TOKYO, Oct 13 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- 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.

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:

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

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

Local Tohoku Sweets and Traditional Games

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

Traditional Japanese Crafts Workshop

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

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