Kaga-tobi Dezomeshiki Festival

The Kaga-tobi Dezomeshiki Festival (加賀とび), held annually in January at Kanazawa Castle, is an exhilarating event that showcases the courage and skill of over a thousand local firefighters. This thrilling festival is most famous for the dezomeshiki, where firefighters perform incredible acrobatic stunts while balancing atop tall ladders. Despite the freezing temperatures of Ishikawa’s winter, the participants, dressed in minimal traditional attire, demonstrate their bravery, sometimes enduring being soaked by water hoses as they climb, leap, and maneuver with precision.

The roots of this spectacular tradition date back to the Edo period (1603-1867), when firefighting teams would work under the leadership of a commander atop a ladder, shouting orders as they battled flames. One of the highlights of the festival is the display of matoi—Edo-period flags adorned with gold leaf, used historically to signal that a fire was being extinguished. Each team carries a unique matoi, adding a historical and ceremonial element to the thrilling, high-energy performance, making it a fascinating blend of tradition, spectacle, and bravery.