murmurMorioka Hadaka-mairi (Midwinter Pilgrimage)
Morioka City · Morioka Hachimangu Shrine and other shrines and temples in Morioka
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Morioka Convention and Visitors Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Thu, Jan 15, 2026 （Ended） Groups leave from Park Heights Sakanacho for Morioka Hachimangu at 16:30 and 16:40
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 15 Held on the evening of Morioka Hachimangu's year-end festival; other shrines and temples hold theirs on other days that month. Whether it goes ahead is decided shortly beforehand
- Venue
- Morioka Hachimangu Shrine and other shrines and temples in Morioka
- City
- Morioka City, Iwate
About
Hadaka-mairi is a midwinter act of devotion handed down in Morioka since the days of the Nanbu domain. Young men from each neighborhood purify themselves in the bath, then set out barefoot in straw sandals, with sacred straw ropes on their backs, headbands, kendaiwara straw wrapped around the waist and a paper gag holding a chili pepper in their mouths. Led by tall lanterns, each procession includes bell ringers, lantern bearers, men purifying the street with long poles called hasami, and bearers of offerings, all advancing with a distinctive wide, side-to-side stride. They pray for a safe year, and those in unlucky years seek to shed their misfortune. The best known is held on the evening of Morioka Hachimangu's year-end festival, with others at Sakurayama Shrine, Sakekai Jizo and elsewhere on different days. Crossing through a procession is believed to break the prayer, so wait for each group to pass before crossing the street.
Sources
- OfficialMorioka Convention and Visitors Association www.odette.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.