Okawara Hinagashi (Fire Boat Festival)

About

Every year on the night of August 16, the Okawara district of Kuroishi holds this rite, which has continued for about 650 years and is designated an intangible folk cultural property of Aomori Prefecture. It is said to have begun as a lantern-floating ceremony by people who fled the wars of the Nanboku-cho period, mourning the fallen and longing for the homes they had left. Three boats about three meters long, woven from reeds and straw, are prepared on the Nakano River, each standing for an early, mid-season or late variety of rice. Once their masts are set alight, young people from the district haul the blazing boats downstream through the darkness. How the boats burn, and whether the flames survive as they pass under the bridge, is still read as a sign of how good the harvest will be.

Sources

• OfficialAomori Prefecture Tourism and International Exchange Organization (Amazing AOMORI) aomori-tourism.com
• Reference大川原の火流し（青森県 文化財保護課） www.pref.aomori.lg.jp

Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.

Other events this month

• Aomori Nebuta Festival
• Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival
• Hirosaki Neputa Festival
• Arama Matsuri (Wild Horse Dance Festival)
• Sannohe Summer Festival
• Kuroishi Yosare Dance Festival
• Tanabu Matsuri (Tanabu Shrine Grand Festival)
• Noheji Gion Matsuri