Hyakumangoku Matsuri: Celebrating Kanazawa with Friends

Japan – June 2025

After spending several months living in Kanazawa, I slowly started to feel less like a visitor and more like someone who belonged to the city. I had my favourite cafés, familiar streets and, most importantly, friends who made the place feel like home. So when the Hyakumangoku Matsuri came around in June 2025, I was excited to experience Kanazawa’s biggest celebration not as a tourist passing through, but together with the people who had become part of my everyday life. My friends Shibby, Marina and Yuka join me for the day. Shibby has already been living in Kanazawa for three years as an English teacher and knows the city well. Marina’s connection was different. Although she grew up in Saitama, her grandmother was originally from Kanazawa, and she has recently moved to Ishikawa herself. She has actually visited the Hyakumangoku Matsuri as a child before, making this a return to a place connected with her family’s history. Yuka, originally from Komatsu, brings yet another local perspective.

Together, we head towards Korinbo, where the first challenge of the day awaits us: finding a place to watch the parade. The Hyakumangoku Matsuri is not the kind of event where you simply arrive when the parade starts. The experience begins much earlier, with thousands of people preparing themselves for an afternoon outside. When we arrive in Korinbo, one of Kanazawa’s busiest areas, the best viewing spots along the parade route have already been claimed. Blue leisure sheets cover the pavement, carefully placed by locals the previous day to reserve a front-row view. Families return with folding chairs, snacks and drinks, ready to spend several hours waiting together. At first, we wonder whether we will end up standing behind everyone else. We find a small gap near the road and try to make ourselves comfortable, but our improvised setup clearly does not match the carefully prepared spots around us. Luckily, the family sitting next to us notices our situation.

Without hesitation, they move their belongings aside and invite us to share their leisure sheet. Suddenly, instead of awkwardly standing at the side, we are sitting comfortably in the front row, waiting for the parade together. It is a small gesture, but one that perfectly captures the atmosphere of the day: strangers quickly becoming neighbours. Before the procession begins, we decide to stock up on some refreshments. It sounds like a simple task, but apparently the rest of Kanazawa has had the same idea. At the nearby convenience store, the queue stretches through the aisles and almost out of the entrance. Everyone is buying drinks, snacks and lunch for the long afternoon ahead. On a day like this, even a convenience store visit becomes part of the experience. The Hyakumangoku Matsuri celebrates the arrival of Maeda Toshiie, the first lord of the powerful Kaga Domain, in Kanazawa in 1583. His arrival marked the beginning of a period when the city flourished as a centre of culture, arts and craftsmanship. Today, the celebration brings together thousands of participants from across Kanazawa to honour this history.

The main parade includes historical figures dressed as samurai, traditional musicians, dancers, school children and local community groups. It is not just a performance for spectators to watch. It feels like something the entire city takes part in. After hours of waiting, the first sign of the parade is not a samurai warrior or a marching band, but volunteers handing out festival information maps. We happily accept one and start studying the programme, trying to figure out who will appear next. It turns into a small kanji-reading exercise for us, trying to recognize the names of different groups and performances. Luckily, the organizers have also included pictograms, making it much easier to understand what is coming. Eventually, the sound of drums announces that the procession is approaching. Historical figures, musicians, dancers and community groups slowly make their way through Korinbo, greeted by cheers from the spectators lining the road.

One of the most memorable moments happens when a group of lion dancers approaches our section of the crowd. When they reach the family sitting next to us, they notice their baby and gently lower the lion’s open mouth towards the child’s head. According to tradition, being “bitten” by the lion brings good luck and protection. The parents happily present their baby for the blessing, but the little one does not seem particularly impressed by the honour. Instead of smiling for this special moment, the baby looks rather confused by the giant wooden creature suddenly appearing above them. The adults around us laugh, and the scene becomes one of those small, spontaneous memories that make watching a parade so much fun. A little later, another group catches our attention: children dressed as ordinary townspeople from the samurai era. Among them is a young boy proudly playing the role of a fish vendor, carrying his collection of plastic fish and other little items as if he were running a real market stall.

Watching him carefully show off his merchandise to the crowd, completely immersed in his role, is a reminder that the event is not only about remembering history. It is also about passing these stories on to the next generation.The grand finale of the parade arrives with Maeda Toshiie himself. A famous actor dressed as Kanazawa’s legendary founder rides through the streets on horseback, bringing the historical procession to a dramatic close. But for the spectators, the day is only beginning. As soon as the last participants disappear, people who have been sitting patiently along the streets finally stand up and spread out across downtown. The roads that had belonged to the parade all afternoon are suddenly open again. Some head towards the Odori dance sections, where the music continues and visitors can join the celebration. Others make their way towards the food stalls or meet up with friends elsewhere in the city. After spending hours watching the streets from the sidelines, it feels almost symbolic to finally become part of the movement ourselves.

The celebration continues with the Hyakumangoku Odori, when thousands of dancers move through the streets in carefully coordinated steps. People who have been sitting quietly for hours start clapping along, and the boundary between performer and spectator becomes less clear. Later in the afternoon, Marina and I meet up with some people we used to work with and continue exploring the streets together. The area has transformed into a maze of food stalls, with smoke rising from grills and the smell of freshly cooked snacks filling the air. Rather than everyone buying their own meal, we choose different favourites and share everything together. Our little feast quickly grows: yakisoba, yakitori, baby castella and plenty of other treats we discover along the way. Everyone points out something they want to try, and soon we are moving from one stall to the next, eating a little bit of everything. Between bites, conversations and unexpected encounters with people we know from around Kanazawa, the atmosphere feels like one big reunion.

The Hyakumangoku Matsuri is less like something we are attending and more like a day when the entire Kanazawa community has come outside to celebrate together. As darkness falls, we make our way back to Kenroku-en, where we meet up again with the whole group. Everyone has heard that there is a special evening event somewhere in the garden, but finding it turns out to be part of the adventure. Together, we wander through the illuminated paths, following the sounds and crowds. After a day surrounded by thousands of people, the atmosphere inside Kenroku-en feels completely different. The illuminated garden is quiet and peaceful, with reflections shimmering on the pond. From the famous Kotoji-tōrō lantern, we finally spot what we have been looking for. A small wooden row boat slowly appears on the water. Standing on it is a woman dressed in a beautiful kimono, playing a traditional flute as the boat is gently guided by a single person rowing behind her.

The scene feels almost unreal: the soft sound of the instrument drifting across the pond, the lights reflecting on the water, and the quiet crowd gathered along the shore. We walk along the edge of the pond, trying to keep up with the little boat as it glides past Kenroku-en’s characteristic pine trees. With every turn of the shoreline, the scene changes slightly: illuminated branches frame the boat, reflections move across the water, and the flute continues to echo through the garden. Slowly, the boat reaches the opposite shore, finally docking at the tea house. After hours of drums, dancing and cheering, this moment of stillness becomes my personal highlight of the entire day. The Hyakumangoku Matsuri began with thousands of people filling the streets of Kanazawa and ended with a single melody floating through one of Japan’s most famous gardens.