Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope

Festival highlights

Unlike the familiar Tanabata decorations on bamboo branches, this tradition is distinguished by a single rope woven from rice straw and stretched above a river.

The rope is decorated with a variety of local crafts, including figures of Hikoboshi and Orihime riding in a boat, straw sandals, cattle shoes, farming tools, horses, octopuses, and cranes and turtles.

There is also a tradition of watching how the rope breaks to predict the harvest.

Source: 八代・芦北の七夕綱 | 熊本県 | 日本の文化遺産を探す｜国宝・重要文化財データベース

Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope: Straw Crafts and Stars Entrusted to a Rope Stretched Above a River

What to expect

In the Kikiko district of Sakamoto Town, Yatsushiro City, residents bring straw together, soften it, then twist it into a rope and make straw crafts to hang from it.

The finished rope and decorations are carried to near the village entrance and stretched across the river, often between utility poles.

In each district of Ashikita Town, residents prepare at community centers and other locations, then stretch a rope across a village square or above a river.

How to take part

In the Kikiko district, making straw crafts has long been open to people visiting from outside the village.

There are opportunities not only to observe but also to help local residents prepare for the event.

Please respect the life of this small village. If you would like to take part, it is best to contact the preservation society or the city office in advance before visiting.

If you would like to take part in making straw crafts in the Kikiko district, please contact the Yatsushiro Tanabata Rope Preservation Society or the city office in advance.

Residents prepare the rope and decorations on site, so rather than joining unexpectedly on the day, it is important to check how visitors can participate and where to meet before you visit.

Location and access

Venue and address

Near the entrances to the villages and around the rivers in Kikiko, Nakatani, Sakamoto Town, Yatsushiro City, and Uehara, Iwayagawa-uchi, Shimoshiraki, and Iwaizaka in Ashikita Town.

By car

The villages are inland in mountainous areas, so visiting by car is convenient.

Check road conditions before setting out.

Event venue 熊本県八代市、芦北町 八代市坂本町中谷の木々子

This map uses the venue name. Check the official guide for the event area and entrances.

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Dates and season

Each year, the rope is stretched across August 6, and in some areas the decorations remain in place until the latter half of August.

Before visiting, check the latest event details with the board of education of the relevant municipality.

Tips for your visit

The event takes place in small mountain villages far from major train and bus routes.

Visitors will be entering places where residents work and go about their daily lives, so check the schedule and how to visit with the preservation society or local government, and take care not to disrupt preparations.

Road conditions may also change due to heavy rain, so check traffic conditions if traveling by car.

Origins and History of Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope

Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope is said to have once been held in more than 30 locations in southern Kumamoto Prefecture.

Today, the tradition is passed down in five districts: Kikiko in Sakamoto Town, Yatsushiro City, and Uehara, Iwayagawa-uchi, Shimoshiraki, and Iwaizaka in Ashikita Town.

In Kikiko, Yatsushiro City, the event, which had once died out, was revived by older residents around Showa 50, and a preservation society was formally established in 2015.

Official information

The Database of National Cultural Properties and Other Items lists Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope as an “intangible folk cultural property for which measures such as documentation should be undertaken.”

The preservation groups are the Yatsushiro Tanabata Rope Preservation Society and the Ashikita Town Tanabata Rope Preservation Society.

Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope at a Glance

Yatsushiro and Ashikita’s Tanabata Rope is a distinctive Tanabata event in which a single rope of rice straw is stretched above a river and decorated with straw crafts such as star figures and farming tools.

The event is connected to life in the mountain villages, carrying meanings beyond the Tanabata legend, including protection from epidemics, welcoming ancestral spirits, and predicting a good harvest.

We recommend checking in advance with the preservation society or local government before visiting the event on August 6.