Every year on February 10th and 11th, Fukushima-city comes to life with the Akatsuki-Mairi Festival. It is the giant straw sandal festival. The sandal, made especially for this festival, weighs 2 tons and is 12 meters in length. The sandal is paraded through the city by energetic youths dressed in traditional costume and taken to Haguro shrine as an offering on the top of Mt.Shinobu. It remains there for one year. People climb to Mt.Shinobu before dawn to pray for their family's health and prosperity. “Akatsuki” means “dawn” and “Mairi” means “pray” in Japanese.

Akatsuki-Mairi Festival is a traditional festival which comes down since Edo period for 300 years. According to a legend, there was a giant guardian statue in Haguro-shrine at the top of Mt.Shinobu. People offered a giant straw sandal for him. After that many people pray for good walker and health by offering straw sandal.

The festival is held in the coldest season every year. The winding road to Haguro shrine is a steep slope with snow. So it's very slippery. Men and women visiting Haguro shrine have much trouble. If they fall down, they have to hold other people's sleeves to support themselves. That provides them with chances to get know each other and consequently the festival brings an air of romance to everybody. That’s why the festival is very popular among young people.

Recently, the festival is also take place in the summer season as “Fukushima Waraji Festival”. “Waraji” means “a straw sandal” in Japanese. The festival is actively celebrated in August as one of the big five Festivals in Tohoku, northeastern Japan. Many people hit the streets and dance with music with cheerful sound and rhythm. Of course, this Summer Waraji Festival also gives young people a chance to get romance.

Why is this Festival called the Fighting Festival?
During the festival, six “mikoshi” (portable shrine) are drawn through the town streets.
In the closing stage of the festival, the portable shrines which are carried by many energetic bearers try to get ahead to enter the main shrine.
Then the other portable shrines try to stop the entrance in order not to end the festival.
As each potable shrines sometimes struggle against one another, the festival is also called the Fighting Festival.
The sound of the flute and drum music and the cheers of many spectators bring additional excitement to the Fighting Festival.
In the old times, the potable shrines were often destroyed and there were a few injuries in its excitement.

Iizaka Kenka-Matsuri has a 300-year tradition.
It is said that the festival was originally practiced as a part of Shinto rituals for agricultural fertility and the peace and security for people in ancient times.
Iizaka Kenka-Matsuri is one of the three biggest Fighting Festivals (Kishiwada, Kakunodate and Iizaka) in Japan. It rivals not only in size, but in spirit.