murmurOnisube Fire Rite at Dazaifu Tenmangu
Dazaifu City · Onisube Hall, Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Wed, Jan 7, 2026 （Ended） From around 21:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 7 Follows the Usokae rite, which starts at 18:00
- Venue
- Onisube Hall, Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine
- City
- Dazaifu City, Fukuoka
About
On the night of January 7, Dazaifu Tenmangu smokes out a demon in a fire festival meant to chase off misfortune and invite good luck for the year. Said to have been started in 986 by Sugawara no Sukemasa, a great-grandson of Sugawara no Michizane, it is an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Fukuoka Prefecture. About 300 parishioners split the roles, some as smokers hunting the demon and others as its guards, and they surge on the Onisube Hall shouting "Oni ja, oni ja!" Once heaps of pine needles and straw are set alight, attackers and defenders clash amid billowing smoke and flames. Usokae, the bullfinch-swapping rite, is held the same evening, so you can catch both.
Sources
- OfficialDazaifu Tenmangu Shrine www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp
- OfficialFukuoka Prefecture Tourism Association (Crossroad Fukuoka) www.crossroadfukuoka.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 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.