When people think of festivals, images of Brazil’s Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro or Colombia’s Fiesta de Blancos y Negros may come to mind: Massive celebrations, vibrant costumes, parades filled with music and dance, and crowds from all over the world.
Beyond the spectacle, these events are living traditions, preserving cultural memory, strengthening community bonds, and celebrating shared identity. They are not just entertainment, they are deeply rooted in history, ritual, and social cohesion.
Japan may seem far removed from these Latin American celebrations, but the spirit of festivals is very much alive here too, expressed in unique rhythms, aesthetics, and community practices.
In northern Japan, the autumn season brings a series of festivals, known locally as aki matsuri (秋まつり), celebrating the harvest, nature, and local heritage. In order to not mixed them up with other parts of Japan, from now on let's refer to them as the Nanbu Autumn Festivals of Iwate and Aomori prefectures.
These festivals remain particularly distinctive, often overlooked by travelers. In this article, I will guide you on how to understand, experience, and enjoy them correctly, so read until the very end!
To understand these festivals, it helps to know the history of the Nanbu clan (南部氏), which ruled northern Iwate and southern Aomori from the late 12th century onward. The Nanbu were samurai lords who controlled the region’s politics, economy, and culture for centuries. Their influence extended into local traditions, including the festivals that are still celebrated today.
The Nanbu area historically included towns like Ichinohe, Ninohe, Sannohe, Shichinohe, Rokunohe, Kunohe, Gonohe, Kuji, Karumai, Kuzumaki, Iwate Town, Morioka, Hachinohe, Towada, Misawa, and Oirase. Even today, each town has its own festival traditions and unique features, but the shared history of the Nanbu clan connects them culturally and historically.
These festivals are a window into a time when local governance, agricultural cycles, and spiritual practice were tightly intertwined. Autumn festivals in this region are closely tied to the harvest and the balance between humans and nature, known as sato-yama. Communities cultivated rice, vegetables, and seasonal crops while respecting the surrounding mountains, rivers, and forests.
The matsuri became a way to celebrate agricultural achievements, thank the gods for a bountiful harvest, and bring people together through music, dance, and ritual. Nowadays, these festivals remain a living experience of traditions passed down through generations.
They are also a moment when people gather with friends and family, share meals and drinks, and welcome relatives who live far away, making it feel like one big seasonal community celebration. Visitors can witness the lively atmosphere, but also the care and dedication invested by everyone involved.
For someone who has never attended a Japanese festival, the sheer number of matsuri and their different qualities can feel overwhelming. Even Japanese locals sometimes do not fully know about their neighboring town’s festival, especially if the next town is in a different prefecture. This guide will help you understand what to expect:
These festivals revolve around floats, so keep them in mind. Floats are elaborate wooden structures decorated with lanterns, paper flowers, and sometimes mechanical puppets.
They often depict gods, samurais, spirits, demons, or legendary heroes, and serve both religious and educational purposes. Some are massive, reaching several meters high, while others are smaller, reflecting the resources and scale of the town.
Some examples from Japanese folklore and mythology include:
If these stories are unfamiliar, think of them like La Llorona or Little Red Riding Hood, oral traditions told to children to convey values, ethics, and local culture. The themes often change annually, chosen collectively by artisans, musicians, and elders.
Observing the floats up close reveals the skill, creativity, and dedication invested in each creation, every flower, lantern, and puppet tells a story.
No float is complete without accompanying music and dance. Taiko drums provide a powerful, rhythmic pulse, while flutes and chants (ondoage) add melodic layers. These songs are passed down through generations, with lyrics sometimes adapted yearly to reflect the float’s story.
Children start learning rhythms at a young age, often alongside adults who mentor them. This apprenticeship system ensures the musical tradition continues seamlessly.
Dances performed with the music are carefully choreographed, with steps often carrying symbolic meanings tied to local folklore or harvest rituals.
Every town—and even every group within a town—has its own style. Visiting multiple festivals across the Nanbu region allows you to hear subtle differences in rhythm, flute technique, and dance choreography, highlighting the area’s cultural diversity.
A festival is not just visual and auditory—it’s also a feast for the senses. Food is central to the matsuri experience. Beyond standard Japanese street foods like yakisoba, grilled squid, and cotton candy, the Nanbu region offers local specialties:
The atmosphere balances sacred and playful elements. While floats honor gods or spirits, laughter, games, and shared meals create a welcoming and lively environment. Families, children, and elders all participate, and visitors are often welcomed warmly, making the festival feel like a living, breathing community.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Nanbu matsuri is the deep involvement of the community. Children learn drums or flute, adults supervise dances, and elders guide storytelling and float construction. Visitors or foreigners are often invited to lend a hand, helping decorate floats, arrange flowers, or practice musical rhythms.
Preparations can take months. Artisans design and build floats, musicians rehearse, dancers perfect their moves, and everyone coordinates timing, routes, and rituals. Observing this process provides insight into the dedication, skill, and communal spirit that make Nanbu matsuri so special.
One of the most striking features of Nanbu matsuri is the clothing. Participants often wear happi (法被) coats, yukata (浴衣), or specially designed festival uniforms that display the name of their group or district. These clothes aren’t just for aesthetics—they show community pride and group identity.
In some towns, young women and children wear beautifully patterned yukata, while float pullers and drummers wear sturdier happi coats. The clothing adds color and rhythm to the parade, helping to visually distinguish each group and their role.
For visitors, it is sometimes possible to buy the coats, sandals and shoes, which allows you to blend into the celebration and experience the festival more authentically and bring home a piece of culture.
I don’t necessarily consider myself an expert but if you ask me, I have some recommendations for you but to not be biased, I will give you a full list I created of the festivals so you can make your own circuit. Here’s a my multi-day trail:
This route allows visitors to experience both scale and intimacy, from large public celebrations to small, hands-on community events.
Aomori (southern/eastern Nanbu region only):
Iwate (northern and central Nanbu region):
Over the past few years, I’ve explored a variety of festivals from Kanto Matsuri in Akita to Sansa Odori in Iwate, as well as smaller celebrations in Iwate Town and Kuzumaki.
This year, living in Ichinohe, I was invited to join the Hongumi group. I’ve helped build floats, arranged flowers, and learned both taiko rhythms and flute melodies. As a foreigner, finding my role in the festival has been both challenging and rewarding.
Even when my Japanese falls short, an extra hand or voice is always welcome. Participating from the inside allows me to understand the effort, coordination, and deep community bonds that make these festivals possible.
Coming from Colombia, where my father is from Pasto (the home of the UNESCO-recognized Fiesta de Blancos y Negros) I naturally feel a connection. Both Colombian and Japanese festivals unite communities, celebrate heritage, and strengthen social bonds across generations.
In Ichinohe and surrounding towns, autumn festivals may not involve body paint or samba drums, but they carry their own magic: handcrafted floats, centuries-old rituals, and taiko rhythms echoing through mountains.
Nanbu matsuri showcase a living library of folklore. Each float tells a story—some of gods and spirits, others of legendary heroes. These narratives are similar to myths from other cultures, like Latin American legends, in that they teach values, preserve history, and explain the natural or supernatural world. For example:
Experiencing these myths firsthand through music, dance, and visual art allows visitors to feel the cultural significance of each festival element.
Festivals are more than entertainment—they are living archives of memory, identity, and collective joy. Nanbu matsuri connect people to their heritage, environment, and neighbors. They teach children skills, stories, and community values. They allow elders to pass down knowledge. And they offer outsiders like me a chance to witness and participate in centuries-old traditions.
For locals, preparing and celebrating these festivals is a significant part of the year. Communities invest months of effort into floats, songs, dances, and logistics. The result is an immersive, multisensory experience that unites past and present, human and nature, individual and community.
The festivals matter because they connect people, preserve culture, and create shared joy. In Ichinohe, Kuji, Hachinohe, and beyond, autumn festivals provide a vivid, unforgettable glimpse into the spirit of northern Japan.