murmurMatsunami Doll Kiriko Festival
Noto Town · Central Matsunami district, Noto Town
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hot Ishikawa Travel Net (Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism League) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Jul 25, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late July
- How the date is set
- The 4th Saturday of July
- Venue
- Central Matsunami district, Noto Town
- City
- Noto Town, Ishikawa
About
In this summer festival in the Matsunami district of Noto Town, each neighbourhood mounts a handmade doll on the front of its kiriko lantern. Subjects range from historical scenes and folk tales to the year's big news, and every neighbourhood makes a fresh one each year, competing over whose is best. After rites at Matsunami Shrine around noon, the kiriko follow the mikoshi on a parade through town. For a close look at the dolls, go to the doll judging in the afternoon, when you can compare them all side by side. At night the lit kiriko converge on the central crossroads and take turns dancing wildly to drums, gongs and flutes, the illuminated dolls looking quite different from how they did by day. The festival wraps up with a triple round of ceremonial hand-clapping.
Sources
- OfficialHot Ishikawa Travel Net (Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism League) www.hot-ishikawa.jp
- OfficialJapan Heritage Noto Kiriko Festivals site (Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism League) notokiriko.ishikawa.jp
Last checked: Oct 11, 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.