For the first time ever, a beautiful yatai, or float, from Denver’s sister city in Japan, Takayama, will participate in the annual Parade of Lights through downtown Denver past the City and County Building, which is broadcast by KUSA 9News. (The Parade starts at 6 pm Saturday Dec. 7.)
The yatai float is a famous feature of the Spring and Fall Matsuri, or Festivals, in Takayama. Takayama’s festival is considered one of the three most beautiful in Japan, after Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri and Chichibu’s Yomatsuri. The yatai that are paraded through the city represent neighborhoods and are maintained by the residents in those parts of town. They’re amazingly elaborate floats on wheels that are decorated with intricate carvings, precise woodwork and gorgeous paint and lacquerware – all hallmarks of the city of Takayama’s artisan aesthetic traditions. Some of the yatai are up to 400 years old, built in the 17th century.
Although Denver’s slightly downsized yatai is making its debut in the 2024 Parade of Lights, it’s not new to Denver. Takayama had it built and shipped to Colorado in 1964, and it was featured that year in a parade through downtown Denver to celebrate the Denver-Takayama relationship. Now, 60 years later, the yatai is making its reappearance in a downtown Denver parade.
It's had a long, strange trip in the intervening years. The Denver yatai was on display in an enclosed case at Sakura Square after 1976, but was water damaged and repaired. In 2015, it was moved and stored at Asahi Foods, a wholesale supplier to Denver-area Japanese restaurants. In 2019, the Takayama committee disassembled the yatai, loaded it onto a truck, and moved it to Geotech, where it's been stored since in the company's spacious warehouse.
At GeoTech, work began to restore the yatai back to its original pristine condition. A small crew of volunteers from the Takayama committee gathered to paint and remove damaged boards to prep the yatai for serious, detailed Takayama-style repairs. A delegation of students and professors from Takayama Technical High School were sent from Japan, and with Denver workers, brought the yatai back to life.
There will once again be a delegation from Takayama coming to Denver to help with any last-minute restorations and adjustments to the float to have it ready to participate in the Parade of Lights. Four students from the Takayama Technical High School are coming, along with two teachers who'll supervise their work. Member of the Takayama Denver Friendship Association, the Japanese counterparts to the Denver Takayama Sister City Committee, will also be on hand, along with representatives of the City of Takayama Mayor's Office. Members of the Takayama delegation will march with the yatai in traditional (winter) dress, and accompany it with traditional music.
The Parade of Lights will reaffirm the close ties our two cities have had since the Sister City relationship was formed way back in 1960.
Next year, we'll commemorate the 65th anniversary of our partnership in style, with a Taste of Japan Festival and a weeklong celebration of Japanese culture and cuisine, with the spotlight on the traditions of Takayama and Gifu Prefecture (state).
