Hitachi-no-kuni Sosha-gu Shrine Annual Festival (Ishioka Festival)

Locals love and call the Hitachi-no-kuni Sosha-gu Shrine Annual Festival as “Ishioka Festival.” On September 15 every year, Reitaisai, the traditional festival, is held in Ishioka City for three days ending on a Japanese holiday, Respect-for-Senior-Citizens Day. The Festival on the 15th is a sacred ritual and not for tourism. But on the 2nd day, a sumo wrestling ritual is held in the morning and the other three days attract more than 500,000 locals and tourists every year. The whole town will be in a festive energy.

There is a lot to see in Ishioka Festival. One of them is a unique lion dance. A large 60cm-long lion head weighing 20 kg is followed by a portable hut. It is called a horojishi. The area has its original lion dances, some of which are designated as the City’s tangible folk cultural properties. The experienced dancer in each town takes on the lion head and walks along the town with drums, piccolos and children’s chanting.

Take a look at the floats without the ceiling. Each float from different towns comes with a puppet of a historical figure. The middle section of the float has a turning stage, which hosts a performance along with the prefecture-designated intangible folk cultural property, Ishioka-Bayashi music. Each performer dances lively in a different costume. It is fun to watch floats lit up at night.