murmurSawara Grand Festival (Summer)
Katori City · Around Yasaka Shrine and the Ono River, Sawara Honjuku district
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Chiba Prefectural Tourism and Products Association (Chiba Kanko Navi) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Jul 10–12, 2026 （Ended） Floats are pulled 10:00–22:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid July
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Usually the first Friday to Sunday on or after July 10; held rain or shine
- Venue
- Around Yasaka Shrine and the Ono River, Sawara Honjuku district
- City
- Katori City, Chiba
About
The Gion festival of Yasaka Shrine, held each July, is the summer half of the Sawara Grand Festival, one of the three great float festivals of the Kanto region. With about 300 years of tradition, it is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan and inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Ten floats from the Honjuku district are pulled past the eaves of old merchant houses that still recall the Edo period, accompanied by Sawara-bayashi, counted among Japan's three great festival music styles. The massive floats, carved in the Kanto style, are crowned with some of Japan's largest festival dolls, made by Edo- and Meiji-era doll makers. On certain days, teams show off maneuvers such as the no-no-ji mawashi spin in the kyokubiki performance. It is usually held over 3 days, Friday to Sunday, on or after July 10, from 10:00 to 22:00.
Sources
- OfficialChiba Prefectural Tourism and Products Association (Chiba Kanko 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.