murmurIwanuma Lion Dance at Mimusubi Shrine
Chosei Village · Mimusubi Shrine (Chosei Village Cultural Hall if it rains)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Chosei Village · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Oct 17, 2026 Lion dance offering 18:00–21:00 (planned)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year The Saturday closest to October 19 each year
- Venue
- Mimusubi Shrine (Chosei Village Cultural Hall if it rains)
- City
- Chosei Village, Chiba
About
At the autumn festival of Mimusubi Shrine in Iwanuma, Chosei Village, a lion dance designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Chiba Prefecture is offered to the gods. Danced on a temporary stage in the shrine grounds to flute, drums, hand drum and conch shell, it asks for the parishioners' safety, rich harvests and protection from epidemics. According to tradition, the festival used to feature a mikoshi, but in a year when someone was hurt it was buried in the ground, and the lion dance has been offered ever since. The program includes the Wate dance, the Shitate Yotsuashi dance and the Turtle dance, showing a turtle climbing onto land, along with The Battles of Coxinga, a kabuki-style piece performed by children, and the comic torisashi and manzai. The show-stopper is the closing Rangyoku dance, in which 2 lions climb a huge ladder and perform stunts some 8 meters above the ground.
Sources
- OfficialChosei Village www.vill.chosei.chiba.jp
- OfficialChiba Prefectural Tourism & Local Products Association (Maruchiba) maruchiba.jp
- Reference岩沼の獅子舞／千葉県 www.pref.chiba.lg.jp
Last checked: Oct 11, 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.