Kohata Hata Matsuri (Kohata Flag Festival)

Kohata Hata Matsuri (Kohata Flag Festival)

The annual Kohata Hata Matsuri (Kohata Flag Festival) is 1 of the 3 main festivals in Japan centered on a dramatic procession of large flags, and has been held for over 960 years. The five hues of the brightly-colored flags rising up towards the sky makes for some fantastic views. Kohata Flag Festival, which has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, is held annually on the first Sunday of December at Mt. Kohata. Mt. Kohata is home to the impressive Okitsushima Shrine.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttps://www.city.nihonmatsu.lg.jp/page/page002796.html
Best Season
  • Winter
Access Details
AccessMt. Kohata, Towa-machi, Nihonmatsu City
View directions
Getting there

By Train: From Nihonmatsu Station (on the JR Tohoku Main Line), take a bus heading for Kohata (木幡) for 45 min. Get off outside Kohata Daiichi Shogakko (木幡第一小学校), and from there walk 20 minutes.

By Car: 20 min drive from the Nihonmatsu I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway.

Nearby

The World Glassware Hall
Cultural Experiences

Design Your Own Shirakawa Daruma

There are records of Shirakawa Daruma (Japanese traditional dolls) being sold as far back as the feudal reign of the Niwa Domain in 1627. Current Shirakawa Daruma are known as “Shirakawa Tsurugame Shochikubai Daruma.” The faces of these dolls are painted to incorporate various animals and plants, with the eyebrows representing cranes, the mustache representing a turtle, the ears representing pines and plum trees, and the beard representing bamboo or pine trees. All of these images are thought to bring good luck. The daruma is known to be a very classical, lucky talisman, started by Matsudaira Sadanobu, the lord of Shirakawa, when he hired the renowned painter Tani Buncho to paint the now famous face on the daruma doll. Once every year a large Shirakawa Daruma Market is held to celebrate and sell the beloved daruma dolls. You can paint your own daruma at the two daruma workshops in town!
The World Glassware Hall
Cultural Experiences

Sukagawa Enobori Yoshinoya Workshop

Established in 1836, the Yoshinoya family has been continuing the production of Enobori banners using traditional techniques. Originally the family business was a kimono shop, however, the side business of painting Enobori banners began to grow until is eventually became their main business.These banners typically feature images of warriors and can be quite complex with their designs. They are made by painting on banners with a type of calligraphy ink.To create clean and uniform design, stencils are made from various materials to be used as a guide for the design. Once the basic design is painted with a stencil, you connect the lines and add fine details by hand.As a nod to a famous Sukagawa person, they began creating a design of Ultraman posing as a samurai warrior! You can try out the traditional banner making method explained above to create tote bags and small banners featuring a variety of samurai and Ultraman samurai designs.©円谷プロ
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