A traditional event of the sea and prayer, with a towering lantern float moving through Uozu at night
Tatemon Festival
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Season / frequency
- Summer nights
- Area
- Toyama Prefecture・Uozu City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 10 min–2 h 40 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
- Official website / social media
- Official website
- Last updated
- 2026/10/19
Enormous tatemon and countless lanterns illuminate the night in Uozu. This traditional event features a pulled to the rhythm of drums, flutes, and shouts, followed by a dramatic rotating dedication at Suwa Shrine.
Photo credits and terms of use
Photographer: 日本語版ウィキペディアの蜃氣楼さん File:Uozu-tatemon.jpg / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 日本語版ウィキペディアの蜃氣楼さん 原版の投稿者自身による著作物 (Original text: （蜃氣楼自身が撮影・使用可）)Display size only adjusted.May differ from the event currently featured.About Tatemon Festival
The Tatemon Festival is a traditional event that has been carried on around Suwa Shrine in Uozu City.
Local people pull a boat-shaped lantern float called a tatemon, with numerous lanterns hung from a central pole about 16 meters tall.
The festival is closely connected to Uozu’s fishing culture and continues as a prayer for a good catch and safe voyages.
It is a local event representative of Uozu and is registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Source: 【公式】魚津市観光案内公式サイト ｜ うおっ！な魚津旅情報＠北陸・魚津 魚津ライブラリ／たてもん祭り / たてもん祭り（じゃんとこい 魚津まつり） | イベント | 【公式】富山県の観光/旅行サイト「とやま観光ナビ」
Festival highlights
The biggest highlight is the rotating dedication, in which young participants dramatically spin the wheelless tatemon around the grounds of Suwa Shrine.
The enormous tatemon stands about 16 meters tall, is decorated with more than 90 lanterns, and weighs about 5 tons in total. It moves to the sound of drums, flutes, and shouts.
The lanterns illuminating the night sky and the scenery along the coast are also distinctive features.
Notice, too, that the lantern designs differ from district to district.
A traditional event of the sea and prayer, with a towering lantern float moving through Uozu at night
What to expect
At the festival, tatemon emerge from each neighborhood, pulled together by people wearing coats.
As drums and flutes play and young people shout, the tatemon travels from along the coast toward the area around Suwa Shrine, where it performs a rotating dedication on the shrine grounds.
Visitors can enjoy watching the lantern-lit tatemon being moved and dedicated from along the route or from around the shrine grounds.
How to take part
General visitors can first watch the tatemon being pulled along the streets and the rotational offering along the route or around Suwa Shrine.
Opportunities are also announced to help support the festival by taking part in assembly, raising the structures, pulling or carrying them, and dismantling them.
Participants take part by wearing local happi coats and supporting the festival.
Participation requirements and recruitment periods vary by activity, so if you wish to take part, please check the details in the relevant notice.
You can enjoy watching the festival around the venue.
If you wish to take part as a volunteer, check the activity details in recruitment notices from groups such as the Uozu Matsuri Support Group.
The participation dates and preparations required vary depending on the assigned task, such as assembling the tatemon or serving as a puller or carrier.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Around Suwa Shrine, Uozu City
Event venue 富山県魚津市 諏訪神社
This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.
Dates and season
- Season
Summer nights
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 Toyama Prefecture / Uozu City (the search is not centered on the festival venue)
Tips for your visit
As this is a nighttime event, please watch your footing and stay aware of your surroundings.
Roads may be closed to vehicles from the evening onward, so if you plan to drive, check the traffic information in advance.
Around the tatemon procession and rotating dedication, please do not get too close to the participants or the moving tatemon.
Nearby attractions
Places recommended for sightseeing around the venue include Omachi Seaside Park, Uozu Shrine, the Uozu Buried Forest Museum, the site of Uozu Castle, the Mirage Viewing Point, and the Sea Station Mirage.
These places in Uozu offer opportunities to experience the coast, history, and local culture.
The Tatemon Festival, the Uozu Fireworks Display over the Sea, and events such as UO!JAZZ are sometimes held simultaneously in the surrounding area.
ミラージュランド
富山県魚津市にある遊園地
Suwa Shrine
魚津市にある神社
魚津埋没林博物館
富山県魚津市にある博物館
魚津水族館
富山県魚津市にある水族館
Origins and History of Tatemon Festival
The Tatemon Festival is said to have originated about 300 years ago from the parishioners’ prayers for a good catch and safe passage at sea.
Each neighborhood originally hung lanterns from a platform and carried it around. Over time, the number of lanterns increased, and the float evolved into its present form.
In Showa 47, 7 tatemon were designated as prefectural tangible folk-cultural properties. In Heisei 9, the Uozu Tatemon Festival was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.
In Heisei 28, it was also registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Official information
The Uozu Tourism Association’s official website has a “Tatemon Festival” page with information on the festival’s features, history, venue, transportation, parking, and related events.
The schedule and transportation information for the day of the festival are available through the same site’s “Jantokoi Uozu Festival General Information” page.
Tatemon Festival at a Glance
The Tatemon Festival is a traditional event in Uozu where local people pull enormous boat-shaped lantern floats decorated with lanterns through the streets and perform a rotating dedication at Suwa Shrine.
The moving tatemon, accompanied by drums, flutes, and shouts, and the lanterns illuminating the night sky are major highlights.
The festival carries on prayers for a good catch and safe voyages, and it has been designated a cultural property and registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
There are also ways to get involved in supporting the festival, beyond simply watching.
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
Celebrating local culture and helping you discover a side of Japan you never knew.
Article updated: 2026/10/19
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