Inuyama festival

The gist is as follows:

1. An overview of Inuyama Festival
2. Dedication of Karakuri dolls' attraction as the main daytime event
3. The nighttime event completely different from the daytime one
4. When and how it has begun

The Inuyama festival is one of traditional Japanese festivals, and held at Sat. and Sun. of the 1st week of April every year. Main attraction is a parade of 13 cars of "Yama", floats. They are 3-storied and over 8 meters high, and the fronts of them are decorated by beautiful engravings and embroidered thick curtains. During the festival, they are dragged around the central city area of Inuyama by the participants dressed special festival wears.

In addition, Karakuri dolls, traditional mechanical dolls are settled on the top floor of the floats. These dolls are operated by several participants inside them, and the dolls act miracle performances. It's called dedication of mechanical dolls, and it's held at the plaza in front of the Haritsuna shrine and Inuyama-ekimae plaza. Each performance fascinates people watching them. Then so many viewers gathered to watch them during this festival days. And also it's held just in full bloom of cherry blossoms, which serves as a foil of it every year.

Daytime "Yama" (floats)

The festival is broadly divided into daytime programs and nighttime ones, and daytime events are roughly continuing like below. First day's morning, 13 floats which stored each towns' store houses head towards the plaza in front of the Haritsuna shrine. Because this festival is the shrine festival of Haritsuna shrine, so, they gather firstly in front of the shrine. Half of the floats move to another meeting place, the front plaza of Inuyama station, just past noon, and the other half stay still there.

At two places, the plaza in front of Haritsuna shrine and the open space in front of Inuyama station, each Karakuri dolls of floats present their performances. Karakuri dolls are equipped with the highest places of each floats. And these performances are original in each floats, and these are continuing for 10 to 15 minutes. Each Karakuri dolls wear beautiful clothes and act variety actions. We can see them moving, but can't find where puppet wires or other ingenious devices are hiding. These performances are the main events of daytime programs and named the Karakuri doll dedication. 

Each Karakuri dolls play a skit like bellow. One Karakuri doll goes up the separated 5 to 6 pillars of steps. He raises his right foot on the first pillar, and the next moment, he stands on the pillar by his one foot. And the next time, he raises his left foot on the second pillar, and stands on it by his left foot (another foot is floating in the air). Then the third, and the forth, and finally he grasps a scroll on the ceiling which is placed very high point the Karakuri doll can't grave at his starting point. These pillars keep at distance, so we can't guess where the devices are hidden just by looking at. 

The shape of the float is like stacked 3 boxes and it has 4 wheels and pulling rods in front of it. About 10 adult people gather around the float and they move it. They also rotate this heavy stuff smoothly with its one wheel as a shaft when it changes the course at crossings. Inside of it, there are 7 to 8 children dressed colorful festival wears sit crowd together and perform instruments such as Japanese traditional flutes and drums. Sightseers are captured by their lovely performance. 



Night version

Now, night falls, the floats change their appearance dramatically. Participants of the floats put many sticks dangling total 365 lanterns on the decorative handrails all around of them. In every lantern, a candle had been set before. Lanterns are lightened when the evening deep ultramarine gloom changes the deep blacken night. Then, the floats change into growing massive moving-objects.

The floats wrapped yellowish-growing lanterns stroll around the central city. Each side of the main street where many floats go back and forth is occupied by festival stalls. These streets are covered by a huge amount of festival viewers, and brights from colorful stalls of food, souvenirs, toys and so on all night long.

We chase one float slowly, because there are so many people around us. We can't move when the float takes a short rest, then we also take a rest and look around several festival stalls in front of us. But it's also the fun of the festival night. 

The next day is also same. If you want to appreciate every must-see attraction, you have to stay in the town all day long. However, they separate several time zones, so you can visit other features of this town in pockets of time. Because this city is the width you can travel about by foot. For example,visiting Inuyama Castle main tower, tasting Japanese tea and sweets at tee parlors along the street are recommended.


The history of Inuyama Festival

This festival is the shrine festival of Haritsuna Shrine. Haritsuna Shrine was founded on the hill where Inuyama Castle is situated now. It had been a long time before the castle was made. But during the Sengoku period, Inuyama Castle was made on this place, so the shrine was moved to another hill. When the Edo period began, the castle town was renovated on a large scale, and as part of the renovation, the shrine was moved again to a corner of the newly renovated castle town.

It is said that the festival started in 1635, approximately 380 years ago. When this shrine made the first event, it was located in the town and floats gathered from towns surrounded it. By contrast, it is in halfway up the castle hill now. This relocation was carried out at the beginning of the Meiji period, only 130 years ago.

The first idea of this festival was an imitation of the Owari-toshogu Shrine's in Nagoya city. In the Edo period, there was a very important Han (that was kind of local government). That was called the Owari Han, and Owari Tokugawa clan succeeded the status as the leader of it. They were the relatives of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and when he died, they enshrined him as a god. It is said that the Owari-toshogu Shrine's god is Tokugawa Ieyasu. And its shrine festival was started to memorize him. And also it was said that "Yama" or floats paraded to warm up the festival.

The lord of Inuyama Castle held an additional post as a chief retainer of the Owari Han. So, he carried out the same festival, because maybe he wanted to follow what Owari Han started. The Haritsuna Shrine was selected as a suitable shrine, and ordered to start the festival.

Long years had passed from the beginning of both festivals, every "Yama" float of the Owari-toshogu shrine was burnt by the disasters of WW2. By contrast, 13 "Yama" floats on the Inuyama festival were inherited until now. The floats themselves were made in the middle of 19th century or after, so, they were not so much old enough.

Most "Karakuri" dolls were made in the later half of 18th century. We think they were pioneers of robots. At "Shiro-to-machi museum Donden-kan", you can see "Yama" floats and "Karakuri" dolls.