murmurHitaka Hibuse Matsuri (Mizusawa Fire Prevention Festival)
Oshu City · Central Mizusawa, Oshu (Ote-dori and surrounding streets)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Oshu City · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Apr 25, 2026 （Ended） Opening rite on Ote-dori at 13:30; joint float performance in front of Mizusawa Station at 19:20
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late April
- How the date is set
- The last Saturday of April Main festival on the last Saturday of April; an eve-of-festival event may be held the day before in some years
- Venue
- Central Mizusawa, Oshu (Ote-dori and surrounding streets)
- City
- Oshu City, Iwate
About
Held in the streets of central Mizusawa in Oshu, this fire-prevention festival has more than 300 years of history and is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Iwate Prefecture. It is said to have begun when Date Munekage, lord of Mizusawa Castle, saw the terrible fires of Edo and, on returning home, prayed at the Hitaka Myoken and Mizuyama shrines to keep his town safe from fire. Each neighborhood parades its own hayashi yatai, a float painted in gold, vermilion and blue-green that carries shamisen players, drummers and flutists, alongside simpler drum floats played by children, firefighters twirling their matoi standards, and the old neighborhood banners. The highlight comes after dark, when the floats gather under paper lanterns to play together in the sorou-uchi, followed by the ai-uchi exchange that closes the night. Dance troupes of locals marking the traditionally unlucky ages of 42 and 25 add to the celebration.
Sources
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.