Chichibu Night Festival

The Chichibu Yomatsuri is one of the three major Hikiyama festivals in Japan, along with the Gion Festival in Kyoto and the Takayama Festival in Gifu. The festival lasts for two days, the second day being the Yoi (waiting time) and the third day the main festival.

The float pulling begins in the afternoon of the second day and continues into the morning of the third day. In the afternoon of the third day, a stage is set up on the floats and Kabuki plays are performed. A spectacular fireworks display is also held from around 8:00 p.m.

The Chichibu Night Festival is an annual festival of Chichibu Shrine held from December 1 to 6 in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. The festival is centered around Yoimiya on December 2 and Omatsuri on December 3, when floats (kasaboko and yatai) are decorated with lanterns and pulled around the shrine and a winter fireworks display is held. The Chichibu Night Festival has a history of more than 300 years, dating back to the Kanbun era, and is one of the most spectacular festivals in Japan. The series of events is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.

Around 6:30 p.m. on December 3, the day of the grand festival, the procession of the gojinko from Chichibu Shrine to the Otabisho begins, with six kasaboko floats and yatai following the procession. The festival then reaches its climax when the kasa-hoko and yatai, weighing up to 20 tons, are pulled up by many pullers on the steep slope of Dankozaka.

The Chichibu Night Festival is considered one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan and one of the three major Hikiyama festivals in Japan, along with the Gion Festival in Kyoto and the Takayama Festival in Hida.

The kasaboko and yatai floats are assembled without the use of any nails. They are decorated with gold ornaments, vivid carvings, gold thread embroidered backdrops, and other gorgeous ornaments, and are considered to be like a moving Yangmyongmon gate. For this reason, the kasaboko and yatai floats are designated as Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties of Japan.

In addition, there are only five Chichibu Night Festival festivals in Japan that are designated as both nationally important tangible folk cultural assets and important intangible folk cultural assets. One of them is the Chichibu Night Festival, making it an extremely valuable festival both historically and culturally.

In 2000, it was selected as one of the “100 Saitama hometown boasts to leave behind in the 21st century” by the Saitama Shimbun.

On December 1, 2016, the Intergovernmental Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held in Ethiopia decided to register Japan’s “Yama, Hoko, Yatai events” (33 events from 18 prefectures in Japan) as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Among them, “Yatai events of the Chichibu Festival and Kagura (Shinto music and dance)” will be officially registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Overview:

Kasaboko and Yatai floats were designated as Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties in 1962. In addition, the Chichibu Festival’s yatai events and Kagura (Shinto music and dance) were designated as Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties in 1979.

The 2nd is Yoimiya (Yoimiya Festival or Yoimachi), which includes the dedication of sacred horses, kagura (Shinto music and dance), and the pulling of yatai (floats). On this day, four of the yatai will be in operation, making a shrine visit to Chichibu Shrine and pulling the yatai around at night. In the evening, the “Banba-cho Suwa-matari” ritual and a relatively small fireworks display are also held.

The 3rd is the Grand Festival, which includes a visit to the shrine, Kagura (Shinto music and dance) performance, regular festival rituals, and the pulling of kasaboko and yatai floats. Kasaboko and Yatai floats will be pulled along Honmachi, Nakamachi and Kamimachi streets (some floats will go to Chichibu Shrine in the evening via Chichibu Ekimae Street and in front of Chichibu Festival Hall).

Two of the kasaboko floats will also make a shrine visit to Chichibu Shrine. One of the yatai stalls will perform a “yatai shibai” (stall play). The yatai have overhanging stages on both sides, and each year it is the turn to perform the yatai play.

On the evening of the 3rd, a procession of the shrine parade departs from Chichibu Shrine at around 6:30 p.m. The procession is led by a leading Omasa (a leading marijuana dealer) and a leading priest (a leading priest). At the head of the procession are the leading Omasa, Osakaki, Sarutahiko, Nichigetsu Manto, Gakuto, Nishikibata, Motebako, and Tachibako.

Behind them is a long line of offerings and tall lanterns from the Ujiko-machikai, followed by the portable shrine, the chief priest, the grand marshal, and two sacred horses. The procession of kasaboko and yatai floats follows the procession of gojinko, departing one after the other around 7:00 p.m.

The procession will arrive at the Otabisho around 8:00 p.m., followed by the procession of kasaboko and yatai around 10:00 p.m. The floats and floats are pulled up on the Dango Hill in front of the Otabisho. At the same time, fireworks dedicated to the festival by the Fireworks Town Association and fireworks sponsored by the Tourist Association are set off, and the festival culminates with the pulling up of the floats on Dankozaka and the procession to the Otabisho.

After the procession of kasaboko and yatai floats, the Saiba Matsuri is solemnly held at Otabisho. After the Saiba Matsuri, the floats are pulled down the Dangozaka slope from around midnight on the 4th, and the kasaboko and yatai return to the storehouse. The procession also departs from the Otabisho and returns to Chichibu Shrine.

In the route of the procession, there is a railroad crossing of Chichibu Railway Chichibu Main Line on the road to Dankozaka. This crossing is located on the Mibuguchi side of Ohanabata Station, and Dankozaka can be seen from the train windows.

This crossing is constructed to allow temporary removal of overhead wires that would interfere with the passage of the kasaboko and yatai floats.

During the Grand Festival on the 3rd, trains between Chichibu and Kagemori will be suspended from 19:00 to around 22:00. The Chichibu Railway Chichibu Main Line and Seibu Railway Ikebukuro Line and Seibu Chichibu Line schedules will be drastically changed and trains will be running extra.

Also, since the festival will run until midnight, the last train will run much later. Foldable road signs and traffic signals are installed along the route of the kasaboko and yatai floats.