【Discover the Feature Exhibition】 Hakata Gion Yamakasa Exhibition 21

Feature Exhibition Room 2

June 21st (Tue.) ~ August 28th (Sun.), 2022

Picture depicting the floats of Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival in 1863

 Hakata Gion Yamakasa is a festival dedicated to Kushida Shrine, Hakata ward, in Fukuoka City, and it is held between July 1st and 15th every year. During the festival, the tall decorated floats, the Kazariyama, are put on display at several places around the city, while men and boys run through the streets in Hakata carrying the shorter, more portable floats, called Kakiyama.

 However, most of the events of this festival have had to be postponed over the last two years because of the pandemic, and last year only some Kazariyama could be displayed. But, this year preparations are underway to make Hakata Gion Yamakasa happen as usual.

 The Fukuoka City Museum holds the ‘Hakata Gion Yamakasa Exhibition’ almost every year during the period of the festival. In what will be the 21st year of our annual Hakata Gion Yamakasa exhibition, we will be showcasing Yamakasa-zu, which are pictures depicting the decorative Yamakasa floats. These take the form of hanging scrolls and folding screens dating from the middle of the Edo period to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate (from the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century).

 Though these artefacts, we will introduce the festivities as they were celebrated at that time, and what kind of subjects and themes were chosen for decorations for Yamakasa floats during the Edo period.

Exhibition view