Want to become a Samurai warrior for a day?

Please Join Us at “Hojo Ujiteru Festival 2019”!

Dress up as a Samurai and join our Samurai parade!

Scedule: October 27th (Sunday)　About between 10:00am-4:00pm

Location: Moto-hachioji area, Hachioji City, Tokyo

Costume: We will provide a set of Samurai outfit for you.

Fee: No Charge for the Participation

☆The Number of Armors are limited, Application will Be Accepted on A First-Come-First-Served Basis

☆Please apply via e-mails.

☆All applicants’ names and e-mail addresses are necessary to apply.

☆Contact: Yuko Takayama 

☆ If you have any questions, please contact Yuko Takayama via e-mail.

Organized by NPO group: Hachioji Castle Ruins Mitsu Uroko Club

About Hojo Ujiteru:

Hojo Ujiteru was a Samurai lord during Japanese Warring States Period. Hojos were one of the major Samurai lord family at that time and Ujiteru was the third son of the head of Hojos. His main castle was set up in Hachioji area and his territory extended to current Saitama prefecture at its peak. In the 1580s, he moved to Hachioji Castle (near the current Takao town) from Takiyama Castle. However, a few years later it fell on a single day and Ujiteru was died in 1590.

Local Samurai Parade with hand-crafted Samurai Armor

Do you have any plan for this weekend?

Annual Hojo Ujiteru Festival will take place on October 28^th, Sunday. This festival is a kind of new local event and it is the 7th year of the festival. The locals in Hachioji city started this festival to commemorate a Samurai lord "Ujiteru Hojo" who ruled the area in the Middle Ages. They hand-crafted Samurai armor and ancient style kimono by themselves and use them for the Samurai Parade of this Festival. It is difficult to tell by the looks, but some of the handmade armor was made with iron, same as in the Middle Ages, and weigh about 30kg!

In addition, every year some Samurai Parade groups from Kanagawa prefecture and Saitama prefecture join this festival, because the areas were ruled by the brothers of Ujiteru Hojo. Hojo Family was a powerful Samurai lord family in the Middle Ages and apparently the family bond was very strong. Then, locals from the areas started to unite again through local Samurai Parades. Now folks from Hachioji also join the events in towns connected to Ujiteru's brothers.

Since this festival is relatively new and held in local area of Hachioji, not so many people rush to the festival every year. So, you can enjoy magnificent Samurai parade and more performances without a crowd!

October 28^th (Sunday)

From 12:15 pm to 3:30 pm

The Samurai Parade marches between Seisa Kokusai High School and Moto-hachioji Elementary School in Motohachioji area.

         Performances will take place on the school ground of Moto-hachioji Elementary School. (At Moto-hachioji Elementary School ground, there will be some food stalls.)

Please Join Us at “Hojo Ujiteru Festival”!

Want to become a Samurai warrior for a day?　

Dress up as a Samurai and join our Samurai parade!

“Hojo Ujiteru Festival” is one of the annual local festivals in Hachioji City, Tokyo. Hojo Ujiteru was a historical Samurai lord in the 16^th century who ruled Hachioji area, and people can participate in the parade wearing Samurai outfits at the festival.

Date: October 22nd　(Sunday)　　　　　　　　　

Time: 10:00am-4:00pm

Location: Moto-hachioji area, Hachioji City, Tokyo

No Charge for Participation

☆Applications must be received by October 15th

Please apply via e-mails from my contact page

All applicants’ names and e-mail addresses are necessary to apply.

Contact: Yuko Takayama

 If you want to participate in the festival, or have any questions, please contact us via e-mail. We will provide you with the Samurai outfit. 

About Hojo Ujiteru:

Hojo Ujiteru was a Samurai lord during Japanese Warring States Period. Hojos were one of the major Samurai lord family at that time and Ujiteru was the third son of the head of Hojos. His main castle was set up in Hachioji and His territory extended to current Saitama prefecture at its peak. In the 1580s, he moved to Hachioji Castle which was newly built on Mt.Fukasawa (near the current Takao town, Hachioji city) because the location was naturally impregnable. However, a few years later it fell on a single day and Ujiteru was died in 1590

People Enjoy Seeing Samurai Performance at Mejiro-dai Festival In Hachioji City

July and August are actually neighborhood festival months in Japan. In residential areas, traditionally people organize neighborhood communities in every several blocks called "Chonai-kai". These "Chonai-kai" communities usually manage local activities such as festivals, and public space clean-up in the community, and share information. 

In Mejiro-dai area in Hachioji City, people hold a neighborhood festival called Mejiro-dai Festival in every summer. Food stalls are prepared by local shops and restaurants, and Mikoshi (portable shrine) parade and performances by local people take place at the festival.  In addition to the typical festival types of performances, people have a Samurai performance as shown in the photo.

The people showing the performance are members of a local NPO group at Hachioji Castle Ruins, which is one of the major historical site of the Warring States period in Tokyo. They have Samurai performances at various events and sometimes hold workshops such as "Handmade Samurai armor" for kids.

Their armors are all handmade. Each person in the Samurai group made their own armor. Due to limitations on maerial availability and usability, various types of material were used to make armor such as plastic, aluminum and steel plates for the body of armor, and leather, cloth, strings and old kimono for the accessories. 

For example, the person's armor show in the lower photos is made of steel. He said that it took about a year to complete it and as you can see in the photos he used lots of small steel plates and small steel rings to assemble his armor. Since he wanted to have a very real one he tried to make it in the same way Samurai armors were made in old times. The chain mail for the arms are made of small steel rings and he connected them one by one. Apparently the total weight of this armor is 30 kg (about 66 lb).

Of course most people in the group chose lighter types of material to be able to walk and move easily. However it sounds interesting to be able to experience the real heaviness of a Samurai armor. He can feel how tough the real Samurai soldiers were in old times. That would be cool!

This year, in 2017, the Mejiro-day Festival will be held on July 15th and 16th.

Annual Local Festival In Hachioji City, Hojo Ujiteru Festival Took Place Last Weekend

As I introduced on October 15th, Annual Hojo Ujiteru Festival took place on October 23rd. I have written about this festival in my previous post last year on October 24th, and Hachioji local people started this festival to commemorate a Samurai lord "Ujiteru Hojo" who ruled the area in the Middle Ages. So this festival is a kind of new local event and it was the fifth festival this year.

Many local people wore Samurai armor which they made by themselves and walked in a parade in Moto-hachioji area and gathered at a local elementary school ground. Some Samurai related performances are showed and those who joined the festival parade enjoyed them in their armor. In the lower photos above, it seems like the school ground was completely covered by an uncommon atmosphere back to the Middle Ages, but on the edge of the ground there are many tents selling food and drinks for just a couple of dollars. The food and drinks were provided by the neighborhood people and they cooked behind these tents, so it also looked like a typical old-fashioned neighborhood event in a local community. 

It may look less elaborate and dynamic than famous major historic festivals. However visitors can enjoy the festival with more relaxed and friendly air and everybody can go really close to the parade and performers. It would be a big strong point of this festival.

In addition, same as the last year, a couple of groups from Kanagawa prefecture and Saitama prefecture joined this festival, because these areas had been ruled by the brothers of Ujiteru Hojo. Hojo Family was a powerful Samurai lord family in the Middle Ages until they were destroyed by another strong Samurai lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Apparently the family bond was very strong in Hojo Family, then in these areas related to Hojo family local people started to be united again through their local events recently. Now Hachioji people also join some events in Ujiteru's brothers' area.

What's more, this year Hachioji City Tokyo, Odawara City in Kanagawa prefecture, and Yorii Town in Saitama prefecture officially became sister cities because of the historical relation of Hojo Family. Seems like a mingling between the local people in the areas related Hojo Family is now becoming a bigger stream!

Special One Day Event on Sep 25th in Hachioji City Tokyo!

I'd like to introduce a special one day event. It will take place at Hachioji Castle Ruins on coming September 25th (Sun)! 
You can wear Samurai armor replicas (adult and kids sizes available) and actually walk into the castle ruins. It's a great chance to enjoy the feeling of a Samurai!

Website of the host organization (Hachioji Castle Mitsu Uroko Club) is here (mostly in Japanese)
Would you like to apply now? Click here for sending a mail!

Free Hachioji Castle Tours For English Speakers

Are you and your family interested in Japanese Castle Ruins or Samurai lords? I'd like to introduce an exciting free tour in Hachioji City here!

【Hachioji Castle Ruins & Samurai Armor Dress Up】

 In the 1580s, Hachioji Castle was built on Mt.Fukasawa (near current Takao town, Hachioji city) by the Samurai lord Ujiteru Hojo. The location was naturally impregnable so Ujiteru believed his castle was safe against enemies. However, just few years later the most powerful Samurai lord at that time attacked the castle during Ujiteru’s absence, and it fell in only one day. Although the castle buildings were completely destroyed, with its well preserved ruins Hachioji Castle was chosen as one of The 100 Best Castles by the Japanese government and now it is one of a castle fans’ must-see-spots. Also it is a nice place for nature lovers due to its mountainous locale. 

We, Hachioji Castle Mitsu Uroko Club, would like to invite you to participate in a trial tour in preparation for some future events. An English speaking guide will take you to look around Hachioji Castle Ruins. After the tour you can try out Samurai armor replicas (adult and kids sizes available) and feel like a Samurai!At the end of the tour, we would like to ask you to give feedback by completing a survey. 

Duration: 60-90 minutes plus ‘Dress Up’
Group size: max 5-6 people
Please contact in advance to arrange the schedule.

If you want to apply to the tour or have any inquiries about it, please feel free to contact from the contact page on this website! (You can also use my gmail address:  yokatakayama0110@)
(There is another article about Hachioji Castle in my previous post.)

In addition, you would be able to find more info written by a native English speaker at this site "Jcastle-The Guide to Japanese Castle"!


Also, The website of "Hachioji Castle Mitsu Uroko Club" is here!

A Special Event To Try Replica Samurai Armor Set At A Local Museum

I wrote about some advantages of local museums in my previous post on May 16th. This post is also about local museums. There was a very interesting one-day event at a local small museum in West Tokyo recently although the event wasn't widely known.

At the event visitors could experience wearing a replica armor set which is shown in the upper left hand side photo. This replica armor was made of metal so that people can feel the real weight of Samurai armor. What's more, it wasn't only wearing an armor. There were also strings and pads for shoulders, arms and legs to attach under metal armor as you can see in the upper center and right hand side photos. So it was like a full set of Samurai soldiers' outfits.

There were more items such as a replica Samurai sword and a flag to show which Samurai lord to belong. Then after put everything on, becoming like a Samurai foot soldier as shown in the lower left hand side photo. 

Moreover, after enjoyed trying Samurai armor replica, museum staff brought out one of their real Samurai armors and showed to people as in lower center and right hand side photos. It would be also a rare opportunity to see a real armor so closely although it was just a general armor and wasn't owned by any famous historical person or any lord class people. People could take a look all the parts from every angles and enjoyed seeing how elaborate the metalworking and the craftsmanship were.

Unfortunately this was a one-day special event, however if you are interested in trying this kind of Samurai armor replicas, please feel free to contact me.