murmurHiraizumi Mizukake Mikoshi (Water-Splashing Portable Shrine Parade)
Hiraizumi Town · Central Hiraizumi, from the Kanjizaio-in Temple ruins via Motsuji Temple and Hiraizumi Station to Chusonji Temple
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hiraizumi Tourism Association · 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 July
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Listed by the Hiraizumi Tourism Association as mid-July
- Venue
- Central Hiraizumi, from the Kanjizaio-in Temple ruins via Motsuji Temple and Hiraizumi Station to Chusonji Temple
- City
- Hiraizumi Town, Iwate
About
Every summer the World Heritage town of Hiraizumi turns lively with this community-run portable shrine parade. It grew out of the procession held at the Hiraizumi festival of September 1995, when the water-splashing mikoshi of Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine in Fukagawa, Tokyo, was invited to town; a few months later local young people formed the Hiraizumi Mikoshi-kai to carry a shrine of their own. The route runs from the ruins of Kanjizaio-in past Motsuji Temple and Hiraizumi Station up to Chusonji Temple. Spectators along the way drench the bearers with purifying water, and shouts of “wasshoi, wasshoi” echo through the streets – a joyful, soaking contrast to the town's usual calm.
Sources
- OfficialHiraizumi Tourism Association hiraizumi.or.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.