murmurHanamaki Matsuri
Hanamaki City · Festival plaza around Kamicho, central Hanamaki, and nearby streets
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hanamaki Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sep 11–13, 2026 （Ended） 15:00–21:00 (varies by day)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid September
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Usually a Friday to Sunday in mid-September
- Venue
- Festival plaza around Kamicho, central Hanamaki, and nearby streets
- City
- Hanamaki City, Iwate
About
With a history stretching back more than 430 years, Hanamaki's autumn festival is famous for its ornate floats lit by flickering acetylene lamps rather than electric bulbs, with over ten groups pulling them through town to the strains of Hanamaki-bayashi music. Portable shrines joined in 1927, and old-style shrines made from sake barrels still appear; in 2015 the festival set a world record for the number of portable shrines shown at one venue. You can also see shishi odori deer dancers beating drums strapped to their bellies, gongen-mai kagura with the lion-like guardian snapping its golden teeth, and hundreds of dancers moving to Hanamaki-bayashi, music descended from Kyoto's Gion festival tradition.
Sources
- OfficialHanamaki Tourism Association www.kanko-hanamaki.ne.jp
- OfficialHanamaki Tourism Association www.kanko-hanamaki.ne.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.