Nihonmatsu Chrysanthemum Doll Festival (Nihonmatsu Kiku Ningyo)

Nihonmatsu Chrysanthemum Doll Festival (Nihonmatsu Kiku Ningyo)

Each year from mid-October to mid-November, an impressive collection of dolls adorned with chrysanthemum flowers (known as ‘kiku ningyo’) are on display at the Kasumigajo Castle Grounds in Nihonmatsu City, for one of Japan’s salient Chrysanthemum festivals. The city prides itself in its cultivation and cherishing of chrysanthemums, the National Flower of Japan. Several places in the city are adorned with chrysanthemums during the festival period.

Kasumigajo Castle, also known as Nihonmatsu Castle, was destroyed during the Boshin War in the 19th century. Visitors can climb up the castle ruins, of which only the walls remain, and enjoy a view of Nihonmatsu City from above. The castle was made into a prefectural natural park and is beautifully preserved, with many cherry blossom trees and flowers in bloom in the spring, as well as stunning foliage in the fall.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttps://www.city.nihonmatsu.lg.jp/travel_guide/tourist_attractions/page002704.html
Contact

Nihonmatsu Tourism Federation
(+81) 243-55-5122
info@nihonmatsu-kanko.jp

Best Season
  • Autumn
Related infoTakes place annually from Mid-October to Mid-November.
2023 Dates: October 10 (Tuesday) to November 19 (Sunday), 2023
Access Details
AccessHeld at Kasumigajo Castle Park (Nihonmatsu Castle) in Nihonmatsu City
View directions
Getting there

By Car: 5 min from Nihonmatsu I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway

By Train: 20 min walk from Nihonmatsu Station on the JR Tohoku Main Line

 

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Design Your Own Shirakawa Daruma

There are records of Shirakawa Daruma (Japanese traditional dolls) being sold as far back as the feudal reign of the Niwa Domain in 1627. Current Shirakawa Daruma are known as “Shirakawa Tsurugame Shochikubai Daruma.” The faces of these dolls are painted to incorporate various animals and plants, with the eyebrows representing cranes, the mustache representing a turtle, the ears representing pines and plum trees, and the beard representing bamboo or pine trees. All of these images are thought to bring good luck. The daruma is known to be a very classical, lucky talisman, started by Matsudaira Sadanobu, the lord of Shirakawa, when he hired the renowned painter Tani Buncho to paint the now famous face on the daruma doll. Once every year a large Shirakawa Daruma Market is held to celebrate and sell the beloved daruma dolls. You can paint your own daruma at the two daruma workshops in town!

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