F E S T I V A L ／ FEST-253

Hojozu Hachimangu Festival: Hikiyama and Tsukiyama Rites

放生津八幡宮祭の曳山・築山行事ほうじょうづはちまんぐうさいのひきやま・つきやまぎょうじ

The Hikiyama and Tsukiyama rites of the Hojozu Hachimangu Festival are held every year on October 1 and 2 in the old Shinminato district of Imizu City, Toyama, popularly known as the "Shinminato Hikiyama Matsuri." On October 1, thirteen float carts parade through the town, transforming over the course of the day from "flower floats (hanayama)," adorned with flowers and figures, into "lantern floats (chochinyama)" lit by hundreds of paper lanterns that wind through the night streets. On October 2, a "tsukiyama" is built in the precincts of Hojozu Hachimangu: figures of the principal deity and the Four Heavenly Kings are arrayed on a temporary mound for a rite, then dismantled by evening—a form rarely seen elsewhere in Japan. Regarded as the type example of the "Hojozu-style" flower-float culture that spread along the ports of Toyama Bay, it was designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2021 and inscribed in 2024 on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list as part of the "Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals."