Ozagawari-sai Festival (Tsukubasan Shrine)

About

Held every year on April 1 and November 1, the grand festival of Tsukubasan Shrine is considered the biggest and most important of Mount Tsukuba's festivals. Tradition says the parent and child deities trade places between the summit sanctuary and the worship hall on the mountainside, one arrangement for summer and another for winter. The festival itself consists of three rites: renewing the deities' robes at the summit sanctuary, presenting offerings at the worship hall, and a procession in which the robes brought down from the summit are placed in a mikoshi and carried around the parish with prayers for local prosperity and peaceful homes. The sacred bridge given by the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and designated a prefectural cultural property, can be crossed only on these days. The festival was originally held at the winter and summer solstices.

Sources

• OfficialTsukubasan Shrine tsukubasanjinja.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.

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