Yamaage Festival

The Yamaage Festival is the largest festival in Karasuyama, combining the nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property Karasuyama no Yamaage Gyōji with the portable shrine processions of Yakumo Shrine. The festival traces its origins to 1560 , when the lord of Karasuyama Castle, Nasu Suketane, enshrined the deity Gozu Tennō to pray for protection against epidemics, abundant harvests, and peace throughout the land. In its early years, the festival featured sumo wrestling and Shinto lion dances as offerings. With the rise of Edo-period Kabuki and the growing popularity of Tokiwazu dance, it gradually developed into a magnificent outdoor Kabuki dance performance, unparalleled elsewhere in Japan.

Tokiwazu, which originated in the Edo period, combines chanting and shamisen accompaniment to convey dramatic narratives, expressing dialogue and emotion through rhythm and melody. This refined musical form remains an essential element of classical Japanese performing arts and is featured in renowned performances such as Sanbasō, Masakado (Shinobiyoru Koihakusemono), and Modori-bashi.

Six districts take turns organizing the festival on a rotational basis. The central feature of the event is the Harika-yama, a mountain-shaped stage structure constructed from a bamboo lattice frame covered with multiple layers of locally produced Karasuyama washi paper, upon which detailed landscapes are painted. The name Yamaage (“raising the mountain”) comes from the act of physically lifting these large stage structures by hand.

In February 1979, the Karasuyama Yamaage tradition was officially designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. In December 2016, it was also inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as one of Japan’s thirty-three nationally designated Yama, Hoko, Yatai, Float Festivals.

The festival is held in and around the old town of Karasuyama.