A traditional Iwasaki event entrusting the community’s prayers to a giant rice-straw figure
Kashima Festival
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Spring and autumn / Twice a year
- Location
- Iwasaki district (three neighborhoods)
- Area
- Akita Prefecture・Yuzawa City(From Tokyo: approx. 3 h 40 min–4 h 10 min · bullet train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Highlights and activities
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/11/11
The Kashima Festival has been passed down through three neighborhoods in Iwasaki, Yuzawa City. The roughly 4 m-tall rice-straw figure called Kashima-sama carries prayers for protection from epidemics, household safety, and abundant harvests.
About Kashima Festival
The Kashima Festival is a folk event traditionally held in the Suehirocho, Sakaecho, and Midoricho neighborhoods of the Iwasaki district in Yuzawa City.
Each neighborhood has traditionally enshrined a roughly 4 m-tall straw figure at the village boundary, praying for protection from epidemics, household safety, and abundant harvests.
The figures, called Kashima-sama, are given new clothing twice each year, in spring and autumn, using rice straw and first ears of rice brought by every household.
The event carries forward the community’s faith and a way of life rooted in rice farming.
Festival highlights
The main attraction is the roughly 4 m-tall straw figure called Kashima-sama, made by each of the three neighborhoods.
Everything except the framework is made of rice straw, and the techniques developed through rice farming are also applied to crafting each component.
The large figures enshrined at the village boundary offer a glimpse of the community’s faith and its prayers for protection from epidemics, household safety, and abundant harvests.
The process of making them, passed down separately in each neighborhood, is another distinctive feature of the event.
A traditional Iwasaki event entrusting the community’s prayers to a giant rice-straw figure
What to expect
For the event, each of the three neighborhoods makes a Kashima-sama from rice straw and enshrines it at the village boundary.
In spring and autumn, every household brings rice straw and first ears of rice to be used as materials for the figures; they are given new clothing as part of the festival.
When making the figures, everything except the framework is finished in rice straw, using techniques for crafting individual components developed through rice farming.
The locations, number of clothing changes, and methods of sourcing materials have changed due to factors such as traffic conditions.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Iwasaki, Yuzawa City
Address Iwasaki, Yuzawa City
Dates and season
- Season
Spring and autumn
- Frequency
Twice a year
Accommodation and hotels PR
Showing nearby accommodation.
Prices and availability are current at the time of retrieval. For multi-night stays, only the first night’s price is shown. Confirm the final price and directions to the venue with the booking provider. Select your dates again when using the area search link. Search area: within 3 km of Central Akita Prefecture / Yuzawa City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Nearby attractions
院内銀山異人館
秋田県湯沢市にある郷土資料館
写真：掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0(resized and reformatted)
Photo source ·Origins and History of Kashima Festival
The Kashima Festival is an event through which local residents have passed down Kashima beliefs and figure-making techniques since long ago.
The practice of making the figures from rice straw, using techniques for crafting individual components developed through rice farming, reflects the local way of life.
It was designated a municipal Intangible Folk Cultural Property in Heisei 3March 5 and selected as a prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property for the Record in Heisei 23March.
In recent years, the locations, number of clothing changes, and methods of sourcing materials have changed.
Official information
Yuzawa City website, “Kashima Festival”
Kashima Festival at a Glance
The Kashima Festival is an event involving straw figures and Kashima beliefs, passed down through three neighborhoods in the Iwasaki district of Yuzawa City.
A roughly 4 m-tall Kashima-sama is made from rice straw, with prayers for protection from epidemics, household safety, and abundant harvests.
For the spring and autumn changes of clothing, every household has traditionally brought rice straw and first ears of rice.
This intangible folk cultural property conveys figure-making techniques rooted in rice farming and the community’s prayers.
Sources and references
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/11/11
