The Tatemon Festival is one of the main events that takes place during the Jantokoi Festival. The “Tatemon” is a tall pole, approximately 16 meters in height, with over 90 paper lanterns hanging from it in a triangle-shaped arrangement. Below that, a picture frame is attached. The Tatemon is positioned on a 10-meter-tall, 5-ton sleigh platform. This boat-shaped “manto” float is then pulled around by roughly 80 people.

The origin of the Tatemon Festival can be traced back about 300 years ago, when the shrine parishioners prayed for a big catch of fish and safety at sea. Also, each neighborhood would hang paper lanterns from platforms and carry them around the area. Over time, the number of lanterns increased; by the Meiji Era, there were 25 lanterns, and at the beginning of the Taisho Era, there were 50 lanterns. The number of lanterns continued to increase until it became what it is today.

In 1955, at the Suwa Shrine, the sandy beach and sea could be seen right before your eyes. At that time, the Tatemon was said to have been pulled across that sandy beach, and that’s the reason for its sleigh platform. The Kamogawa River can be found on the southern side of the Suwa Shrine, and now, a narrow river also flows on the northern side. It is said that the townspeople would cross both sides of the river in order to perform the Tatemon ceremonial dance.