Chichibu Night Festival

A regularly held festival of Chichibu Shrine, a sōja of Chichibu (shrine enshrining multiple gods). The festival is counted as “Japan’s Three Great Hikiyama Festivals,” along with Kyoto’s Gion Festival and Hida’s Takayama Festival, taking place on December 2nd and 3rd of every year. On the day of the festival, two splendid Kasaboko (parasol floats) and four stalls are pulled through town. The third night is the climax of the event; the Kasaboko and the stalls, weighing roughly 20 tons, are pulled up a steep hill in a great display of power.

In 2016, “Chichibu Festival’s Float Event and Sacred Music and Dance” was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.