murmurKokufudai Tsujikiri (Straw Serpent Ritual)
Ichikawa City · Kokufudai Tenman Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Chiba Prefectural Tourism Association (Chiba Tourism Navi) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Jan 17, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 17
- Venue
- Kokufudai Tenman Shrine
- City
- Ichikawa City, Chiba
About
On January 17 every year, Kokufudai Tenman Shrine in Ichikawa carries out a folk ritual known as tsujikiri, which uses spiritual power to cut off the four corners of the old village so that evil spirits and sickness cannot get in. Four straw serpents, each about 2 meters long, are brought to life with sacred sake and then tied to trees at 4 spots around the neighborhood. They stay there exposed to wind and rain until the next year, standing guard over the community. Anyone may watch, free of charge, and buses run to the shrine from JR Ichikawa Station.
Sources
- OfficialChiba Prefectural Tourism Association (Chiba Tourism Navi) maruchiba.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.