This festival, representing Nakatsu, a castle town of 100,000 koku, is held every year for three days from Friday to Sunday after July 20th with the purpose of praying for the warding off of plagues and good health. Both the Lower and Upper Gion combine, and gorgeously lacquered festival floats called "Gion-guruma" and portable shrines parade through the castle town of Nakatsu. At each intersection where tall ropes are stretched, elegant folk dances and other performances are dedicated on the stage of the festival floats. Within the shrine precincts, the approximately 4–5 meter high Gion-guruma are run with great vigor, which is why they are also called "running cultural assets."