Hinamatsuri is a festival held in March to pray for the healthy growth of girls. From the beginning of February, when people start decorating Hina dolls, Yanagawa holds a town-wide Hina Festival event. During the festival, the entire town is decorated with hanging decorations called “sagemon,” which are unique to the Yanagawa region.
Yanagawa Hina Festival
2/11 (Fri. hol.) ~ 4/3 (Sun.)
Center of Yanagawa City, Fukuoka (Yanagawa Station to Okihata area)
Sagemon sightseeing map
*Viewing spots have pink flags outside
Main spots where Sagemon is exhibited
During the Hina Festival, the area is decorated with the soft lights of Sagemon and Hina decorations.
• Yanagawa Shopping Street (Kyomachi intersection ~ Tsujimachi intersection)
• Yanagawa Yokamon-kan (13-1 Kyomachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka) *The largest sagemon in Yanagawa, “Giant Sagemon,” will be displayed.
• Yanagawa Tachibana-tei “Ohana” (1 Shinhokamachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka)
• Yanagawa City Tourism Information Center (35 Okihatamachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka)
• Hakushu Kitahara Memorial Hall (55-1 Okihatamachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka)
• Okinohata Sagemon Park (83 Inarimachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka) *Warrior banners of Tachibana Muneshige and Ginchiyo’s along with a 100-meter long Sagemon scrolls will be displayed. At night, lanterns will be lit.
Event Schedule
3/5 (Sat.), 3/6 (Sun.), 3/12 (Sat.), 3/13 (Sun.), 3/19 (Sat.), 3/21 (Mon., hol.)
Hina-Viewing Boat Tours
This unique opportunity will afford you a completely different view of the Hina Festival. This is a special boat ride for a limited period of time that takes you around the Yanagawa Yokamon Museum, Hiyoshi Shrine, and the Yanagawa City Tourist Information Center in a boat decorated with traditional Yanagawa mari boll. It includes a box lunch and sweets to enjoy on the boat. Reservations are required at least one day in advance.
• Adult: ¥3,000, ES: ¥2,500
• Ticket reservations: 0944-74-0891 (Yanagawa Tourist Information Center)
3/5 (Sat.), 3/6 (Sun.) 10:00~15:00
Kimono Day – a Great Chance for Photos!
Mar. 5 and 6 is Yanagawa Kimono Day—when almost everyone in town dons a kimono! Visitors who show up at the Yanagawa Tourism Information Center wearing a kimono will receive some benefits such as coupons and tickets to tourist facilities
3/20 (Sun.) 11:00~12:20
Ohina-sama Water Parade
Okihata ~ Mihashira Jinja Shrine
During the Ohina-sama Water Parade, young girls dressed in kimono ride down canals in boats decorated with hina dolls. Brightly dressed girls and their mothers glide along downtown Yanagawa’s canals, which are also decked out with sagemon, in nearly a dozen riverboats. The boats float at a leisurely pace, making the parade a popular destination for shutterbugs looking to snap some pictures from the banks.
*in case of rain: 3/27 (Sun.)
4/3 (Sun.) 10:00~
Nagashi Hina Festival
Downstream of Yanagawa Bridge
The finale of the Yanagawa Hina Festival. Children board a boat and release strips of paper on which they have written their wishes into the river.
Ohina-sama Opening ritual and Parade
*NOTE: The ritual will be held only for those involved, also the annual parade has been canceled due to the pandemic.
Hiyoshi Shrine (7 Sakamoto-machi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka)
This is the kick-off event for Yanagawa Hina Festival. At Hiyoshi Shrine, they pray for the arrival of spring, the healthy growth of children, and the safety of the Yanagawa hina festival
Exhibition and Sale of Sagemon
Yanagawa City Women’s Hall
• 7-1 Sakamotomachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka
• 0944-72-3680
• 1/29~3/31 10:00~16:00
Yanagawa City Silver Human Resources Center “Obachan Kitchen Tsudoi”
• 2F Kyomachi, Yanagawa City, Fukuoka
• 0944-73-4585 *Phone inquiries are only accepted on weekdays.
• 1/29~3/27 10:00~16:00
Every year on Mar., Hina (Doll) Festivals are held to pray for the health of young girls. The day is known as Momo no Sekku, a date that traditionally marked the coming of spring. The custom is said to have begun in the Heian period (794-1185) when people would try to drive away evil spirits by transferring them to dolls. Although the custom varies throughout Japan, families with young girls still display dolls today. Dolls were set up in early February on risshun (“onset of spring”) in the old calendar, and people celebrate by eating three mochi rice cakes in different colors: green, pink and white. In Yanagawa, the first Hina Festival for a baby girl is marked with sagemon, colorful hanging decorations that each family has passed down over generations.
In Yanagawa, a girl’s first Hina Festival is an important occasion. Sagemon and two Yanagawa decorative balls are hung next to the doll stand, and a big celebration is held to pray for the child’s health. The tradition began at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), when people who had baby girls began making decorations from cloth scraps and hanging them on either side of the doll stand. In Yanagawa, sagemon are often in the shape of auspicious creatures, such as rabbits and cranes. Nowadays, when spring draws near, everyone in town hangs the colorful sagemon in their homes and shops, making for a sight to behold.
