murmurOmato Hajime-shiki (New Year Archery Rite)
Nishinoomote City · Seirin Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau · 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 mid January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 11 Usually held on January 11, in the evening
- Venue
- Seirin Shrine
- City
- Nishinoomote City, Kagoshima
About
By the light of bonfires at Seirin Shrine in Nishinoomote, on Tanegashima Island, archers shoot in a ceremony designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Kagoshima Prefecture. Six archers take six shots each, 36 arrows in all, and there is a twist: if the first 35 all strike the target, the final arrow is missed on purpose, in keeping with the old caution that whatever reaches fullness must decline. The rite began as a New Year archery ceremony of the imperial court. Takeda Chikugo-no-kami Mitsunaga, who came to teach archery to the island's lord Tanegashima Tadatoki, introduced it, and the Tanegashima family has held it since 1501, according to tradition. It aims to ward off misfortune and pray for health, and is valued as a faithful record of Muromachi-period samurai etiquette. Admission is free.
Sources
- OfficialKagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau www.kagoshima-kankou.com
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.