murmurAko Gishi-sai (Loyal Retainers Festival)
Ako City · Ako Castle ruins, Oshiro-dori and around Ikitsugi Hiroba
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Ako City · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Mon, Dec 14, 2026 Around 10:00–16:00 (planned)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid December
- How the date is set
- Every year on December 14
- Venue
- Ako Castle ruins, Oshiro-dori and around Ikitsugi Hiroba
- City
- Ako City, Hyogo
About
On December 14 each year, Ako marks the day its loyal retainers carried out their raid, and the result is the city's largest event of the year. The star attraction is the Gishi procession, a re-creation of the forty-seven retainers marching toward Sengakuji Temple that makes the street look like a Genroku-era picture scroll. Other parades act out the chain of events that led the retainers to avenge their lord, Asano Takumi no Kami. Around the Ako Castle ruins, Oshiro-dori and Ikitsugi Hiroba you'll find food stalls, plus a market selling specialties from towns tied to the Chushingura story. Events generally run from 10:00 to around 16:00.
Sources
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.
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.