Hikone Castle Festival Till November 25th

Posted by Kyle Yates in Kansai Area News, Kansai Culture

Hikone Castle will feature various events to mark its 400th anniversary this year through to November 25th. There will be rare public openings of castle facilities and precious artifacts.

Hikone Castle and Hikone Castle Museum will be the main venues for the festival. A three-storied military tower and two other facilities will be open throughout the year except on select dates.

On May 30th, there will be an exhibition by world-renowned designer Emi Wada and another exhibition of dolls created by Hiroshi Hori will be displayed from September 1st to November 25th.

A six-panel screen bearing a genre painting will be on display September 28th to October 26th. The screen display is one of eight museum themes presented throughout the year. The other seven are armor and battle related items (to April 20th), the history of the castle and town (April 21 to May 18th), swords (May 19th to June 15th), Ii Naosuke’s decision to open the country (June 16th to July 20th), a tea ceremony (July 21st to August 24th), noh costumes and masks (August 25th to September 27th) and the transition from wartime to peace (October 27th to November 25th).

Buses will be available and tour popular spots in the city on March 31st and April 1st to November 25th. Guided tours in English are available for a fee of 1000 yen from JR Hikone Station by reservation at least a week in advance. Call (0749) 22-2954