The Otabi Festival is the spring grand festival of Usahashi Shrine and Honori Hiyoshi Shrine, held each May in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The event draws large crowds of visitors every year, thanks in particular to children's kabuki performed by young performers on elaborately decorated floats (hikiyama), and the Hikiyama-hizoroi — a nighttime display in which the floats glow golden under illumination.
Background
The Otabi Festival is said to have originated around 1640, when the portable shrines of Usahashi Shrine and Honori Hiyoshi Shrine passed before the gates of Komatsu Castle — the retirement residence of Maeda Toshitsune, the third lord of the Kaga Maeda clan — to pray for the peace of the domain and the clan's long-lasting fortunes as warriors. The practice of the portable shrines traveling through the communities of the parishioners gave rise to the name "Otabi Matsuri" (literally, "traveling festival").
The hikiyama floats that serve as the stage for children's kabuki are believed to have been influenced by the Hikiyama Matsuri of Omi Nagahama. At the time, Komatsu was a thriving center of Kaga silk production, and merchants traveling between Komatsu and Kyoto are said to have encountered the Nagahama floats along the way — a chance encounter that is thought to have inspired the Komatsu hikiyama tradition.
The magnificently tall, multi-tiered floats seen today are thought to have taken shape during the Kansei to Bunka periods (late 18th to early 19th century), when the number of floats reached ten. However, two floats — those of Matsutomi-machi and Higashi-machi — were lost in two separate fires during the Showa era, leaving eight floats today.
The eight surviving hikiyama floats are designated as Komatsu City Cultural Properties, and the hikiyama events of the Otabi Festival are designated as Ishikawa Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Properties.
Event Details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Dates | Hikiyama Children's Kabuki Performances: May 8 (Fri), 9 (Sat), 10 (Sun), 2026 Hikiyama-hizoroi: May 9 (Sat), 2026 |
| Venue | Hikiyama Children's Kabuki Performances: Komatsu City central downtown area and others Hikiyama-hizoroi: Saiku-machi Intersection |
| Admission | Free Paid seating also available |
Performance Program
Teramachi: "Meiboky Sendaihagi – Masaoka Chugino-dan"
Yokkaichi-machi: "Tabigoromo Komatsu no Midori Haiyasaka-e – Gidayu Kanjincho"
Hikiyama-hizoroi
Date: May 9 (Sat)
Venue: Saiku-machi Intersection (approximately 10 minutes on foot from Komatsu Station)
Schedule:
- 3:00 PM: Part 1 Opening Ceremony
- 3:30 PM: Teramachi Performance
- 4:30 PM: Yokkaichi-machi Performance
- 6:00 PM: Part 2 Opening, Teramachi Performance
- 7:00 PM: Yokkaichi-machi Performance
- 8:00 PM: Floats Depart
