Etchu

Annually on May 1 (Pre-festival on April 30)

Takaoka Mikurumayama Festival

“It is said that Maeda Toshiie, the first lord of the Kaga Domain, was bestowed with the same court carriage used by the powerful daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to greet Emperor Go-Yozei upon his Imperial visit to Jurakutei Palace in Kyoto in 1588. Toshiie’s son, Maeda Toshinaga, the second lord of the Kaga Domain and founder of Takaoka, later presented this carriage to the townspeople of Takaoka around the time of the construction of Takaoka Castle in 1609. This marked the origin of Takaoka’s Mikurumayama floats.
The Mikurumayama floats are considered some of the finest floats of their kind in all of Japan, noted for their unique court carriage structure featuring a tall wooden Hoko pole, as well as for their elaborate ornamental work, crafted using Takaoka’s most exquisite artisanal skills in the fields of metalwork, lacquerwork, and Kyoto-style tapestry work. The Mikurumayama floats are registered as both Important Tangible and Intangible Folk-Cultural Properties of Japan.
In addition, in 2016, the Takaoka Mikurumayama Festival was registered by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage as part of “Yama, Hoko, Yatai, Float Festivals in Japan.””