STAY YAMAGATA

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is one of the four major festivals in Tohoku. It is the leading summer festival of Yamagata. The festival is held over three days from August 5 every year. More than 10,000 dancers parade on the main street in the city while dancing to the hanagasa music accompanied by soul-stirring hanagasa drums with shouts of ""Yassho, Makasho!"" 

As the name of hanagasa (conical hat adorned with flowers) implies, a hat decorated with safflowers, the flower of the prefecture, is a must for the dancers. When a large group of dancers wearing gorgeous kimonos dances simultaneously, the hanagasa surge up dynamically and arouse excitement.

Do you know that there are many types of hanagasa dance? The elegant and gorgeous orthodox dance is commonly called the onna odori (female dance). The heroic dance that stirs feeling of gratitude toward the blessings of nature is commonly called the otoko odori (male dance). The dynamic kasa-mawashi odori (hat twirling dance) is mostly performed in Obanazawa - the birthplace of the hanagasa. The real pleasure of this festival is being able to see various types of dance at once such as creative flower hat dances in addition to the others.

If you are not satisfied just by watching the dancing, you can experience a hanagasa dance in the no advance registration required area. There are also teachers who will show you how to dance here, so even those taking part for the first time can have peace of mind. Please try dancing an authentic hanagasa dance together with locals.