murmurSaijo Matsuri
Saijo City · Throughout Saijo City
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Iyokan Net (Ehime Tourism and Products Association) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Oct 10, 2026 / Sun, Oct 11, 2026 / Wed, Oct 14, 2026 / Thu, Oct 15, 2026 / Fri, Oct 16, 2026 / Sat, Oct 17, 2026
- 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 Kamo Shrine festival falls on the two days before Sports Day; the Iwaoka, Isono and Iizumi shrine festivals keep the same dates every year between October 14 and 17
- Venue
- Throughout Saijo City
- City
- Saijo City, Ehime
About
In mid-October the streets of Saijo fill with floats for an autumn festival that brings together the annual rites of four shrines: Kamo, Iwaoka, Isono and Iizumi. The parish neighborhoods turn out more than a hundred danjiri, mikoshi and taikodai, often said to be the most of any festival in Japan. Floats carved with warriors, flowers and birds roll by in long lines to drums, bells and Ise-ondo singing. The biggest is the Isono Shrine festival, with over 80 floats; look for the pre-dawn departure from the shrine, the lantern-lit procession and the river entry on the Kamo River. The climax comes when the sacred palanquin tries to cross the river back to the shrine and the danjiri surround it in the water to hold it back. The festival is a harvest thanksgiving handed down since the Edo period. Each shrine has its own days, so check before you go.
Sources
- OfficialIyokan Net (Ehime Tourism and Products Association) www.iyokannet.jp
- OfficialSaijo City www.city.saijo.ehime.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.