murmurHida Ikibina Matsuri (Living Hina Doll Festival)
Takayama City · Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Gifu no Tabi Guide (Gifu Prefecture Tourism Federation) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Fri, Apr 3, 2026 （Ended） 10:00–15:40 (procession from 13:00)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early April
- How the date is set
- Every year on April 3
- Venue
- Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Shrine
- City
- Takayama City, Gifu
About
Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Shrine holds a doll festival a month later than the rest of Japan, since spring arrives late in Hida. It began in 1952, when the doll festival was added to the region's spring festival for silk farming, and today it prays for good harvests across farming and for the happiness of women. The highlight is the procession of living dolls: 9 chosen women in Heian court dress play the emperor, empress, court ladies and others, and with red and blue demons in front and court musicians, children and shrine maidens behind, more than 100 people walk slowly along the roughly 900 m from the main approach into the shrine grounds. After the rites, the living dolls throw rice cakes from a stage, and diamond-shaped rice cakes and cocoon-shaped dumplings are handed out.
Sources
- OfficialGifu no Tabi Guide (Gifu Prefecture Tourism Federation) www.kankou-gifu.jp
- OfficialHida Ichinomiya Tourism Association hidamiya.com
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.