Gold Mine Festival

The Kōzan Festival (Gold Mine Festival) is held every July in the Aikawa district of Sado, Niigata Prefecture—a summer festival symbolizing the history of the town of Aikawa, which developed together with the Sado Gold Mine now registered as a World Heritage Site. Held with gratitude for the prosperity of the mining town of Aikawa, which flourished through gold and silver mining, and for the people who worked in the mine, it is one of Sado's representative annual events.

Aikawa developed rapidly with the development of the Sado Gold Mine in the Edo period, becoming a major mining city home to tens of thousands at its peak. Centered on Ōyamazumi Shrine, the guardian deity of the mine, festivals praying for the mine's safety and prosperity have been handed down. The Kōzan Festival is an unparalleled festival with the history and culture unique to such a mining town as its backdrop.

At the festival, the spirited dance of the "ondeko" (demon drums) handed down on Sado, parades coloring the town, and fireworks displays are held, enveloping the whole town in vitality. Ondeko, in which dancers wearing demon masks dance to the rhythm of drums, is a performing art unique to Sado that drives away evil spirits and prays for good harvests and prosperity, and is one of the highlights. Conveying to this day the history of Aikawa, which flourished with the gold mine, and the pride of the island's people, the Kōzan Festival is a precious celebration coloring summer on the World Heritage island of Sado.