This site is a web media that delivers all kinds of trivia, from sightseeing and gourmet spots in the six Tohoku prefectures to local, customs, and history.
There are several reasons why it is called "Kamakura," but it is not well understood
Kamakura was once a Little New Year's event held throughout Akita Prefecture, but now many places have stopped holding it due to depopulation, aging populations, financial issues, etc
"Yokote Kamakura" (Yokote City / Yokote City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
"Rokugo Kamakura" (Misato Town / Nationally Designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
"Kakunodate's Fire-Spreading Kamakura" (Semboku City / Semboku City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
"Kuzokuro Fire Festival Kamakura" (Kitaakita City / Kitaakita City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
"Niida's Fire-Swinging Kamakura" (Akita City)
"Junisho Kamakura Yaki" (Odate City)
These events are called "Kamakura."
*For more information on the origin of the name "Kamakura," please refer to below, "Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT" [The Mystery of Kamakura] Are Kamakura, a winter feature of Akita Prefecture, related to the Kamakura Shogunate?
The origin of Kamakura is an event to "burn the past and pray for a new good year"
If we look into the history of Kamakura, we find that they all originate from an event where, after the New Year holidays, people burn New Year's items such as talismans that protected their homes the previous year and the year's shimenawa ropes, in prayer for a bountiful harvest and safety for the family. This event is a ritual called Sagicho, which began at the Imperial Court during the Heian period. Over time, it spread throughout the country, and became established as an event known mainly as "Sagicho" in western Japan and "Dontoyaki" in eastern Japan. At shrines, it is often called "Otakiage"
As the event has been passed down, it has undergone many changes
An event that is thought to be the origin of the "Kamakura" festival, depicted in the "Oshu Akita Fuzoku Monjodo" (Questions and Answers on Customs of Akita), written in the mid-Edo period. Collection: National Diet Library
I mentioned that Kamakura has its roots in Sagicho, but the most famous "Yokote Kamakura" does not have any events equivalent to Sagicho. However, if you look into its roots, it seems that there was a custom of burning paper charms and other items, but this changed over time, and in the 1970s, when car traffic increased, the large snow domes became an obstacle to traffic and the event itself had to be scaled down. It then took on its current form, with just the snow domes gathered in several locations
Yokote Kamakura Travel Tohoku
In kamakura other than Yokote, the burning event is still held. At the Rokugo Kamakura, wishes are written on long strips of paper called "tenpitsu," which are strung together in the order of "right-footed blue (green, yellow, red, white, blue)," and on the final day, they are burned in a grand ceremony called "tenpitsu-yaki."
On the other hand, the "Kakunodate Fire-Swinging Kamakura Festival," "Niida Kamakura Festival," and "Junisho Kamakura Yaki Festival" (Odate City) do not feature the "Tenhitsu" event, and the main focus is on swinging a flaming rope
First, a large snow cave is made and dedicated to Kamakura Daimyojin. A large tree over 10 meters tall, cut down from a nearby mountain, is wrapped in rice straw and bean husks and erected, which is then set on fire as a sacred tree. Children then shout Hey, Gongoro of the Kamakura
The Kudzukuro Fire Festival Kamakura is said to have begun around 300 years ago, but was discontinued in 1998 (Heisei 10).
However, thanks to the efforts of local residents, the festival was revived in 2014 (Heisei 26), but was forced to be suspended again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, with the COVID-19 pandemic having subsided somewhat, the festival was successfully revived and it was decided that it would continue in 2026. In 2026, it will be held on Sunday, February 15th, and thereafter it is scheduled to be held every year on the third Sunday of February
a contest is held in which participants shout out " Hey, Kamakura Gongoro!
The mysterious Kamakura Gongoro Kagesa, who may or may not have actually been a real person
Gongoro's true identity is unknown. However, the deity enshrined there, Kamakura Daimyojin, was originally named Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa (birth and death unknown), and is said to have been a military commander who is said to have played an active role in the Gosannen War (1083-1087), which broke out in the late Heian period. It is believed that the true identity of "Gongoro" is Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa, but there is a legend in the village that "in order to punish the rough Gongoro who had taken up residence in the village, a large tree was set on fire in the image of Gongoro, and he then had a change of heart" (from "Kuzuguro Fire Festival Kamakura" by Akita Genki Village). There is currently no way to know which is true.
*The Kudzukuro Fire Festival Kamakura is an intangible folk cultural property designated by Kitaakita City
Kudzukuro Fire Festival Kamakura Information
Event name: Kudzukuro Fire Festival Kamakura
Cultural property designation: Kitaakita designated intangible folk cultural property
Location: Kuzuguro, Nanakaichi, Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture
Contact: Osarube Genki Club
Phone number: 090-6101-8906
Date: Third Sunday of February (Sunday, February 15th in 2026)
Public transportation: Approximately 30 minutes by taxi from Takanosu Station on the Ou Main Line
By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Odate-Noshiro Airport IC on the Akita Expressway
Google Map
There are also fire festival events similar to Kamakura, but not called Kamakura
The two festivals handed down in the Ota district of Daisen City center around the burning of sacred trees along with Tenhitsu, but they are not called "kamakura" but "fire festivals."
The Ota Fire Festival is held every year on the first Saturday of February (February 7th in 2026) during the first month of the New Year at Ota Fureai no Sato in Ota (formerly Ota Town), Ota Town, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture. The festival centers around the traditional Tenhitsu-yaki craft, and also features activities such as paper balloons and fireworks.
The Ota Fire Festival will be held for the 44th time in 2026. The festival's main event is the burning of "Tenhitsu," colored paper with wishes written on it, along with the sacred tree. Before the festival, elementary school students in the area write their wishes on long pieces of colored paper that are strung upright in the order of "right and left" and attached to long pieces of green bamboo
At night, a sacred tree called a "kamakura" is erected in Fureai no Sato, and is made of many bundles of straw tied to it. It is about 8 meters long and is set on fire, and Tenhitsu (calendar brushes) collected from the village are burned
Ota Fire Festival Information
Event name: Ota Fire Festival
Location: Ota Fureai no Sato, Ota-cho, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture
For inquiries, please contact the Ota Fire Festival Executive Committee Secretariat (in the Citizen Services Division of the Ota Branch Office, Daisen City)
Phone number: 0187-88-1111
Date: First Saturday of February every year (Saturday, February 7th in 2026)
Public transportation: Approximately 40 minutes by car from Omagari Station on the Akita Shinkansen, JR Ou Main Line, or Tazawako Line via National Route 105; approximately 25 minutes by car from Kakunodate Station on the Akita Shinkansen, JR Tazawako Line, or Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway via Prefectural Road Kakurokusen
By car: Approximately 35 minutes from Omagari IC on the Akita Expressway
Google Map
Tanojiri Fire Festival, which also features the ancient tradition of rice planting in the snow
The Fire Festival is an event held around the Tenhitsu firing ceremony held on the first day of the new year in the Tanoshiri village in the Koganari region of Daisen City. The Tenhitsu are made in the same way as other festivals, but the sacred wood wrapped in straw used for Tenhitsu firing is also called Tenhitsu, not Kamakura.
The Tanojiri Fire Festival also features the traditional "snow rice planting" that has been passed down in the area for generations. "Snow rice planting" is a rice planting scene that farmers have been practicing for over 150 years, but it has become almost unheard of in recent years, so it was added to the festival in an effort to preserve this tradition. In addition, there is also a "paper balloon raising" event, which is not part of the tradition, so that children can enjoy it too
The Tanojiri Fire Festival was held with the cooperation of surrounding villages until 2025, but due to aging and depopulation, it was feared that it would not be held after 2026. However, with the desire to somehow hold this traditional event and pass it on to future generations, it was decided that from 2026 onwards it would continue to be held solely by Tanojiri village
*The 2026 event will be held on Sunday, February 22nd (dates for 2027 and beyond are yet to be determined)
Tanojiri Fire Festival Information
Event name: Tanojiri Fire Festival
Location: Ogami Narita Nojiri, Otacho, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture
For inquiries, please contact: Takahashi, Chairman of Tajiri Fire Festival
Phone number: 090-7790-7930
Date: Sunday in mid-February (in 2026 it will be Sunday, February 22nd)
access:
Public transportation: Approximately 25 minutes by car from Omagari Station on the Akita Shinkansen, JR Ou Main Line, or Tazawako Line via National Route 105; approximately 18 minutes by car from Kakunodate Station on the Akita Shinkansen, JR Tazawako Line, or Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway via Prefectural Road Kakurokusen
By car: Approximately 33 minutes from Omagari IC on the Akita Expressway
My love of travel grew, and I used to write a travel magazine, and now I'm a travel writer for the web. During my research, I visited all 47 prefectures in Japan, mainly in the Tohoku region, but my fun part is soaking in hot springs and experiencing traditional Japanese culture such as old townscapes, lifestyles, and performing arts and crafts.
