🏮 Takuboku Ki

啄木忌

Morioka, Iwate (Hotokuji Temple) · Every year on 13 April

Traditional performing arts

211 days to go
Rooms around Morioka, Iwate fill up while the festival is on.

The Takuboku Ki, a memorial gathering for the nationally known poet Ishikawa Takuboku, is held every May in Shibutami, Tamayama Ward, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. Shibutami is Takuboku's birthplace. He went to Tokyo to pursue a literary career, but his family's life was hard, and he drifted to Hokkaido and back to Tokyo, never returning to his hometown; he was a poet of longing for home. With the arrival of spring, local people honor Takuboku's achievements, and the day has become established as one for recalling his life in his native place. On the day of the event, elementary school children and women from Shibutami give a chorus performance, and plays and symposiums related to Takuboku are held. Events continue in which local people remember Takuboku, who never returned to his hometown, and honor his achievements.