Summer Festivals from Around Japan’s Tohoku Region Meet in Sendai; Nebuta Float Displayed on Opening Day

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:33 JST, June 8, 2024

SENDAI — The Tohoku Kizuna Festival, a two-day event where the iconic summer festivals from each of the six prefectures in the Tohoku region are displayed, opened in Sendai on Saturday.

At the main venue, a nebuta float from the Aomori Nebuta Festival was on display and about 80 people performed the Suzume Odori local dance from Miyagi Prefecture.

“I want to learn about the festivals of Tohoku and visit various places in the region,” a 16-year-old from Sendai’s Izumi Ward said.

The Tohoku Kizuna Festival is the successor to the Tohoku Rokkonsai festival, which was held annually in each of six prefectures in turn from 2011 to 2016 to wish for recovery from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The latest edition marks Miyagi’s second time hosting the festival.

The Morioka Sansa, Sendai Tanabata, Akita Kanto, Yamagata Hanagasa and Fukushima Waraji festivals will feature at the event on Sunday.