murmurKangensai Music Festival at Itsukushima Shrine
Hatsukaichi City · Itsukushima Shrine and surrounding waters, Miyajima
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Miyajima Tourist Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Thu, Jul 30, 2026 （Ended） From the 15:00 opening rite until late night (times may change with the tide)
- 2027
- Tue, Jul 20, 2027 From the 15:00 opening rite until late night (times may change with the tide)
- Usual timing
- Usually late July
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held every year on the 17th day of the sixth lunar month
- Venue
- Itsukushima Shrine and surrounding waters, Miyajima
- City
- Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima
About
Held on June 17 of the old lunar calendar, when the tide runs high and the moon is bright, Kangensai is the biggest rite of Itsukushima Shrine and is meant to entertain its gods. Tradition credits Taira no Kiyomori with bringing the court nobility's custom of music-making on boats to Miyajima and setting it on the open sea. Proceedings begin with a departure rite at 3 p.m. The deity's palanquin is placed on a ceremonial boat that crosses, with court music playing, to Jigozen Shrine on the mainland, calls at Nagahama Shrine and Omoto Shrine, passes under the great torii, and returns to the shrine after dark. Lit by bonfires and lanterns, it looks straight out of a Heian-period scroll. The finale, when the boat turns three times in the cramped basin in front of the shrine, is met with loud cheers. The boat is towed by the Eba Kogi Tenma Preservation Society and the Aga Fisheries Cooperative.
Sources
- OfficialMiyajima Tourist Association www.miyajima.or.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.