murmurShiraito Winter Purification (Kanmisogi)
Itoshima City · Kawatsuke River beside Kumano Shrine (Shiraito, Itoshima)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Itoshima City Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid December
- How the date is set
- The 3rd Saturday of December Late at night on the third Saturday of December
- Venue
- Kawatsuke River beside Kumano Shrine (Shiraito, Itoshima)
- City
- Itoshima City, Fukuoka
About
In the middle of a December night, men plunge into the Kawatsuke River, which flows down from Shiraito Falls beside Kumano Shrine in Itoshima, for a midwinter purification said to go back more than 300 years. With the water under 5 degrees Celsius, a crowd of men wearing only loincloths wade into the ritual pool and drench one another with gusto. Meanwhile, upstream, the toshiotoko (men born in the current zodiac year) wash rice, and how that rice cooks up is used to pray for good harvests and health in the coming year. On a freezing winter night, it is a chance to see the sheer grit of these men up close.
Sources
- OfficialItoshima City Tourism Association kanko-itoshima.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.