Takojima Kiriko Matsuri 2026 Experience
The Takojima Kiriko Matsuri takes place in Takojima, Suzu City, a coastal town with a long fishing tradition. Around 16 ornate Kiriko parade through the town, featuring elaborate lacquerwork, gold leaf, and intricate carvings. The festival also features Hayafune Kyougen, a traditional comic performance depicting sailors preparing to set out to sea.
A Brief History
The festival has been celebrated for more than 200 years. Local tradition traces its beginnings to the arrival of an imperial messenger by sea. As Takojima grew through fishing and trade during the Edo period, local performing arts became part of the festival. These traditions eventually gave rise to Hayafune Kyougen, which is still performed today and has been designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Festival Experience
Day 1: Joining the Festival
My visit to the Takojima Kiriko Matsuri was a little different from the other festivals I had attended in Noto. This time, I had the chance to actually participate in a Kiriko festival for the first time.
A local resident kindly invited me to join and even prepared the traditional festival outfit for me to wear. He also invited us to a yobare, a feast traditionally held as part of Kiriko festivals. These gatherings seem to be less common nowadays, partly because many towns are facing a shortage of people who can help organize and participate in the festivals.
Takojima is divided into several areas, and each area has its own representative Kiriko. Throughout the evening, the Kiriko gradually made their way toward a meeting point at an intersection near a school. The Kiriko in Takojima were moved using wheels and were pushed and pulled through the streets.
The town was especially lively that night. The sounds of flutes, taiko drums, and the bells attached to the traditional festival aprons filled the streets. There were also plenty of people enjoying the festival with drinks, adding to the energetic atmosphere. I stayed until around 8 PM, although the festival continued through the night.
Day 2: Seeing the Kiriko in Daylight
The following day, I returned to see the festival during the daytime. This time, I went by bicycle from Iida-machi, which took me around 30 minutes.
The 12 Kiriko paraded through the town, and there seemed to be more people participating than I had seen the previous evening. The daytime procession also gave me a better opportunity to look closely at the Kiriko. Without the darkness and lanterns, the details of their decorations were much easier to see. They almost felt like a different version of the same Kiriko compared with how they appeared at night.
After I was satisfied with documenting the Kiriko, I went to meet the local who had invited me and got dressed in the traditional festival clothing again.
Hayabune Kyogen
Later that evening, the 12 illuminated Kiriko gathered outside the venue for the Hayabune Kyogen, with the mikoshi positioned in the middle. The performance began at around 7 PM.
Hayabune Kyogen is one of the most distinctive traditions of the Takojima festival. It is a piece of local performing art that has been preserved through generations since the Edo period. Even though I could not understand much of the dialogue, I still found the performance enjoyable. I was also told that even Japanese people can have difficulty understanding some parts of it.
The performance involved three characters, all played by men around 20 years old. One character took part in the opening, while the other two became involved in a disagreement over whether or not they should sail the boat. After the performance ended, the Kiriko began moving again at around 8 PM. One by one, they formed a line and started making their way toward the shrine.
The Festival’s “Final Moments”
One tradition of the festival is that once the mikoshi crosses into the shrine grounds, the festival is considered to be over. Because of this, people crowded the road leading to the shrine, seemingly reluctant to let the festival come to an end.
The crowd became so dense that it also affected the Kiriko procession. The Kiriko could barely move forward as people filled the road around them. I had initially thought that once the mikoshi entered the shrine grounds, the Kiriko would simply make their way back to where they had started. I was wrong.
The festival procession continued until around 10:30 PM. At the end, the participants sang together, marking the closing moments of the festival phase.
The Kiriko then entered the shrine grounds one by one. The wheels used during the procession were removed, and the huge structures were then carried on the shoulders of the participants. Once inside, each Kiriko was moved around the shrine grounds while the flutes and taiko continued to play.
Seeing the Kiriko carried in this way was impressive, but at times it was also a little frightening. Because of the lively movements, they appeared much more difficult to control, and there were moments when they seemed close to losing their balance. The 12 Kiriko were supposed to gather inside the shrine grounds and also encircle around the shrine.
By around 11 PM, I decided to head home rather than stay until the very end. Even so, being able to participate in the festival, wear the traditional clothing, experience a yobare, and then watch the Kiriko procession and Hayabune Kyogen made Takojima one of the most memorable Kiriko festivals I had experienced in Noto.
