murmurSaito-sai Festival at Kashima Jingu Shrine
Kashima City · Kashima Jingu Shrine and the surrounding streets
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kashima City Board of Education · 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 March
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Since 2020 the morning departure rite is held on March 9, while the afternoon Saito-bayashi procession and the evening divination rite take place on the first Saturday on or after March 9 (if March 9 falls on a weekend, everything is held that day)
- Venue
- Kashima Jingu Shrine and the surrounding streets
- City
- Kashima City, Ibaraki
About
This spring festival centred on Kashima Jingu prays for abundant harvests and peace in the land. Of the fifty-plus districts north and south of the shrine, two are chosen each year by divination to serve as hosts, and they spend a whole year getting ready to present the Saito-bayashi. The sight to see is the participants marching through the streets with oak staves, chanting the festival's call in unison. Nobody knows exactly when it started, but the oldest record that can be confirmed dates to 1204, and in 1976 it became a nationally selected intangible folk cultural property under the name Kashima no Saito-sai. Formerly a rough festival for men only, it now includes women and children among the participants. The morning brings a send-off ceremony, the afternoon the Saito-bayashi as a victory return, and the evening a divination that decides the next year's hosts.
Sources
- OfficialKashima City Board of Education city.kashima.ibaraki.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.