Karatsu Kunchi

Month : November
Place : Karatsu, Japan
Famous For : Traditional Festival
Attractions : Daily parades of fourteen 'hikiyama', massive floats in the form of samurai helmets, sea bream, dragons, and other fantastical creatures

Karatsu Kunchi is a popular festival celebrated in Japan. It's an annual festival organized in the city of Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, on Japan's island of Kyushu. Also ranked amongst the most eagerly awaited celebrations in Joan, the festival of Karatsu Kunchi is a jubilant event which begins on the evening of November 2 and concludes on November 4 every year. Being a three day holiday, this festival draws crowds in large numbers and is one of the major events of the Karatsu calendar..

Major Attractions

The main highlight of Karatsu Kunchi festival are the daily parades of fourteen "hikiyama", massive floats in the form of samurai helmets, sea bream, dragons, and other fantastical creatures. All these are constructed from wood, lacquer and other materials. Another chief attractions of this festival are the chant of "En-ya! En-ya! En-ya!" by teams of bearers selected from families living in the fourteen traditional neighborhoods of Karatsu. These loud enchants along with the music of taiko drummers and flutists perched on the floats base. In 1980, the festival of Karatsu Kunchi was tagged as "Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property". The most regular practice during the festival of Karatsu Kunchi is the families, mostly the women of these families, spending tireless hours preparing food for the visitors coming day and night and into the early morning hours.