murmurOtaue-sai Rice Planting Festival at Katori Jingu Shrine
Katori City · Katori Jingu Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Chiba Tourism Navi (Chiba Prefectural Tourism and Products Association) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Apr 4–5, 2026 （Ended） From 13:00 (field-tilling rite on Saturday, rice-planting rite on Sunday)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early April
- How the date is set
- The 1st Saturday of April Field-tilling rite on the first Saturday of April, rice-planting rite on the following Sunday
- Venue
- Katori Jingu Shrine
- City
- Katori City, Chiba
About
Each spring, Katori Jingu holds this festival to pray for a rich harvest in the coming year. Along with those of Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka and Ise Jingu in Mie, it is ranked among Japan's three great rice-planting festivals, and historical records suggest it was already being held by 1391. It takes 2 days: a field-tilling ceremony on the first, and the planting ceremony on the second. For the planting, children and Shinto priests proceed along the approach to the sacred paddy, where saotome planting maidens and attendants set out seedlings in time with planting songs. It usually falls during cherry blossom season, so you can watch the age-old farming rite in grounds bright with flowers.
Sources
- OfficialChiba Tourism Navi (Chiba Prefectural Tourism and Products Association) maruchiba.jp
- OfficialKatori Jingu Shrine katori-jingu.or.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.