Shinjo Matsuri新庄まつり · Shinjō Matsuri

When it is held

The Shinjō Festival (新庄まつり, Shinjō Matsuri) is held in Shinjō, Yamagata Prefecture, on August 24, 25 and 26 every year:

• August 24: Yoi-matsuri (宵まつり), the evening float parade.
• August 25: Hon-matsuri (本まつり), the main day, with the mikoshi procession and the float parade.
• August 26: Ato-matsuri (後まつり), with deer dances and the closing ceremony.

The floats

Twenty floats (山車, yama) take part. Each is built by a neighborhood young men's group (wakaren, 若連) over more than a month, and they recreate famous scenes from kabuki and history. "The float events of the Shinjō Festival" were inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016 as one of 33 float festivals in Japan, and they are also a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Day by day

August 24. In 2026 the day began with offerings of Shinjō hayashi music at the town's shrines at 8:10 am and the grand festival of Tozawa Shrine at 10 am. At 6 pm the floats' lights are switched on at the Chūō-dōri intersection (hi-ire-shiki, 灯入式). The floats set off from the north and south of the town, meet at the Minami-honchō crossroads and, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, parade along the station road to Abies, the plaza in front of Shinjō Station, where the evening reaches its peak. They move to the call "Cheren koyassā".

August 25. At around 9 am the deity of the Tenmangū is transferred into its mikoshi, and a procession of more than 200 people leaves Tozawa Shrine. For the day, parish representatives and neighborhood leaders dress as samurai of the Shinjō domain. The 20 floats then set off again and parade along the station road to Abies.

August 26. The Hagino and Nitayama shishi-odori (鹿子踊), deer dances handed down in the north of the city, are offered at Tozawa Shrine and Gokoku Shrine on the castle ruins. In recent years the city has also held exchange parades with traditional performing arts from across Japan. All 20 floats then gather in the town center for the kazari-yama (飾り山車), and the festival ends with a hand-clapping ceremony (tejime) at the Minami-honchō crossroads.

History

The festival began in 1756 (Hōreki 6). After a disastrous harvest the year before, the domain lord Tozawa Masanobu held the festival of the Tenmangū, the Tozawa clan's tutelary shrine, across the whole domain to lift his people's spirits and pray for a good harvest. It has more than 260 years of history.

Tips

• Paid viewing seats are sold for the float parades; see the official site for details.
• The finish at Abies, by Shinjō Station, is where the parades end and the crowds are thickest.
• The city's commerce and tourism division sells a limited number of each year's festival posters, and festival goods are sold at the Mogami Bussankan next to the station.