Sendai's Festivals: From Tanabata to the Pageant of Starlight
A year in Sendai is colored by season-by-season festivals and signature scenes.
From summer Tanabata to winter illuminations, the whole city becomes a stage.
We introduce the leading festivals along with when they're held and what to look for.
Annual Events That Color the City of Trees
The Tanabata Festival in summer, the Aoba Festival and sparrow dance in spring, and the Pageant of Starlight and Donto-sai in winter color Sendai's year.
Sendai Tanabata Festivalせんだいたなばたまつり
One of the Three Great Festivals of Tohoku, held every year from August 6 to 8. Lavish bamboo decorations and streamers fill the shopping arcades.
Source:せんだい旅日和（仙台観光情報サイト）
The seven decorationsななつかざり
Seven kinds: paper strips, paper kimono, folded cranes, drawstring purses, cast nets, scrap baskets, and streamers. Each carries a wish for things such as good health or thriving business.
Source:せんだい旅日和（仙台観光情報サイト）
Sendai Aoba Festivalせんだいあおばまつり
A spring festival held in memory of Masamune. It bustles with a grand procession of festival floats and the lively Suzume Odori (sparrow dance).
Source:せんだい旅日和（仙台観光情報サイト）
Suzume Odori (sparrow dance)すずめおどり
A bouncing dance said to have begun when the stonemasons who built Sendai Castle's stone walls danced on the spur of the moment.
Source:せんだい旅日和（仙台観光情報サイト）
SENDAI Pageant of Starlightせんだいひかりのぺーじぇんと
A winter tradition that began in 1986. The zelkova trees lining Jozenji-dori glow with countless lights.
Source:SENDAI光のページェント 公式
Donto-saiどんとさい
A Little New Year rite of burning New Year's decorations. The Matsutaki Festival at Osaki Hachimangu is also known for its naked pilgrimage in white robes.
Source:国宝 大崎八幡宮
FAQ
Why is Sendai Tanabata held in August?
It is observed a month behind, on August 6 to 8, so the timing falls close to the old lunisolar Tanabata of July 7.
Where can you see the Suzume Odori?
It is performed mainly at the Sendai Aoba Festival in May. A highlight is the sight of citizen dance troupes called "matsuri-ren" weaving through the streets.