Nada Fighting Festival (Matsubara Hachiman Shrine Autumn Festival)

About

Known as the Nada Fighting Festival, the autumn festival of Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in Shirahama, Himeji, is held on October 14 and October 15, and it gets its name from the way portable shrines are rammed into each other. On October 15, at an arena at the foot of Otabiyama hill, three portable shrines collide, followed by floats swaying colorful streamers as they move in one after another. The bearers begin that day by purifying themselves in the sea at dawn. On the eve, October 14, each district's float makes a round of its neighborhood and a local shrine before converging on Matsubara Hachiman, where teams heave them in front of the gate to shouts of "Yoiyasa!" The order of entry is said to be unchanged since the Edo period. The festival is an important intangible folk cultural property of Hyogo Prefecture and Himeji City, and Shirahamanomiya Station is about a five-minute walk away.

Sources

• OfficialHyogo Tourism Navi (Hyogo Tourism Bureau) www.hyogo-tourism.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

• Sakoshi Boat Festival
• Sone Tenmangu Autumn Festival
• Kinosaki Autumn Festival (Shisho Shrine Annual Festival)