Lantern Towers That Light the Way for the Gods
On summer and autumn nights across Japan's Noto Peninsula, teams of fifty to a hundred people shoulder wooden-framed lanterns the height of a four-storey building and run them through the dark. These lanterns are called Kiriko. The word is a contraction of kiriko tōrō, the faceted lanterns whose shape they echo, though in the central part of the peninsula people also call them Hōtō or Oakashi. Around 200 districts along the Noto coast hold their own version of the rite, and together these are known collectively as the Kiriko festivals (Noto no Kiriko Matsuri).
The basic pattern repeats from village to village with local variations. On the eve of the festival, the Kiriko assemble at the local shrine. After a brief ceremony they set off behind the mikoshi, the portable shrine that carries the deity, and head toward an otabisho, a temporary resting place for the god usually set up by the sea or a riverbank. There a tall pillar torch called a hashiramatsu is set alight, and the Kiriko circle and sway around the flames late into the night.
What makes the spectacle so striking is scale paired with movement. A Kiriko is not a static display. It is carried at a run, tipped and spun, its paper-and-wood faces glowing from the candles or lights inside while drums, flutes, and hand gongs drive the rhythm from below and children ride on the upper tiers.
Why the Festivals Carry National Recognition
The Agency for Cultural Affairs selected the Noto Kiriko festivals on December 4, 1997, as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property for which documentation measures should be taken. This category, sometimes shortened to "Selected" Intangible Folk Cultural Property, sits alongside the better-known "Important" designation. It marks customs judged significant enough that the national government records them in detail so that the knowledge survives even if a community can no longer sustain the practice. No single protective body holds the designation; it covers the shared tradition spread across the whole peninsula rather than one organisation's event.
Why single out the Kiriko? The festivals preserve a coherent ritual logic that has grown rare elsewhere. The lantern as a light that escorts a deity, the procession to a waterside resting place, and the burning of a pillar torch form a sequence with deep roots in folk belief about purification by fire and water. Shrine records say almost nothing about the Kiriko themselves, because the lanterns were always the responsibility of townspeople rather than priests, which makes the living practice all the more valuable as a source of evidence.
In 2015 the wider tradition gained a second layer of recognition when it was certified as a Japan Heritage story under the title "Where Lanterns Dance: Noto and Its Frenzied Kiriko Festivals." Japan Heritage is a framework for promoting regional cultural narratives rather than protecting individual objects, so the two designations work at different levels.
The Festivals Worth Planning Around
The season opens in early July with the Abare Matsuri at Ushitsu in Noto Town, the most violent of all the Kiriko events. Local accounts trace it to the Kanbun era of the 1660s, when a plague struck the fishing port. Residents invited the deity Gozu Tennō from the Gion shrine in Kyoto, and the story goes that a large bee or wasp appeared, stung the sick, and cured them. In gratitude the townspeople built Kiriko and paraded them. Today around 40 Kiriko, each about seven metres tall, swarm around five pillar torches while two mikoshi are hurled into the sea, into the river, and into the fire. The rougher the handling, the more the god is said to delight in it. The festival is listed as an Ishikawa Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Property in its own right.
For sheer height, the Hōryū Tanabata Kiriko festival at Ukai in Suzu City is hard to match. On the last Saturday of July, about a hundred young carriers move six Kiriko roughly 14 metres tall and weighing two tonnes each, plus one smaller lantern, down to the shore. Late in the night the towers are walked into the sea toward a torch lit offshore, with fireworks bursting over the water behind them.
Other dates reward the patient traveller. The Takojima festival in Suzu on September 10 and 11 fields sixteen Kiriko finished in lacquer and gold leaf with detailed carving, the product of more than two centuries of local pride. Each district competes to make its own lantern the finest on the peninsula, so no two are alike in size, decoration, or temperament.
Visiting Noto, and What the Earthquake Changed
Honest planning has to start with recent events. The Noto Peninsula earthquake of January 1, 2024, followed by severe flooding that September, hit the region hard. Many festivals were cancelled or scaled back, though roughly 70 districts still managed to hold theirs, raising Kiriko into the night sky as a signal of recovery. From the 2025 fiscal year Ishikawa Prefecture began recruiting volunteer carriers and support staff to help communities that have lost residents keep their festivals alive. Anyone hoping to attend should confirm the current year's schedule with the relevant town or shrine before travelling.
Outside festival season, the place to understand the Kiriko has long been the Wajima Kiriko Art Museum at Wajima Marine Town, which displays about 30 lanterns, some close to 15 metres tall, with festival music playing through the hall. As of the most recent information the museum remains closed following the 2024 earthquake, so check its official site for any reopening before counting on a visit. When open it normally runs from 9:00 to 17:00 year-round, with adult admission around 630 yen.
The Kiriko festivals run from July through October depending on the district, with the densest cluster in summer. Reaching the peninsula takes planning, since the train network thins out north of Kanazawa and the coastal towns are best linked by car or local bus. If you can match your trip to a single festival night, that one experience tends to outweigh a week of daytime sightseeing.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Noto Kiriko Festival
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Q&A
- Is "Noto no Kiriko Matsuri" a single festival?
- No. It is the collective name for the Kiriko-carrying festivals held by roughly 200 districts across the Noto Peninsula. Each has its own date, shrine, and style, so the experience changes from town to town.
- What exactly is a Kiriko?
- A large lantern built on a wooden frame and carried on the shoulders to light the way for the deity's portable shrine. The name comes from the faceted kiriko lantern; locals also call it Hōtō or Oakashi. The biggest reach 14 to 15 metres and weigh around two tonnes.
- When is the best time to see one?
- Most festivals fall between July and October, with the heaviest concentration in July and August. The Abare Matsuri in early July opens the season; the Hōryū Tanabata festival in late July is famous for sending lanterns into the sea.
- Can I still visit after the 2024 earthquake?
- Many districts have resumed their festivals, and visitors are welcome, but schedules and access vary year to year. Confirm dates with the local town or shrine first, and note that the Wajima Kiriko Art Museum has been closed since the earthquake.
- Why was the tradition given national status rather than the festivals themselves?
- The 1997 selection treats the Kiriko festivals as a shared regional custom worth documenting in full, rather than protecting one organisation's event. Several individual festivals also carry their own prefectural designations.
Basic Information
| Name | Noto no Kiriko Matsuri (Kiriko Festivals of Noto) |
|---|---|
| Location | Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture (roughly 200 districts) |
| Designation | Intangible Folk Cultural Property selected for documentation measures (national selection) |
| Date of selection | December 4, 1997 |
| Protective body | Not specified |
| Related recognition | Japan Heritage, 2015 ("Where Lanterns Dance: Noto and Its Frenzied Kiriko Festivals") |
| Festival season | July to October (concentrated in summer) |
| Notes | Schedules affected by the 2024 earthquake and flooding; confirm with each town or shrine. Wajima Kiriko Art Museum closed since 2024. |
References
- Noto no Kiriko Matsuri — Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/161401
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/312/685
- Abare Matsuri — Japan Heritage "Where Lanterns Dance: Noto and Its Kiriko Festivals"
- https://notokiriko.ishikawa.jp/kiriko/jp/kiriko/abare.php
- Abare Matsuri — Noto Town Official Site
- https://www.town.noto.lg.jp/kakuka/1009/gyomu/20/1/1258.html
- Wajima Kiriko Art Museum (official)
- https://wajima-kiriko.com/
Last verified: 2026.06.03