murmurDaimonji Okuribi Bonfire (Mazaki)
Shimanto City · Mt. Tojiro (Dai-no-ji-yama), Mazaki, Shimanto
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Shimanto City Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Fri, Aug 28, 2026 （Ended） Shinto rite 17:00–17:30; lighting at 19:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late August
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held on the 16th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar
- Venue
- Mt. Tojiro (Dai-no-ji-yama), Mazaki, Shimanto
- City
- Shimanto City, Kochi
About
During the Bon season, a fiery character 大 (dai, great) appears on a hillside in the Mazaki district of Shimanto, telling the town of Nakamura, often called a little Kyoto, that summer is ending. Around Bon by the lunar calendar, residents cut the vegetation into the shape of the character on the mid-slope of a mountain where the mountain deity is worshipped, known locally as Dai-no-ji-yama, then set out and light torches brought from each home. Tradition credits Ichijo Fusaie with starting it some 500 years ago; his father Norifusa had fled to Nakamura from the Onin War, and Fusaie lit the fire for the souls of his father and grandfather and out of longing for Kyoto. Mazaki's 78 households, split into seven groups, take turns hosting each year. A Shinto rite takes place in the late afternoon, and the fire is lit after sunset.
Sources
- OfficialShimanto City Tourism Association www.shimanto-kankou.com
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.