Sendai Aoba Festival "Gokoku Hojodai" 2026

In May, when the zelkova trees lining the streets are enveloped in fresh greenery and Sendai becomes the most beautiful "City of Trees" of the year, the "Sendai Aoba Festival," which conveys the essence of Date culture to the present day, is held. Our Tohoku branch has been involved in the creation of the yamaboko (floats), the symbol of the festival, from the early stages, and even now, every year, our branch staff work together to support the procession.
Then, in 2026, the 12th float, the "Gokoku Hojo Yamahoko" (Harvest Float), was completed for this festival, the first new float in 31 years. The construction of a new float requires not only substantial costs but also the participation of over 100 people, including pullers and dancers, making the support of large organizations and companies deeply rooted in the community indispensable. This time, thanks to the cooperation of Iris Ohyama, who shared our vision, the new float has become a reality.

Our company was in charge of the design and production of this float. We began conceptualizing it in May 2024, and in 2025, at the request of Iris Ohyama, who wanted to share the float's progress with the local community, it participated in the procession in its unpainted, unfinished wooden state. After approximately two years of meticulous production, it has now been unveiled in its completed form.
 

*Event period: Every year on the third Sunday of May and the day before.

Iris Ohyama is a comprehensive company that operates a wide range of businesses. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, they entered the food business and have been supporting local life through milled rice, packaged rice, and drinking water. As a company rooted in Sendai and Miyagi, one of Japan's leading rice-producing regions, they wanted to "express their gratitude to Tohoku's agriculture and their wish for a bountiful harvest through the float." With this in mind, and in prayer for the further development of local industries, they requested the creation of a float with the theme of "Abundant Harvest."
Taking those sentiments into account, we designed the "Five Grains Bountiful Harvest Float" as a float that symbolizes the activities of people who cultivate abundant harvests, the bonds of the community, and hope for the future.

The decorative curtains hanging beneath the roofs of the floats (tenmizuhiki) depict the entire process of rice cultivation, from plowing and planting to harvesting and threshing, like an illustrated scroll, expressing gratitude for the harvest and hopes for a prosperous future. The spirit of "yui," the unity of people working together and supporting one another, is vividly present. Sparrows, inspired by the Date family crest "bamboo and sparrows" and the "Sendai Sparrow Dance," dance lightly around the ripening rice stalks, adding a warm and lively touch to the floats. Rice stalks and sparrows, symbols of abundance, are also depicted on the lower curtains (shitamizuhiki), weaving a single story together with the entire float. These decorative curtains are made by Nishijin weaving artisans who also create the floats for Kyoto's Gion Festival.
Furthermore, the decorative metalwork, featuring rice stalks and sparrows as motifs, was handcrafted by artisans in Asakusa. The meticulously crafted details imbue the pieces with a sense of life, as if the sparrows are about to take flight and the rice stalks are swaying in the wind.
The overall color scheme of the floats was designed to correspond with the red happi coats and flags worn by the pullers and dancers of Iris Ohyama Co., Ltd. The aim was to create a sense of unity that would envelop the entire town, with the people involved in the festival harmonizing with the floats.