The annual Kumata Shrine Summer Festival is one of Osaka’s largest float festivals, attracting over 300,000 people every year. Taking place this year from July 11 to 14, it has been held since the 1700s to express gratitude to the deities and to offer prayers for prosperity and divine grace.
The main highlights of the festival are the parades, which take place on the evenings of July 12 and 13. The stars are nine spectacular wooden floats, called danjiri, that are carried down the street in a vibrant procession along Hirano ward’s Nanko Street. Lit up with lanterns and adorned with taiko drummers and dancers with paper fans, these giants are not to be missed. On July 14, a special procession led by a priest dressed up as a long-nosed tengu will be performed on the shrine grounds to provide blessings to children.
Expect a vibrant bunch of festival stalls along the streets near the shrine grounds, peddling classic Japanese street foods and drinks and offering assorted carnival games for the young and young at heart.