Mikuni Matsuri

The Mikuni Matsuri is a spring festival held every May at Mikuni Shrine in Mikuni, Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, counted among the three great festivals of the Hokuriku region. Set in the port town of Mikuni facing the Sea of Japan, it is one of Fukui Prefecture's foremost traditional events, boasting around 260 years of history, in which floats bearing gigantic warrior figures parade through the town.

The festival's greatest highlight is its ornate floats called "yama." The floats of the Mikuni Matsuri are distinctive for bearing enormous warrior figures exceeding 6 meters in height atop them, and their spirited appearance is unparalleled. The sight of figures shaped after historical heroes and characters from tales towering at a height that must be looked up to, processing slowly through the narrow streets of the port town, is overwhelming. The figures are newly crafted each year, and their craftsmanship is one of the pleasures of the festival.

In the Edo period, Mikuni flourished as a port of call for the kitamaebune cargo ships, and against the backdrop of its economic prosperity, a splendid float culture was nurtured. At its peak, more than twenty floats are said to have appeared. Today as well, several floats process through the town, and the festival music of flutes and drums resounds through the port town. The float event of the Mikuni Matsuri is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Fukui Prefecture, and as a representative spring festival of the Hokuriku region, it conveys to this day the history of Mikuni, which flourished through the kitamaebune trade, and the pride of its townspeople.