Akita Kanto Matsuri
4 August 2026 — Steady, pole! Every lantern is a wish for a full ear of rice.
The Kantō Matsuri takes place every year in Akita, Japan, from 3 to 6 August, and is one of the best-known summer festivals of the Tōhoku region. The streets fill with performers carrying long bamboo poles called „kantō“. The largest poles, called „ōwaka“ (great pole), are about 12 metres tall and carry 46 paper lanterns on their crossbars; smaller poles are used by younger performers and children. The lanterns resemble rice bales, and the pole as a whole recalls a ripe ear of rice. The festival is linked with prayers for a good harvest and good health. Performers, called „sashite“, balance the pole on the palm, shoulder, forehead or hip, while the crowd cheers them on. The tradition is also associated with Tanabata, the Japanese star festival, which was held in summer under the traditional calendar. In the evening thousands of lanterns glow like an earthly constellation beneath the sky of Akita. The festival is designated an important intangible folk cultural property of Japan.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of luminous dots and fine lines, like a constellation, balancing a very tall pole on its forehead
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