OVERVIEW

This traditional event has been held for around 500 years. The centerpiece is truly a sight to behold: a tower of about 25m in height, decorated with hanging lanterns numbering about 3,300. It’s the tallest of its kind in all of Japan!
When evening comes, some 10,000 hanging lanterns are lit throughout the town, inviting you into a wondrous world of lights.
The beauty of Emukae is best experienced during this wonderful and brief festival of lights, happiness, and prayer.

The Emukae Sentoro festival also features an old Buddhist procession called the “mizukake Jizo matsuri.” Young kids take turns pouring fresh water over a wooden statue of Jizo, the guardian of children. The statue is then paraded through the village. It’s believed that children who pour water over the Jizo statue will be blessed with good health.