shouts The lights of hundreds of beautiful lanterns color the night sky, and the shouts of the young people echo out over the sea. The tones of great drums and flutes join in as well, so that one can feel the exhilaration of the festival with both sight and hearing, and a scene of a summer night unfolds in which boldness and grace coexist.

The Differently Oriented Tatemon of Suwa District Five The tatemon of Suwa District Five, whose old district name is Demura, faces a different direction from the other six. It preserves a distinctive practice of dedicating it with the Suwa Shrine plaque attached to the core pillar facing the sea and the undecorated back side of the core pillar facing the shrine, and the traditions of the locality live on in such details.

A Festival You Can Join as a Bearer Part of the appeal of the Tatemon Festival is that you can take part not only as a spectator but from assembly, raising the pillar, hauling and bearing, to the dismantling work. The happi coats, which only participants may wear and which differ in pattern by district, raise the morale of the bearers, and people from within and beyond the region join their strength to support the festival.

Event Information and Access

• Location: Around Suwa Shrine, Suwa-cho 1-16, Uozu City, Toyama Prefecture
• Dates: The nights of the first and second days of the Jantokoi Uozu Festival (August 7 and 8 in 2026, from 20:30)
• Cultural property: National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (December 15, 1997); UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage as a Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festival (2016); Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Toyama Prefecture (the tatemon, 1972)
• Operating body: Uozu Tatemon Preservation Society
• Access: About 10 minutes by taxi from Uozu Station on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway, about 20 minutes on foot from Dentetsu-Uozu Station of the Toyama Chiho Railway, about 15 minutes by car from the Uozu Interchange
• Note: The area around the venue is closed to vehicles from the evening. Many events are held nearby at the same time, including a maritime fireworks display, the Candle Road, and UO!JAZZ

Around the Area

Uozu City is a fishing town facing Toyama Bay, known for the rich bounty of the sea and for its natural phenomena. The mirage seen over Toyama Bay from spring into early summer is a phenomenon that could be called a symbol of Uozu, and a fantastical scene sometimes appears along the coastline. At the Buried Forest Museum, visitors can learn about the mirage together with the Uozu buried forest, which is designated a Special Natural Monument.

Around Suwa Shrine, the site of the festival, there are the Ariso Dome and the Niikawa Culture Hall, which permanently display scaled-down versions of the tatemon, so that one can see the tatemon up close even outside the festival season. They are an ideal place for those who wish to observe the structure of the giant lantern object at leisure.

On the second day of the Tatemon Festival, the Uozu Festival maritime fireworks display and UO!JAZZ are held about a ten-minute walk from Suwa Shrine. If one enjoys the fireworks and jazz before moving on to the Tatemon Festival, one can savor the summer night of Uozu to the full, and it is a great attraction that several events can be enjoyed at once.

Related Information

• Month: August
• Prefecture and region: Toyama Prefecture (Chubu region)
• Origin: An observance of dedication by parishioners praying for a great catch and safety at sea about 300 years ago
• Scale of the tatemon: About 16 meters tall, about 5 tons in total weight, more than 90 lanterns, 7 structures
• Cultural property designation: National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (December 15, 1997)
• International recognition: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage as a Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festival (2016, one of 33 in Japan)

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