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Kumagaya Uchiwa Matsuri

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Uchiwa MatsuriKumagayaGion festivalfloatsJuly

Photo: Nori Norisa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · original

Kumagaya Uchiwa Matsuri draws a crowd, and that crowd is part of what you're actually there to see.

Kumagaya's summer festival is the Yasaka Shrine's annual rite, held on 20, 21 and 22 July, and it is called the greatest Gion of the Kanto region. Twelve floats and platforms are hauled through the city centre by their neighbourhoods, and the thing that draws the crowds is the tatakiai — floats brought face to face at intersections with their drum and flute teams playing against each other until one gives way.

The name comes from a change of practice. The festival used to distribute red rice to households during the rite; at some point in the Meiji period a merchant substituted fans, they were more popular, and the fans stuck. All twelve floats are three-wheeled rather than four, which is unusual and deliberate — three wheels turn tighter in the narrow streets the festival has to pass through.

Before you go

Event hours

Held on 20, 21 and 22 July | The opening tatakiai is on the evening of the first day at the north exit of Kumagaya Station

Closed: Annual event only — 20, 21 and 22 July

Cost to attend

Free to watch

When it happens

20–22 July, on the festival days

Time to allow

3–4 hours in the evening; a full day to follow the processions

Access route

Directions

Central Kumagaya City, around Kumagaya Station on the JR Takasaki Line and the surrounding streets, from Omiya. Held annually on 20, 21 and 22 July. Free to watch. The opening tatakiai takes place on the evening of the first day at the north exit of Kumagaya Station. Street closures and stall opening times vary by day; the city publishes a route and timetable each year.

Crowds & timing

**The tatakiai is the event.** Floats meet head on and the drum teams play at each other. The evening confrontations are what people come back for; the daytime processions are the setup. **Three days, and the third is the biggest.** The final evening brings all twelve floats together. If you are choosing one night, that is it. **July in Kumagaya is the hottest place in Japan.** The city has held the national temperature record. This is a festival to attend with water and a plan for shade. **Free, and the streets are the venue.** No ticketing and no reserved viewing. Arriving early for a position at an intersection is the whole strategy. **Fans instead of red rice.** The rite originally distributed sekihan; a Meiji-era merchant swapped in fans and the name of the festival changed with it. **Yuki-kuma is the other reason to be in Kumagaya in summer.** Shaved ice made with ice from a specific local method, sold at a set of certified shops around the city.

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