murmurKutami Karakuri Festival
Yaotsu Town · Shinmei and Shirahige Shrines, Kutami
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Gifu Prefecture Tourism Federation (Gifu Travel Guide) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sun, Apr 19, 2026 （Ended） 9:00 to around 12:30
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid April
- How the date is set
- The 3rd Sunday of April
- Venue
- Shinmei and Shirahige Shrines, Kutami
- City
- Yaotsu Town, Gifu
About
On the third Sunday of April, the mountain village of Kutami in Yaotsu holds its festival at Shinmei Shrine and Shirahige Shrine, its guardian shrines. Six richly decorated floats are pulled out and move in a long procession that recalls a Heian picture scroll. The real draw is the inventive karakuri puppet theater on stages atop the floats. The puppets are operated with a distinctive technique called ito-giri karakuri, designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Gifu Prefecture. Legend has it that in 1590 the local lord Inaba Ukon Michikata had Kutami, a large settlement despite its mountain setting, begin a festival patterned on those of the capital. By car it is about 40 minutes from Kani-Mitake IC on the Tokai-Kanjo Expressway. Community buses do not run on weekends and holidays, so without a car you will need a taxi.
Sources
- OfficialGifu Prefecture Tourism Federation (Gifu Travel Guide) www.kankou-gifu.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.