Semboku, Akita
Kakunodate Festival Yama Events
Sep 7-9, 2026
VenueKakunodate Town Area
ScheduleThe yama events of the Kakunodate Festival are held annually from September 7 to 9 as the festival of Shinmei Shrine and Yakushido, and are designated both an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Highlights include elegant hand dances set to oyama-bayashi music and powerful float pulls whose routes are left undecided, leading to dramatic 'negotiations' and even collisions ('yama-buttsuke') between rival floats.