murmurTsuzureko Shrine Grand Festival (Tsuzureko Giant Drums)
Kitaakita City · Tsuzureko Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kitaakita City · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid July
- How the date is set
- Every year, July 14 – July 15 Held rain or shine
- Venue
- Tsuzureko Shrine
- City
- Kitaakita City, Akita
About
Said to date back to 1262, this festival in the Tsuzureko district of Kitaakita is a thunderous offering of giant drums. The two neighborhoods of Kamimachi and Shimomachi, cast as the Tokugawa and Toyotomi sides, take turns each year presenting their great drums to Tsuzureko Shrine with prayers to drive off pests, bring rain and secure a good harvest. Watching several huge drums pounded as they are paraded through the village is unforgettable, and lion dances and yakko dances are performed at the shrine. A drum 3.71 m across was entered in Guinness World Records in 1989, and the largest drum today measures 3.8 m. The 14th is the eve festival with an evening procession; the main day on the 15th opens with a hot-water divination rite, followed by the procession, offerings and dances around the village.
Sources
- OfficialKitaakita City www.city.kitaakita.akita.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.