Kishiwada Danjiri Museum

In short

A museum where you can learn all about the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival throughout the entire year. Known across Japan, the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival began in the middle of the Edo period and boasts a 300-year tradition. In March 2024 (Reiwa 6), the museum was reborn as an exhibition space that incorporates the latest visual technology, where visitors can learn about the festival through hands-on experiences.

• ​The Oldest Danjiri in Kishiwada​​: In a corner recreating an old castle town streetscape stands the oldest existing danjiri float in Kishiwada, believed to have been made during the Bunka-Bunsei era, around 1804 to 1829. It is equipped with a mechanism that raises and lowers its roof to pass through the yagura-mon (turret gate) of Kishiwada Castle
• ​Three-Screen Theater and Yarimawashi Footage​​: You can experience the power of the festival through immersive visuals in the three-screen theater and footage of the yarimawashi (high-speed turns around corners) performed in each district
• ​Daikugata and Narimono Experience​​: You can experience riding atop the large roof of a danjiri float, feeling like a daikugata (the roof dancers who are considered the stars of the festival). You can also enjoy actually playing the musical instruments (narimono) that enliven the festival

History and Highlights

​Kishiwada Danjiri Museum​ is a museum where you can learn all about the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival throughout the entire year. Known across Japan, the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival began in the middle of the Edo period and boasts a 300-year tradition.

In March 2024, the museum was renovated into an exhibition space where visitors can learn about the festival through hands-on experiences and the latest visual technology. Upon stepping inside the entrance, you are welcomed by an impressive real danjiri float. It also serves as a photo spot with Kishiwada Castle in the background, allowing you to take pictures in front of a real danjiri that was pulled through town neighborhoods from the end of the Edo period through the Heisei period.

Inside the building, there is a corner recreating an old castle town streetscape, featuring the oldest existing danjiri float in Kishiwada. Believed to have been made during the Bunka-Bunsei era, around 1804 to 1829, this danjiri is equipped with a mechanism that raises and lowers its roof to pass through the yagura-mon (turret gate) of Kishiwada Castle. In addition, the museum introduces the happi coats and lanterns of all town districts, the decorations and structures of danjiri floats, the organizational system of the people who support the festival, and the craftsmanship of danjiri carpenters and woodcarvers.

Highlights for Viewing and Experiences

• ​Three-Screen Theater and Yarimawashi Footage​​: You can experience the power of the festival through immersive visuals in the three-screen theater and footage of the yarimawashi (high-speed turns around corners) performed in each district.
• ​Daikugata and Musical Instrument Experience​​: You can experience riding atop the large roof of a danjiri float, feeling like a daikugata (the roof dancers who are considered the stars of the festival). You can also enjoy actually playing the musical instruments (narimono) that enliven the festival.
• ​Danjiri Carvings​​: Intricate, bold carvings cover every side of the displayed danjiri floats. The carvings as a whole narrate stories like picture scrolls, rich in expression and full of dynamic energy.

Tips for Exploring

It is a 7-minute walk from Takojizo Station and about a 15-minute walk from Kishiwada Station on the Nankai Main Line. Kishiwada Castle is located about 230 meters to the east, and Kishiki-jinja Shrine, where the danjiri make their miyairi (shrine entry) during the festival, is about 400 meters away. A combined admission ticket that covers the Kishiwada Castle keep, the Kishiwada Danjiri Museum, and the Kishiwada Nature Museum is also available, which is convenient for combining with a stroll around the castle town. The historic streetscape along the Kishu Kaido Road can also be viewed from the street. The festival is held every year in September and October, depending on the district.