Akita Kanto Matsuri
Akita · Lantern festival
Poles hung with dozens of lit lanterns, balanced on palms, foreheads and hips along a closed street in Akita.
Dates
3 to 6 August 2027
Held every year from 3 to 6 August.
A full kanto is twelve metres of bamboo hung with forty six lanterns and weighs about fifty kilos. The skill is not lifting it, which anyone can manage for a moment, but moving it from palm to forehead to shoulder to hip without letting it tip, while the pole bends and the candles stay lit. The shape is deliberate: a heavy head of lanterns on a long stem, like a rice plant bent under a good harvest. That is what the festival is asking for. When one goes over, and several do every night, the crowd reacts more warmly than for a clean lift.
Getting a good spot
The performance is the same length of street each night, so a seat near either end is as good as the middle. After the main show the performers bring the poles down to the roadside and let people try lifting one.
Where it happens
Access
Common questions
When is the Akita Kanto Matsuri?
From 3 to 6 August every year. The evening performances run for about two hours from around seven.
Can visitors try lifting a kanto?
Yes, after the main performance the poles come down to the roadside and the teams let people try. A full one is about fifty kilos, so most people manage a few seconds.