Maihara Hikiyama Matsuri – Ehon Taikoki – Amagasaki Kankyo 米原曳山まつり 絵本太功記 – 尼ヶ崎閑居の場
Maihara Hikiyama Matsuri is a traditional float festival highlighted by child kabuki performed by local school boys in Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Held annually in mid-October during the three-day Sports Day holiday weekend from Saturday to Monday. Child kabuki actors are all boys around age 6 to 12. They perform on all three days of the festival.
The festival has three floats, and only one or two of the floats perform kabuki during the festival. The festival is held by Yutani Jinja, a Shinto Shrine in Maihara. The festival is held near JR Maibara Station’s east exit. Maibara is an easy day trip from Kyoto or Nagoya.
This video shows brief highlights of the three festival days. Then a complete version (70 min.) of the kabuki play titled “Ehon Taikoki – Amagasaki Kankyo” (Illustrated Chronicles of the Taiko Regent – At Amagasaki Hermitage, Act 10 絵本太功記 – 尼ヶ崎閑居の場) performed in October 2023 by the Asahiyama float.
More about the festival: https://shiga-ken.com/blog/2024/09/maihara-hikiyama-matsuri/