murmurMomote-sai Archery Rite (Itsukushima Shrine)
Hatsukaichi City · Omoto Shrine, Miyajima
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Miyajima Tourist 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 January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 20
- Venue
- Omoto Shrine, Miyajima
- City
- Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima
About
Every January 20, Omoto Shrine on Miyajima holds a New Year archery rite that merges Itsukushima Shrine's ceremonial first shooting of the year with Omoto Shrine's own target-shooting custom, called momote. The name means a hundred pairs: counting two arrows as one pair, the original ceremony involved 200 arrows. Once prayers have been read and food offerings made, priests shoot while taking stances for heaven, earth, left and right. On the back of the target is a demon-like character built from three characters, expressing the wish to avoid conflict from the start of the year. At the shared meal after the ceremony, guests are served hohan, a plain rice dish said to come from battlefield food of the Warring States period.
Sources
- OfficialMiyajima Tourist Association www.miyajima.or.jp
- 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.