Photo/Illutration Floats are brought together in front of Tensonjinja shrine in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, during the main portion of the Otsu Festival on Oct. 9, 2022. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

OTSU, Shiga Prefecture--For the first time in four years, the Otsu Festival will be held in its complete format with all 13 floats bearing mechanical puppets from Oct. 7-8.

The festival is an annual celebration organized by Tensonjinja shrine, whose highlight is a procession of lavishly decorated floats installed with mechanical puppets parading around the shrine.

"We want to organize the festival following the tradition so that everyone can enjoy it," said Keiji Yamaguchi, head of the festival association.

The event is one of the three major festivals held near Lake Biwako and designated by the central government as an important intangible folk cultural property.

It is believed to date back nearly 400 years when the original Saigyo Zakura Tanukiyama float from the Kajiyacho district was built in 1635.

The float procession was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It resumed in 2022 for the first time in three years without the participation of one of the 13 floats.

This year, the pre-festival "yomiya" event will be held on the evening of Oct. 7, while the main festival will open at around 9 a.m. on the following day that will feature the float parade.

According to the festival association, the pre-festival event attracted about 30,000 visitors last year, while about 140,000 spectators attended the main festival.

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