Click below ⇓ for a video  to feel the energy of summer festivals in Japan !

posted on May 7, 2018

  Nice summery weather has been continuing these past several days in Tokyo, and actually in Japan we are already in summer on the lunar calendar. During the early summer and early fall, a number of Matsuri, small and big, take place particularly on weekends, and it’s not uncommon to come across them by chance on your travels. There will soon be the Shitaya Shrine Festival this weekend. With over 1,000 years of history, it’s regarded as the first summer festival annually held in the downtown of Tokyo. Below is the annual schedule of some festivals and events in Japan.

https://www.kyuhoshi.com/japan-summer-festivals-calendar/

  About Matsuri (festival);  In Japan, there are said to be hundreds of thousands of traditional matsuri, for which the Japanese have a special affection. Many have close associations with a particular time of year and the Japanese people’s sense of the changing seasons is expressed in their festivals. They are held in spring to pray for successful harvest of the year, and in summer to ward off diseases and typhoons. Autumn festivals are to give thanks to the harvest, while winter festivals are based on the idea of purification and celebrating the New Year. Summer is the most animated time for festivals with some being organized in extravagantly large-scale, bringing communities together to dance away the overwhelming heat of the summer days.

Natsu-matsuri in Japan

Summer dance festivals