Kuwana Ishitori Matsuri

Kuwana Ishitori Matsuri

July 10-12

The Kuwana Ishitori Matsuri, or Collect Stones Festival, commemorates the days when many stones had to be transported by cart to build a shrine. There is a procession of floats, adorned with beautiful cloth, tapestries, and lanterns, through the town of Kuwana, Japan, on July 10, to represent the means by which the rocks were once transported. At midnight the floats all meet at the local shrine, and then each float goes back to the locale it came from. On July 11, there is a presentation of stones at the shrine, followed by a series of processions that lasts till nightime the following day. Then people assemble near the floats, watch the lighting of the float lanterns, and listen to the crashing drum music that fills the air.

CONTACTS:
Japan National Tourist Organization
1 Rockefeller Pl., Ste. 1250
New York, NY 10020
212-757-5640; fax: 212-307-6754
www.jnto.go.jp

SOURCES:
JapanFest-1965, p. 165

Celebration days: Jul 10 - Jul 12