Danjiri Festival at Kishiwada Castle

Kishiwada Castle is a flatland fortification near Osaka. The original structure near the site was built in 1334, a bit east of the current castle site, by Takaie Nigita. The roofline of this castle resembles a loom's warp beam, or chikiri, so the castle is also called the Chikiri Castle.

In 1585, Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered the region around Osaka after the Siege of Negoroji Temple. He awarded Kishiwada Castle to his retainer, Koide Hidemasa, who completed major renovations on the building, including increasing the donjon to five stories in height.

The Koide clan lost the castle to the Matsudaira in 1619, who in turn gave way to the Okabe clan in 1640. The Okabes retained ownership of Kishiwada until the Meiji Reformation in 1868.

Tragically, though, in 1827 the donjon was struck by lightning, and burned down to its stone foundation.

In 1954, Kishiwada Castle was rebuilt as a three-story building, which houses a museum.

Since 1703, the people of Kishiwada have held a Danjiri Festival each year in September or October. Danjiri are large wooden carts, with a portable Shinto shrine inside each one. The townspeople parade through town pulling the danjiri at high speed, while guild leaders dance atop the elaborately carved structures.

The daimyo Okabe Nagayasu initiated the tradition of Kishiwada's Danjiri Matsuri in 1703, as a way to pray to the Shinto gods for a good harvest.