| ©Ueno Bunka Bijutsu Hozonkai |
The Ueno Tenjin Festival is a fall festival of the Sugawara Shrine. It has been held before1660, when the first record was documented by the Todo family of Iga. However, the procession of 9 floats and 110 demons which can be seen today are not originated from Michizane Sugawara, but has been established under the strong influence of Shugendo (a sect of Esoteric Buddhism) and the culture of the townspeople in the middle of the Edo period with the opposition awareness to Gion Festival of Kyoto. It was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016. The Braids 2019 will end with the farewell party from 18:00 to 20:00 at the eve of Tenjin Festival, and the participants will move out to the eve town. If you stay until the18th, you can see almost all the events by the evening of the 19th.
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18th (Fri): Three floats called Danjiri leave the Danjiri Museum in the morning and are parked in Honcho and Ninomachi avenues. In the evening, the lanterns are turned on, dumplings begin and stalls line the Honmachi and Ginza avenues.
19th (Sat): Danjiri procession from 1 pm to 4 pm at Honmachi and Ninomachi avenues and 110 demon procession from 2 pm to 4 pm are held. The four lanterned Danjiri move through Honmachi and Ninomachi avenues to the Sugawara Shrine.
20th (Sun): Mikoshi, the 110 demons and nine Danjiri procession are performed from 9 am and travels through Honmachi, Ninomachi, and Sannomachi avenuesi until 4 pm. See the Ueno Tenjin Festival official site for details.