Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan - Takayama, Japan
Posted by: 
denben
N 36° 08.903 E 137° 15.619
53S E 703350 N 4002773
Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan is a museum that features four of the eleven fall floats of the Takayama Festival on a rotation basis. It is located on the site of Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine in Takayama, Japan.
Waymark Code: WMZ9XT
Location: Gifu, Japan
Date Posted: 10/05/2018
Views: 0
The tradition of building floats, known locally as yatai, dates back several hundred years. The floats are used during the traditional biannual festivals of Takayama. Visit in fall or spring when the floats are carried through the streets during a ceremony that was first established after a bubonic plague ravaged the city in the 18th century. The careful detailing and beautiful craftsmanship of the floats was intended to appease the gods and end the plague.
At Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan, four of these yatai are majestically illuminated behind protective glass walls. Many of these floats are centuries old and have been further decorated and added to in the years since they were first built. Inspect their carved wooden frames and the gilded metalwork adorning them. Most yatai feature a combination of lacquerwork and embroidered drapery decorating the tiers above the base. Each yatai is carried on a cart and lit up by chochin lanterns during parades.
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