Inuyama Matsuri犬山祭 · Inuyama Matsuri

When it is held

The Inuyama Festival (犬山祭, Inuyama Matsuri) is the festival of Harutsuna Shrine (針綱神社), held on the first Saturday of April and the Sunday after it in the old castle town below Inuyama Castle, in Aichi Prefecture. The Saturday is the shigakusai (試楽祭) and the Sunday the hongakusai (本楽祭). In 2026 they fell on April 4 and 5. If the rule holds, the 2027 festival will be on April 3 and 4. The festival is cancelled in rain.

The floats

Thirteen three-tiered floats called yama (車山) take part, along with three nerimono (練り物) processions, from 16 neighborhoods in all. Every one of the 13 yama carries karakuri puppets, which perform to flutes and drums. The floats have been an Aichi Prefectural Tangible Folk Cultural Property since 1964, and the float event was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2006. In December 2016 it was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of 33 float festivals in Japan; Aichi has five of them, more than any other prefecture, including the Owari Tsushima Tennō Festival.

The two days

On both days the yama leave their storehouses in the morning and are pulled through the castle town, and in the evening each one is lit with lanterns and pulled through the streets again.

On the Sunday morning, the 13 yama and three nerimono gather in front of Harutsuna Shrine, by the plaza below Inuyama Castle. Lined up with the shrine behind them, they offer their karakuri performances and nerimono one after another in festival order (from 9:20 am in 2026), then split into two groups for the rest of the day. After dark the lantern-lit floats, the yoru-yama, wind through the town under the cherry blossoms, which are often in full bloom at festival time.

History

The festival is said to have begun in 1635 (Kan'ei 12) as the festival of Harutsuna Shrine, the guardian shrine of the area. The Naruse family, lords of Inuyama Castle and senior retainers of the Owari Tokugawa, are said to have encouraged it. The participating neighborhoods are those of the shrine's parish in the old castle town.

In the Meiji era, as the calendar and daily life changed, the festival moved from August to April. It was held at first on April 27 and 28, and after several further changes it settled on the first Saturday of April and the following Sunday.

Getting there

The main venue in front of Harutsuna Shrine is about a 20-minute walk from the west exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station. Roads around the castle town are closed during the parades, and the car parks fill early, so public transport is strongly recommended.

Tips

• See the karakuri on the Sunday morning, when every float performs in front of the shrine.
• Stay for the evening, when the lantern-lit yama are the festival's most photographed scene.
• Rain cancels the festival, so check the official site on the morning of each day.