murmurKashima Jingu Shinko-sai Procession and Chochin-machi Lantern Rite
Kashima City · Kashima Jingu Shrine (grounds and Omachi-dori approach)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kashima Jingu Shrine · 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 early September
- How the date is set
- Every year on September 1 The lantern rite starts around 16:30 and the procession at 20:00. In horse years (every 12 years, e.g. 2026) the Ofune-sai boat festival follows over the next days
- Venue
- Kashima Jingu Shrine (grounds and Omachi-dori approach)
- City
- Kashima City, Ibaraki
About
On September 1, as part of Kashima Jingu's annual festival, the shrine holds an evening of rites in two parts. First comes Chochin-machi at dusk: small lanterns from local homes and a dozen or so giant lanterns offered by Ofunatsu and other districts and groups light the deity's path. Each giant lantern is a pole of green bamboo hung with hundreds of lanterns; after being paraded along Omachi-dori and nearby streets, they are thrown onto a burning pile of straw in front of the tower gate. At 8 pm the Shinko-sai begins. Bearers from the Hirai district carry the mikoshi out of the main hall, escorted by Kashima Shinto-ryu swordsmen and mounted archers, and a long line of priests and parishioners follows it through the tower gate, the great torii and Omachi-dori until it is placed in a temporary shrine beside the gate. The time between the Shinko-sai and the Angu-sai is regarded as the closest worshippers can come to the deity all year.
Sources
- OfficialKashima Jingu Shrine kashimajingu.jp
- OfficialKashima Jingu Shrine kashimajingu.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.