Overview
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Before dawn on 15 July, the floats race through Hakata in the Oiyama.
About this place
Hakata Gion Yamakasa (博多祇園山笠) is a Japanese festival celebrated from the 1st until the 15th of July in Hakata, Fukuoka. The festivities are centred on the Kushida Jinja. The festival is famous for the Kakiyama, that weigh around one ton and are carried around the city as an act of float-racing. The festival is believed to be over 770 years old and attracts up to a million spectators each year. It was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1979. The origin of the festival is thought to date from 1241, when to eradicate the plague, the founder of Joten-ji temple, monk Enni had people pray while porting him on a float around the town. The sound of the Yamakasa has also been selected by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Key facts
Founded / opened：1241 (traditional) Designation：Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Official website
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Source hakatayamakasa.com ↗Before you go
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