Edition 2025! One of the three major festivals in Tohoku [Akita Kanto Festival] Lights of Kanto fill the main street

  • Akita
  • Sightseeing
Image courtesy of Akita City Kanto Festival Executive Committee
The Akita Kanto Festival, held annually from August 3 to 6, is approaching. This year, too, the festival is expected to be crowded with many tourists from inside and outside of Akita Prefecture.

History of Akita Kanto Festival

The origin of the Kanto Festival is said to be the "Tanabata event," or Tanabata Festival of the Sleepy Nymphs, which started as an event to drive away summer sleepiness and evil spirits, and the prototype was created during the Horeki era (1600-1868). Originally, people decorated bamboo bamboos and Gohan trees with strips of paper with wishes written on them, paraded them through the town, and finally floated them down the river.
Image courtesy of Akita Prefecture

Two highlights of the Kanto Festival

All the Kanto lanterns rise up at once.

The first highlight is the moment when the performance begins. The excitement of the festival is of course great, but the moment when all the lanterns are lifted at once is both tense and moving. It is a powerful moment that can be captured in photos or video, or burned into your eyes. Once the performance starts, enjoy the contrast between the night sky and the lights of the lanterns.

The skill of the organizer who maneuvers the big Kanto at will.

The second highlight of the festival is the skill of the handlers who manipulate the large lanterns. The delicate balance of the two is said to be four parts strength and six parts technique, and the way they move the biggest one, called "O-Waka," up to 12 meters in length, from palm to forehead to shoulder to waist, is a masterpiece. The festival is enlivened by the music and the shouts of "Dokkoi show, dokkoi show" that accompany the performance.
There are four types of Kanto, from largest to smallest: "Daiwaka," "Nakawaka," "Kowaka," and "Yo-waka. It is not only the adults who perform, but also the children who participate in the festival and work hard to raise a Kanto that is bigger than they are, which will make you feel relaxed.
The candles used for the Kanto lanterns are known as good luck charms for safe delivery (image courtesy of Akita Prefecture).

Kanto Magic Contest

The Kanto Festival is mostly known as a nighttime event, but have you ever heard of a daytime Kanto festival?
The "Kanto Myogi Kaikai," also known as the "Daytime Kanto Festival," is a daytime event where people compete in the art of playing Kanto and the art of musical accompaniment. There are three key points to the Myogi Kaikai: the dominant hand, the circle, and the wind. When operating the lanterns, the contestants must raise the lanterns with their dominant hand only. If you move out of the 6-meter diameter "circle" even a little, you will be penalized with points. The tension is even more palpable in the daytime than at night, which can be said to be the highlight of the Kanto festival.
Craftsmanship that just barely meets the line

After the Festival

After the festival is over, the Kanto returns to the town, but the musical accompaniment continues during the festival. Once back in the town, the lanterns are raised again as if to enjoy the afterglow with the people of the town, and the day comes to a close with the "return Kanto". Unlike the tense daytime and lively nighttime performances, the Kanto festival is held in a more intimate atmosphere, and is a hidden highlight that tourists can easily see.
The best way to experience the excitement is to pay for seats. For more information on sales, please visit the official website of the Akita Kanto Festival.
Akita Kanto Festival official website

If you cannot come to Akita during the festival (August 3-6), please visit here.

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