murmurTsurugaoka Hachimangu Grand Festival (Yabusame)
Kamakura City · Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and Wakamiya-oji Avenue
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sep 14–16, 2026 （Ended） September 15: main rite from 10:00 and mikoshi procession from 13:00; September 16: yabusame from 13:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid September
- How the date is set
- Every year, September 14 – September 16 Eve rite on the 14th, main rite and mikoshi procession on the 15th, yabusame and bell-cricket release on the 16th
- Venue
- Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and Wakamiya-oji Avenue
- City
- Kamakura City, Kanagawa
About
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu's most important festival of the year unfolds over 3 days. Yabusame takes place on the last day, when archers in hunting attire gallop down the course and hit 3 targets in quick succession, recalling the samurai of Kamakura. On day two, bell crickets are placed before the altar at the main rite, and in the afternoon a procession several hundred meters long, with 3 mikoshi carried by parishioners, priests, a sacred horse and brocade banners, travels down Wakamiya-oji to the second torii, where shrine maidens perform the Yaotome dance. Day one is the eve rite announcing the festival to the deity. The chronicle Azuma Kagami records that the release-of-life ceremony and mounted archery began here in 1187, so the tradition is over 800 years old.
Sources
- OfficialTsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine www.hachimangu.or.jp
- OfficialKamakura City Tourist Association www.trip-kamakura.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.