Tohoku Festival Parade to Showcase Six Local Festivals,Helping to Support Recovery of the Earthquake-Hit Region

The TOKYO SHINTORA MATSURI Executive Committee today announced that it will hold its TOKYO SHINTORA MATSURI festival on Tokyo’s Shintora-dori Avenue, the new thoroughfare constructed as part of the Toranomon area redevelopment, on November 19 and 20. The festival will be the first major event utilizing the new space created in the Shintora (Shimbashi–Toranomon) district, Tokyo’s new international hub for business and culture. It will include the Tohoku Rokkonsai (six festivals) Parade, a special street display combining the attractions of individual festivals from the cities of Aomori, Akita, Morioka, Yamagata, Sendai, and Fukushima in the Tohoku region.

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The Tohoku Rokkonsai Parade was first staged in 2011 in the city of Sendai, aiming to inspire the recovery of a region struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake earlier that year; it has since been staged annually in other major cities across Tohoku. Celebrating the diversity and resilience of the region, the 300 meter long parade will proceed along Shintora-dori Avenue on November 20, with more than 300 dancers and other performers presenting features of the six Tohoku city festivals.

The TOKYO SHINTORA MATSURI will also present numerous programs under the joint themes “Tohoku x Tokyo” and “Tradition x Innovation”, showcasing a variety of cultural attractions from Tokyo and other regions of Japan. The festival’s other events will include the Japan Culture Future Forum, featuring a panel discussion about Japanese gaming, anime and music, and the Tohoku x Tokyo Festa, which will exhibit traditional art from Tokyo, festival ornaments from Tohoku and representative cuisine from both regions.

Two additional festivals will be staged at the same time: the “MINATO 70th x TOHOKU PARK,” which will offer local food of six Tohoku cities and traditional restaurants around Shiba in Tokyo, and “The Taste of TOHOKU,” featuring local Japanese sake from the Tohoku region offered by participating restaurants from Toranomon Hills.

The event will be jointly organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) and the TOKYO SHINTORA MATSURI Executive Committee.

For more information, please visit www.shintora.tokyo.

Appendix: Major programs of TOKYO SHINTORA MATSURI

Tohoku Rokkonsai Parade

Elements of the following individual festivals, some of them designated as “significant cultural assets”, will be incorporated in the parade:

• Aomori Nebuta - has two million visitors every year. A specially created Nebuta ornament, almost seven meters wide, will be paraded.
• Akita Kanto - has a long history as an event that wards off evil spirits. Performers will parade 12 meter high lantern poles.
• Morioka Sansa - a traditional performance dating back to the Edo era and including Japan’s　largest drum ensemble.
• Yamagata Hanagasa - costumed dancers will dance to the beat of Japanese drums, wearing conical hats adorned with flowers.
• Sendai Tanabata - has more than two million visitors each year and includes dancers with Japanese fans in both hands.
• Fukushima Waraji - featuring O’waraji, huge straw sandals from Ashio-Jinja Shrine, offerings made to help ensure safe journeys.

Please visit the link to see the video of the Tohoku Rokkonsai Parade held in Aomori in 2016 http://www.shintora.tokyo/rokkonsai.html.

Date:		November 20, 2016
Times:		10:15 and 15:00 (10:15 parade will include the departure ceremony)
Place:		Shintora-dori Avenue, Loop Road No.2
Charge:		Free (advance registration required)
Apply:		Registration open until October 21 - please visit www.shintora.tokyo.

Japan Culture Future Forum

As part of a program aimed at promoting Japanese culture, the Forum will feature a panel discussion on topics including festivals, music and games, and is expected to attract creative talent from Japan and overseas.

Date:		November 20, 2016
Time:		11:00 – 14:00 (to be confirmed)
Place:		Toranomon Hills Forum, 5F Main Hall
Charge:		To be confirmed
How to apply:		Advance registration required - please visit www.shintora.tokyo.

Tohoku x Tokyo Festa

Will showcase the Tanabata “weaver star”, a magnificent ornament that illuminates the whole of Sendai City with beautiful colors every year.

Date:		November 15 - 20, 2016
Time:		11:00 - 11:00 (to be confirmed)
Place:		Toranomon Hills, 2nd floor Atrium

The event includes:

Entertainment Stage for Tohoku Six Cities and Tokyo Traditional Art

Will stage various events and performances promoting the Tohoku region, plus a display of Tokyo traditional art.

Date:		November 19 - 20, 2016
Time:		From 11:00 (to be confirmed)
Place:		Toranomon Hills, Oval Plaza

Local Tohoku Sweets and Traditional Games

A booth selling local Tohoku sweets and other products, and presenting traditional games.

Date:		November 20, 2016
Time:		11:00 – 18:00 (to be confirmed)
Place:		Toranomon Hills, 4F Entrance

Traditional Japanese Crafts Workshop

Artisans will present and demonstrate various traditional Japanese crafts from Tokyo Prefecture.

Date:		November 20, 2016
Times:		12:00, 14:00, 16:00 (to be confirmed)
Place:		Toranomon Hills Forum, 4F, Hall B
Participants:		Limited to first 20 visitors each time (to be confirmed)
Charge:		To be confirmed (will cover just the cost of materials)

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Contact information

Media Inquiries for international media
Weber Shandwick
Reina Matsushita, +81-80-2375-0295
Ayumi Matsubara, +81-90-9006-5841
Masashi Nonaka, +81-80-1037-7879
shintora.tokyo@webershandwick.com