Gujo Hachiman Spring Festival, Gifu

Saturday 16th April. While the exact origin of these parades and their connection to spring has been lost to history, these three parades have formed the essence of the town's Spring Festival since the 1600's and are designated by the Gifu Prefecture government as important intangible folk cultural assets.

The colourful parades begin early Saturday and Sunday morning and continue through the day, until the evening on both days. Each parade is led by its respective shrine's priest, and is made up of children dressed in colourful traditional costumes who beat drums while trying to tame a kagura "lion", together with various traditionally dressed characters. As the parades wind their way through the town, young girls accompanying the parade deliver blessings and symbols of good luck from the shrine to homes and businesses along the parade route.

The festival culminates on Sunday evening when two of the three parades meet at the Miyagase bridge in the heart of the town. This is when the children who have been performing in the parades are hoisted onto the shoulders of the adults, and are twirled around in a symbolic crossing of the Yoshida River, while the two kagura "lions" dance and interact with the crowd, and the characters in the parade entertain onlookers.

Of course over the two days you will also find street vendors who have set up their stalls just next to Jokamachi plaza selling tako yaki, ika yaki, and all the assorted street foods found at every Japanese festival, together with traditional children's games and assorted festival related gifts for sale.