The event has ended】The 2024 edition of the Kakunodate Festival's Yamabutsuri (mountain event) is a powerful "Yamabutsuri" event.

  • Akita
  • Sightseeing
Kakunodate Festival's "Yamabutsutsuke" event
Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture hosts the "Kakunodate Festival Yamabutsuki" from September 7 to 9 every year, which is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset of Japan. The highlight of the festival is the "Yamabutsutsuke," in which floats violently collide with each other! The highlight of the festival is the "Yamabutsuri," in which the floats collide violently with each other!

A festival with a tradition of about 400 years

Origin of the festival

The Kakunodate Festival's mountain event began about 400 years ago. The Kakunodate Matsuri is the very origin of Japanese festivals, as it is steeped in the belief of waiting for and receiving the gods, and even features fierce clashes in which young people go to the limits of their power. It is a prayer for the prosperity of the community, business, and the health of the family, and is said to be a combination of the Shinmyo Shrine (September 7 and 8) and Yakushido (September 8 and 9) festivals.

Hikiyama (floats) carrying warrior dolls and Kabuki dolls are brought out from each town and paraded through the town, pulled by young men. Hikiyama is a type of float. The term "hikiyama" varies from region to region.
Hikiyama decorated with samurai and kabuki dolls
A scene from a visit to the shrine

Flow of the festival

On the 7th, the floats go to Shinmyo Shrine for worship, on the 8th, they go through the samurai residence street to visit the head of the Satake Kita family, and on the 8th and 9th, they go up to the Yakushido Hall.


Schedule for 2024
[Saturday, September 7]
10：00- Shinmeisha Regular Festival "Day Festival"
16：00- Shinmeisha visit
20：00- Shinmeisha Regular Festival "Yoimiya Festival"
[Sunday, September 8]
8：00- Shinmeisha portable shrine procession
10：00-17：30 Satake Kita family visit and Oyama music contest
15：00- Seijoin Yakushido Ceremony Opening White Ritual
16：00～ Visiting Seijoin Yakushido
17：30～ Kanko Yama Bussuke
【9/9（Mon）】
7：10～ Mikoshi parade at Seijoin Yakushido
10：00～ Visiting Seijoin Yakushido
10：00～ Hikiyama Hikigashimasu
Senboku City Tourist Information Top Page

Flamboyant "Hikiyama

The floats are accompanied by people who play "Oyamabayashi" (festival music) with flutes, large drums, drums, gongs, and shamisen. The highlight of the festival is the glamorous hand dance of the Akita obako! Akita obako" refers to young Akita girls. There is also a folk song called "Akita obako," which originated in the Senboku region.
Akita Obakotachi no Teodori
Glossy Teodori (hand dance)

Climax of the festival "Yama Bussuke

When the floats meet on the road, negotiations begin as to which of the two will give way. After the visit to the shrine, etc., when the purpose of the procession is lost, the tugs lose priority in the procession, and negotiations break down! The "Yamabutsuri" is the festival's climax, where the floats collide and the winner is decided by which of them will pass the road first.

The "Yamabutsuri" is the climax of the festival, and both the pullers and the music reach their climax!


Schedule for 2024
"Yamabutsutsuke" Clash Time (9/8)

(1) 18:00 Nishikatsuraku-cho - Ekimae (in front of former Kakunodate Hall)
(2) 18:30 Yokomachi - Sakurabi-cho (in front of Kakunodate Kanko Taxi)
(3) 19:00 Kamishinmachi - Sugasawa ( (3) 19:00 Kamishinmachi - Sugasawa (in front of Kurosawa Clock Shop)
(4) 19:00 Otsuka - East (in front of Senboku Branch of Tenrikyo)
(5) 19:30 Chuo Dori - Kawaramachi (in front of Domanin)
(6) 19:30 Nanokaicho - West (in front of Akita Bank)
(7) 21:30 Sugasawa - Honmachi Dori (in front of Komatsu Clothing Store)

Young people crowd around each other, and the excitement of the festival is at its peak!
The festival is full of power! Hikiyama clashing with each other

Kakunodate Town", the place where the festival is held

Shinmeisha Shrine, Kakunodate's main shrine

Seishoin Yakushido

Information on "Kakunodate Matsuri-no-Yama Event

●Date: September 7-9

●Organizer: Kakunodate Matsuri-no-Yama Event Executive Committee

●Inquiries: Senboku City Tourism Information Center "Kakunodate Ekimae Kura" (TEL: 0187-54-2700)
For more information about "Kakunodate Matsuri no Yama-gyo"
The sounds of the music, the beautiful and graceful hand dance of the obako, and the lively Yamabutsuri of the young people make for a very attractive combination. The nearby samurai residences of Kakunodate, known as "Little Kyoto" in the Tohoku region, make it a great place to experience the history of Kakunodate while watching the festival.
Why not visit Kakunodate to see the live and powerful "Yamabutsuri"?

*The contents and services in this article are subject to change.
*Photographs courtesy of Senboku City Tourism Information Center "Kakunodate Ekimae Kura" and Akita Prefecture's official tourism site [Akita Fun].

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