Donden-kan

　A ‘Yama’ procession held as part of the Inuyama Festival, which takes place on the first Saturday and Sunday of April each year. It is the festival of Haritsuna Shrine, situated at the foot of Inuyama Castle, and is said to have been held continuously since 1635. Thirteen ‘Yama ’ floats, each weighing over 3 tonnes and kept in the neighbourhood by the parishioners of Haritsuna Shrine, are paraded through the town; during the procession, the floats are lifted and turned around. This manoeuvre is known as ‘donden’, and the Donden-kan—which takes its name from this tradition—houses four 8-metre-high floats on display.

　The defining feature of the Inuyama Festival’s ‘Yama’ is, without a doubt, the mechanical puppets. Adorned with metalwork, carvings and mother-of-pearl inlay, the ‘Yama’ have a three-tiered structure comprising the ‘Uwayama’ (upper tier), ‘Nakayama’ (middle tier) and ‘Shitayama’ (lower tier), which serve as the stage for the mechanical puppets, the area for the puppeteers and the performance area, respectively.

　Admission to the Donden-kan, where you can view these floats up close, costs just 100 yen. It is one of the places you simply must not miss when visiting Inuyama.