Relishing Japan’s summer festivals and diverse culture at Tokyo National Museum

The hot summer is the time for matsuri or festivals, be they at Shintoist shrines, Buddhist temples or elsewhere in Japan. To keep up with the festivities, the Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo’s Ueno Park is throwing its own summer festival to let visitors inside after dark to enjoy watching taiko-drum and bon odori-dance stage performances, participating in hands-on cultural activities (trying calligraphy, for instance), and playing games, all in addition to viewing some of the magnificent artwork currently on display.

Night Festival at the Tokyo National Museum

Aug 27 (Tue) – Sep 1 (Sun), 2024

Tokyo National Museum
(Ueno Park, Tokyo)

*See outline below for details

Visitors to “Night Festival at the Tokyo National Museum,” the nocturnal event set to start at 6:00 p.m. every evening from Aug. 27 to Sept. 1 (2024), will be admitted to “Jingoji: The Dawn of Shingon Buddhism,” a special exhibition featuring the treasures of the esoteric Jingo-ji temple (Kyoto) now running in the galleries of Heiseikan, as well as the museum’s regular exhibition of Japanese artworks and relics in the Honkan (Japanese Gallery) main building.

Read more about the special exhibition:
“Jingoji: The Dawn of Shingon Buddhism”

Aside from normal business, visitors can move to ad hoc venues on the premises to view festive stage performances and take part in cultural activities. You can also play games and have snacks associated with Japan’s summer festivals. Kitchen cars will be parked within the grounds to offer food and drinks.

The Nishimonai bon odori to be staged in front of the Honkan entrance on the night of Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 is a must-see. Perfomed around a bonfire by dancers in patchwork costumes or black hoods, the ritual dance of Ugo in Akita Prefecture is said to be one of the three major bon odori (dances performed during the bon season, when ancestors are commemorated) of Japan and is listed as one of the furyu odori (ritual folk dances) designated as UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage in 2022.

Other stage performances included those by “Amanojaku,” a group of wadaiko (traditional Japanese drum) performers based in Tokyo (Aug. 27 and Aug. 28), and “Kokushimusou,” a group of dance performers dedicated to presenting the Yosakoi Naruko Dance of Kochi Prefecture with their wooden naruko clappers in hand.

What you can do at Night Festival:

— See the special exhibition “Jingoji: The Dawn of Shingon Buddhism” in the Heiseikan

— See Tokyo National Museum’s regular exhibitions in the Honkan (Japanese Gallery)

— See taiko-drum and bon odori-dance stage performances

— Participate in Japanese culture workshops (calligraphy, designing using traditional patterns, making netsuke) at the Heiseikan lounge

— Play games (shateki shooting, pinball-like Smartball, bouncy-ball scooping, ring toss) near the Heiseikan entrance

— Try on happi coats

— Savor wata ame cotton candy and shaved ice

At the Heiseikan lounge, visitors can learn how to design fans using traditional patterns or make netsuke (miniature sculptures), and even experience calligraphy. At the ennichi (refers to holy days when festivals are held) area set in front of the Heiseikan, you can learn how to make furin wind chimes and paint Shirakawa Daruma dolls (traditional handicraft of Shirakawa in Fukushima Prefecture), among other things.

You can play games such as shateki shooting and ring toss in the area and savor the wata ame cotton candy and shaved ice served at demise stalls.