Photo/Illutration During the Otsu Festival held in Otsu on Oct. 8, 2023, spectators reach out for “chimaki” straw ornaments thrown from floats. (Yuhei Nakahodo)

OTSU—The centuries-old Otsu Festival, featuring parades of lavishly decorated floats adorned with mechanical puppets, will travel to London on Nov. 30—the first time the event has been held outside Japan.

Designated by the central government as an important intangible folk cultural property, the festival is an annual celebration organized by Tensonjinja shrine in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture.

The highlight of the event is a procession around the shrine of 13 festival floats featuring cleverly constructed dolls and automatons.

The big event will take place in the Hall, an event space in Japan House London, a cultural center founded by the Foreign Ministry to promote the charms of Japan overseas.

The festival will be re-created by five representatives from Otsu’s Kamikyomachi district, which is home to the festival’s famed Gekkyudenzan float.

Although the float is too large to be brought to London, a replica of its decorative tapestry, which was originally made in Belgium and has been designated an important cultural property, will be displayed at the venue.

Scenes from the festival will be projected onto a screen while festival music is played.

“Chimaki” straw ornaments, which are thrown from the floats to ward off bad luck, will also be scattered in the Hall.

The entrance to Japan House London will be decorated with lanterns on the previous day, Nov. 29, to re-create the pre-festival event.

“It’s so moving. The Otsu Festival is lesser known in Japan even though it has a history of about 400 years, so it’s wonderful to introduce the festival to people overseas,” said Hiroaki Funahashi, 63, head director of the festival association and one of the five representatives set to visit London.

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