“Hakata Gion Yamakasa” —float festival－designated by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

December 1st, 2016 (Japan time), UNESCO officially registered 33 “Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan” including the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival on its list of intangible cultural heritages. .

To commemorate the designation, we will display pictures of the festival from the Edo to the Taisho period in our permanent exhibition room. (To maintain the quality of the exhibits, the open period will be until January 29th, 2017).

The display includes:
A Yamakasa float drawing by Mr. Mitoma, one of the most famous Yamakasa artists of the Edo period, 1829.

 A drawing depicting a float from the Meiji period, when Yamakasa floats were at the highest they reached during the long history of the Yamakasa festival.

After the Meiji period, due to the modernization of the Hakata district, the size floats gradually became  lower and wider. In the Taisho period, floats were been categorized into two major categories, the Kazari Yama, decorative float, and Kakiyama, moving float. You can see the earliest images of these two floats in traditional drawings.  Please observe how greatly Yamakasa float Designs have changed through history!

Posted by Matano