murmurHatsu-Tokasai (Hatsu-Konpira) at Kotohira-gu
Kotohira Town · Main Shrine (Gohongu), Kotohira-gu
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kotohira-gu Shrine · Last checked: Oct 11, 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 early January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 10
- Venue
- Main Shrine (Gohongu), Kotohira-gu
- City
- Kotohira Town, Kagawa
About
At Kotohira-gu, the shrine everyone calls Konpira-san, the tenth of each month is a special prayer day, and the first of the year, Hatsu-Konpira, brings the Hatsu-Tokasai, the largest of its New Year festivals. Its origins are traced to the reign of Emperor Sakuramachi, and a visit on this day is said to bring exceptional blessings. The ceremony starts at 10:00 at the Main Shrine with the sacred Yaotome-mai dance, and as it begins, red-and-white longevity rice cakes are handed out free to worshippers in the square outside the Main Shrine's amulet office. The shrine's New Year season runs from the New Year's Day rite through a prayer retreat lasting two nights and three days, ending with the Tondo-yaki, a bonfire of pine decorations and old talismans.
Sources
- OfficialKotohira-gu Shrine www.konpira.or.jp
- OfficialKotohira-gu Shrine www.konpira.or.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.