What comes to your mind when you think of summer attractions in Morioka? Probably many
people will think of the Morioka Sansa Odori which is the most important festival in Morioka. TheSansa Odori has been danced and passed down since the time of the Morioka domain in the Edo
period (1603〜1868). The festival is one of the major events liven up Moriokaʼs summer, and every
year over 1 million people visit the city during the festival.
There are six major festivals, including the Sansa, held in the Tohoku area. Tohoku Kizuna Festival
is an opportunity to bring local festivals together and will be held in Morioka this year. Also, festivals
will be held in many hometowns in Tohoku during August.
■What is the Tohoku Kizuna Festival?
From 2011 to 2016, the Tohoku Rokkon Festival was held sequentially in the capital cities of six prefectures inTohoku that suﬀered from the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 as a way to console the souls of victims
and to wish for early recovery of the aﬀected areas. The Tohoku Kizuna festival started in 2017 as a subsequent
event to appeal both domestically and abroad for eﬀorts towards recovery from the disaster. You can now enjoy
all these festivals together, which formerly could only be seen in each area.
■Overview of the Tohoku Kizuna Festival 2018 in Morioka
Date & Time : June 2nd, 2018 (Sat.) 10:00〜19:00, June 3rd, (Sun.) 10:00〜17:00
Venue: Parade︓Chuo-dori (starting from Morioka City Oﬃce)
Venue: Event Venues︓Morioka Castle Site Park, Morioka History and Culture Museum etc.
Organizer: Tohoku Kizuna Festival Steering Committee
Contact: Tohoku Kizuna Festival Call Center 019-601-2444 (weekdays 10:00〜17:00)■Six Major Festivals in Tohoku

In the time of the Morioka domain, a demon called
Rasetsu which was causing trouble in present-day
Morioka was defeated by the deity of Mitsuishi
Shrine. People were glad to hear the evil defeat
danced together calling out, “Sansa, sansa”. This issaid to be the origin of Sansa Odori. The festival is held
every year from August 1st to 4th. Dances, drummers
and ﬂute players show us their co-ordinatedperformances. In June 2014, 3,437 Sansa drummers
performed the drums together, and this was registeredby the Guinness World Record as the ʻWorldʼs largest
concurrent performance of Japanese drumsʼ.

Aomori Nebuta Festival is held every year from
August 2nd to 7th. The creators spend 3 months
constructing ʼNebutaʼ ﬂoats, which are a kind ofgigantic lantern made on a wire frame covered withJapanese paper. The ﬂoats and the dancers called
Haneto parade together throughout the town. Themaximum size of a Nebuta is 9m in width, 7m in lengthand 5m in height. It is said the Nebuta Festival
originated from the practice of Toro-nagashi (ﬂoatingpaper lanterns down the river) at Tanabata, the StarFestival. After hundreds of years, it has become one ofthe popular festivals representing Japan and dynamic
Nebuta is shown both domestically and overseas.

Sendai Tanabata Festival has been familiarly calledʻTanabata-sanʼ in Sendai. The festival is said to datefrom about 400 years ago. During the festival period,
from August 6th to 8th, thousands of Tanabataornaments, from the tiniest to enormous ones over 3 to4 m, are hung as decorations everywhere in the city,
making it wonderfully colorful. There are seven kindsof Tanabata ornaments; each one has a meaning and awish for things such as improvement of learning or
perfect health.

The Kanto (pole lantern) Festival in Akita has a longhistory as an event to wish for protection from evil orfor a good harvest. The festival has been designated asImportant Intangible Folk Cultural Properties ofJapan. A Kanto is a long bamboo pole from which
lanterns shaped as straw rice bag, and looking like earsof rice, are hung. 46 lanterns are hung on the tallest
12m poles, which weigh 50kg. In the festival being
held from August 3rd to 6th every year, Kanto polesswaying just like abundantly growing rice ears are
skillfully balanced. This dynamic performance is thegreatest attraction.

Yamagata Hanagasa (traditional straw hat) Festival
originated from the ʻHanagasa Ondo Parade”, which
was one of the events of the ʻZao Summer Festivalʼ
held in 1963. The parade held independently since
1965, was the starting point of this festival. Held fromAugust 5th to 7th, festival dancers holding Hanagasa
decorated with ﬂowers perform dances in perfectformation to the song ʻHanagasa Ondoʼ the lyrics ofwhich describe sightseeing spots and local specialties
in Yamagata. This Hanagasa dance is often performed
at various events held in Yamagata prefecture.

Fukushima Waraji (straw sandals) Festival started in
1970, and originated from ʻAkatsuki Mairiʼ, when thelargest waraji in Japan is dedicated to Shinobu sanzan,
three major mountains in Shinobu, Fukushima every
February. In the festival held in early August everyyear, a huge waraji, the pair of the one dedicated inFebruary, is dedicated with the wish for strong legs forthe citizens and prosperity in business. The hugewaraji is 12m long and 1.4m in wide.

It is said that these festivals, which have diﬀerent histories and origins depending on the region, are an aspect ofour culture that is indispensable for the enjoyment of summer in Japan. It might be interesting to learn more
about the local histories and customs together with festivals. This summer, please go to the festivals in each area.

Image Providers: Morioka Sansa Odori Festival Organizing Committee, Aomori Tourism and Convention Association, Sendai Tanabata
Festival Support Association, Akita City Kanto Festival Committee, Yamagata Hanagasa Association, Fukushima Waraji FestivalSteering Committee, Fukushima Prefecture Tourism & Local Products Association