Spring Takayama Festival: Karakuri Dedication and Gorgeous Stalls!

  • Gifu
  • Experience Gifu
The Takayama Spring Festival (Sanno Matsuri), held on April 14 and 15 every year, is one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan. I have visited the "Karakuri Dedication & Gorgeous Yatai (stalls)" and would like to introduce them to you!

Karakuri Dedication

We arrived at the site around 9:30 a.m., but the place was already crowded with visitors. It was not impossible to see the stalls, but if you want to be in a position to see them from the front, you need to visit the site earlier in the day. The venue is located near the intersection between Takayama Jinya and Aka-bashi Bridge, and the performance is held in front of the Otabisho (the "place of pilgrimage"), which is set up during the festival period. The karakuri dedication is expected to last approximately 50 minutes, with the Sanbaso, Ishibashi-dai, and Ryujin-dai each being performed. The performance requires a very high level of skill to manipulate the puppets by controlling a number of ropes, and the cheers are even louder when a big trick is performed, making it a very impressive spectacle!

The day we visited was a beautiful day, so an announcement was made to warn the audience against heat stroke. Please watch the festival as long as you can, as you will be standing for a long time.
Observe from the side of the crowded venue
Confetti dancing in the air

Gorgeous and gorgeous stalls

One of the best parts of the festival is that you can observe the floats being pulled to their designated locations during the festival period. The carving of the "Kirin-dai" is particularly impressive! Not only is the detail of the carving technique, but even the chain that connects the dog's neck is made of carvings. It is a masterpiece of divine skill, and is said to be one of the finest examples of yatai sculpture. It would be nice to enjoy the Takayama Festival while freely viewing these gorgeous and gorgeous yatai.

You can observe the stalls at various locations
This time we introduced the spring Takayama Festival during the daytime, but the fantastic "Night Festival" will be held on the night of the 14th, when the yatai will be lit with lanterns. Why don't you enjoy the different atmosphere of the Spring Takayama Festival throughout the two days?
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