Nagahama Hikiyama Festival

One of Japan's three greatest traditional parade float festivals, the Nagahama Hikiyama Festival is also registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The festival is said to have got its start in the Azuchi-Momoyama period when the mighty samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi was blessed with his first son and had 12 huge floats paraded around at the annual festival of Hachimangu Shrine. A variety of events are held during the festival, such as a hadaka-mairi event in which young men journey to the shrine half-naked; the yakusha yu-watari parade featuring children actors wearing gorgeous traditional costumes; and the highlight of the festival, a children's kabuki theater performance. On the final night of the festival, dazzling hikiyama parade floats turn the night sky red with their paper lanterns in a beautiful and magical display.