Iwase Hikiyama Festival (The Fighting Floats Festival)

The Iwase Hikiyama Festival is a major annual spring celebration held at Iwase Suwa Shrine in Iwase (part of Toyama City). It is recognized as one of the region’s notable traditional festivals, known for its robust floats and spirited procession.

The festival features 13 hikiyama floats, each constructed with a sturdy base resembling a heavy vehicle. On top of this base is a tall ornament called a tatemon, which functions as a decorative lantern display. The tatemon is built from wood and bamboo, covered with white cloth, and painted with elaborate designs. These designs often combine images and symbols that convey wishes for prosperity, safety, good harvests, or other themes meaningful to each local neighbourhood.

During the daytime on both days of the festival, the floats are pulled through the streets of Iwase accompanied by traditional festival music. Performers on and around the floats play flutes, shamisen, and taiko drums, while singers perform kiriya songs that help coordinate the movement of the floats. The sound of wooden wheels and ceremonial music contributes to the festive atmosphere.

On the evening of May 17, the procession returns to Suwa Shrine, where the floats with lanterns lit create an atmospheric and visually striking scene. After the shrine worship, the festival’s climax begins: the hikiai, a series of controlled confrontations between pairs of floats. Thirteen floats are divided into two groups and face off in sequential matchups in front of the shrine. At the signal from the float leaders, the two floats are pulled toward each other with great force, and a tug-of-war ensues. The encounter ends when one float yields, making the spectacle a dramatic display of strength, coordination, and local pride. A second hikiai is held on the evening of May 18 at a different location near the Chūreitō memorial.

The festival traces its origins back more than 300 years. Early historical accounts link the beginning of the mobile floats to the relocation of the settlement from Nishi-Iwase to Higashi-Iwase around the late 17th century. According to local tradition, the first floats were created to transport building materials for Suwa Shrine when the community moved. Later, after a major fire in 1792, the revival of the festival included the introduction of andon yatai (lantern floats), which evolved into the present tatemon floats.