Akita Kanto Festival

The Akita Kanto Festival is one of the Three Great Festivals of Tohoku and is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property with a history spanning about 270 years. Its origins are said to date back to the Horeki era in the mid-Edo period, and a leading theory holds that it began as an Obon ritual to ward off drowsiness, known as "neburi nagashi" or "nemuri nagashi." The neburi nagashi tradition, passed down in the Akita City area since before the domain-government era, originally involved decorating bamboo grass or silk-tree branches with tanzaku wish strips, parading through town, and finally setting them afloat down a river. It is said that the spread of candles during the Horeki era and the tall lanterns hung at gates during Obon combined with these customs and evolved into a distinctive local event. During the festival, nearly 280 kanto poles bearing about 10,000 lanterns are raised, and the main attraction—the kanto performance—features impressive techniques known as kanto myogi, which include five styles: Nagashi, Hirate, Hitai, Kata, and Koshi. Among them, Koshi is a highly demanding technique that requires extensive training: the performer receives the bamboo pole on the palm of the dominant hand, lifts it and holds it steady, then shifts it between the fingers and places it onto the waist. The dynamic pose, with the upper body tilted just enough, looks especially showy and is popular because it stands out in the festival’s finale.