murmurZentsuji Kukai Festival
Zentsuji City · Zentsuji Temple (Saeki Ancestral Mausoleum and Miei-do Hall)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Zentsuji Temple · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Tue, Nov 3, 2026
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early November
- How the date is set
- Every year on November 3
- Venue
- Zentsuji Temple (Saeki Ancestral Mausoleum and Miei-do Hall)
- City
- Zentsuji City, Kagawa
About
November 3 is said to be the anniversary of the death of Saeki Yoshimichi, father of Kobo Daishi (Kukai), and Zentsuji Temple chooses that day for its Kukai Festival. At its heart is a service in which the Daishi, home from Mount Koya, offers prayers to his parents and forebears. A palanquin carrying his sacred image leaves the Miei-do Hall and parades through the city streets with children in ceremonial dress and pilgrim-hymn singers before returning to the temple grounds. A service of gratitude follows at the Saeki Ancestral Mausoleum, where his parents are enshrined, and then the image returns to the Miei-do for a homecoming memorial rite. A market opens in the eastern precinct the same day, with a crying-baby sumo contest and lion dance offerings.
Sources
- OfficialZentsuji Temple zentsuji.com
- OfficialKagawa Prefecture Tourism Association (Udon-ken Tabi-net) www.my-kagawa.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.