Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties of Akita

Some 280 glowing, lantern-strung bamboo poles, shaped like ripe rice ears, rise along Akita City's Kanto Odori on summer nights, balanced on forehead and shoulder.

Held September 7 to 9 in Kakunodate, Akita, this UNESCO-listed folk festival pulls eight-ton floats through an old castle town, where rival crews crash them head on.

Each February 10, the Akita town of Kariwano divides in two and hauls a ten-ton straw rope. Two ropes are joined with a snake-mouth knot before thousands pull.

This folk dance at Kinpō Shrine in Nikaho, Akita, is held each late May on a low earthen stage. Its seven ennen pieces preserve an old mountain rite for long life.

An Akita port festival held July 20-21, UNESCO-listed, with warrior-doll floats rebuilt fresh each year and hauled through lantern-lit streets on the second night.

For two August nights, ten ornate floats roll through Hanawa in Akita as drummers walk the road inside them, never letting the music stop. A UNESCO-listed festival.

A fierce, jaw-clacking lion dance kept for nearly four centuries by thirteen hamlets below Mt. Chokai in Akita became a national cultural property in 2011.

Akita’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.