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🏮 Kasaboko

傘鉾

Kameyama, Mie (Oshiyama Shrine) · Every year on 14 October

Floats

30 days to go
Rooms around Kameyama, Mie fill up while the festival is on.

The Sekijuku Gion Summer Festival is a traditional summer event held every July in Sekijuku, a former post town on the old Tokaido in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture. In 2025 it will take place on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20, with a mikoshi (portable shrine) procession and yamaboko (festival float) parade centered on Oshiyama Shrine. Its origins date back to the Genroku era (1688–1704) of the Edo period, and at its peak as many as 16 floats paraded through the streets, making it one of the "Five Great Festivals of Kansai." Today, four floats from the Shinsho, Nakamachi, and Kizaki districts take part, and the sight of them filling the narrow streets of the post town is said to be the origin of the phrase "Seki no yama." Highlights are the float parade, in which the floats pass along the old Tokaido just below the eaves of the buildings, and the "butai-mawashi," in which the upper part of the float is spun vigorously. The butai-mawashi with all four floats together is particularly impressive, and is held around 20:00 on July 19 on the east side of the former Ochiya Residence. During the day there is also a mikoshi procession by young men in white attire (13:00–17:30), and at night lanterns are lit in the Shinsho district (18:00–20:30), allowing visitors to enjoy scenery rich in Edo atmosphere.

Getting there

About 5 minutes on foot from Seki Station on the JR Kansai Main Line. By car, use the Sekijuku tourist parking lot or the Seki Elementary School grounds (temporary parking lot).