Tohoku Kizuna Festival
東北絆まつり
"I believe Tohoku Kizuna Festival is the best way to experience what Tohoku region has to offer, a little bit from each prefecture, in only two days!"
-Ruxandra Matei
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Historical Background
Historical Background
Originally called the Rokkon Festival, the Tohoku Kizuna Festival first started in 2011 to pay homage to the casualties of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. However, it is also a time to bring all of Tohoku together and enjoy local specialties such as music, dances, food, games and sometimes special performances by guest celebrities. Even the Japan Air Self-Defense Force came to make an aerobatic demonstration in Akita City, 2022, drawing heart shapes and more in the sky. To symbolize the union of Tohoku prefectures, the festival's name was changed to Kizuna, meaning 'bond' or 'ties'.
Characteristics
Characteristics
In the Tohoku Kizuna Festival, you can enjoy the traditional festivals of 6 different prefectures in Tohoku at once! One from each prefecture: Nebuta Festival from Aomori, Kanto Festival from Akita, Morioka Sansa Odori Festival from Iwate, Tanabata Festival from Miyagi, Waraji Festival from Fukushima, and Hanagasa Festival from Yamagata. Every year, for two early summer days, the location of the festival rotates to a different prefecture from the last.
Click on the festival title on the official website to get more information.
The Nebuta are big and colorful paper lantern floats resembling ancient warlords, historical characters and kabuki characters, bringing to life scenes from Japanese folklore. Most are 9 meters wide, 7 meters deep and 5 meters high.
Parading along are Haneto dancers singing out “rassera rassera” with the music of Nebuta bayashi bands.
The Kanto are lantern poles that can reach 12 meters high and 50 kilograms weight, balanced on the palm of one's hand, forehead, shoulder or lower back. “Dokkoisho dokkoisho” is chanted along by the accompanying drummers.
The festival is a pray for a bountiful rice harvest.
An old tradition passed-down across generations celebrates the joy of being saved by a goddess from a ravaging demon. Almost 35,000 dancers move to the beat of the world's record-holding Taiko drum festival.
The festival celebrates the folktale of forbidden love between Orihime and Hikoboshi, separated by the milky way but allowed to meet on the day of the festival, for one night a year. Its unique character is given by the colorful paper and bamboo decorations.
A 12 meters long and 2 tons heavy sandal is carried through the streets along with singers and dancers to pray for strong and healthy legs.
10,000 Hanagasa dancers celebrate Yamagata's traditional folk culture, chanting “yassho makkasho” while waving their benibana flower hats to the rhythm of the taiko drum.
To know more!
To know more!
Tohoku Kizuna Festival 2024（仙台七夕・山形花笠・福島わらじ・秋田竿燈・青森ねぷた祭り・盛岡さんさ踊り）（Visual only）
Explore Tohoku Kizuna Festival in Japan
（Visual only）Exploring 6 Japanese Summer Festivals in ONE DAY | Tohoku Kizuna Festival in Akita / 東北絆まつり秋田
(English)
Direct Voice from Akito Murata
Direct Voice from Akito Murata
I am not originally from Tohoku region. Since I moved to Akita, I have wanted to experience Tohoku cultures including festivals. This is why I went to Sendai to see Tohoku Kizuna Festival in 2023. My first impression is that this wonderful festival is a great deal since you can see each festival from 6 prefectures in Tohoku region all at once. I saw parades and ate various foods with my friends. This was the first time for me to see "Nebuta", "huge waraji", and the traditional dances too. Besides, I was able to see "Suzume Odori", which is a traditional dance in Sendai. I also enjoyed sightseeing in Sendai even though I went there to see the festival. I felt the great atmosphere throughout the place holding the festival. After the festival, I got more interested in each festival and each prefecture. This festival can be a starting point to have more cultural experiences; you will surely want to know more about Tohoku region and have more cultural experiences in each prefecture.
@All photos taken by Akito Murata
References
References
Ambassade du Japon en France. "WORLD EXPO 2025 NEWS." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://www.fr.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100690953.pdf.
Japan Travel. "Tohoku Kizuna Festival 2025." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://en.japantravel.com/miyagi/tohoku-kizuna-festival/70862#:~:text=The%20Tohoku%20Kizuna%20Festival%20is,held%20in%20Morioka%20City%2C%20Iwate.
Kantou. "Akita Kantou Festival." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://www.kantou.gr.jp/english/.
Nebuta. Accessed December 18, 2024. https://www.nebuta.jp/foreign/english.html.
The Hidden Japan. "The Tohoku Kizuna Festival." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://thehiddenjapan.com/tohoku-kizuna-festival/.
The Japan News. "After hiatus, Tohoku festival wows crowds in Akita." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/features/japan-focus/20220621-39584/.
Tohoku Kizuna Festival 2024. "Tohoku Kizuna Festival 2024 Sendai." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://tohoku-kizunamatsuri.jp/.
Waraji. "Fukushima Waraji Festival." Accessed December 18, 2024. https://www.waraji.co.jp/en/
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