murmurYatsushiro Myoken Festival
Yatsushiro City · Yatsushiro Shrine (Myoken-gu), Shioya Hachimangu, Tozaki riverbank and central Yatsushiro
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yatsushiro Myoken Festival Preservation Society · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Cancelled
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late November
- How the date is set
- Every year, November 22 – November 23 Outbound procession on November 22, return procession on November 23
- Venue
- Yatsushiro Shrine (Myoken-gu), Shioya Hachimangu, Tozaki riverbank and central Yatsushiro
- City
- Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto
About
The festival of Yatsushiro Shrine, also called Myoken-gu, is rooted in worship of Myoken, the deity of the Pole Star and the Big Dipper. It is a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and one of the Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. On November 22 the mikoshi procession travels about 6 km from the shrine to Shioya Hachimangu, its temporary resting place, and an evening festival called Oyo is held. The big day is November 23, when a line of more than 1.5 km heads back to the shrine with lions, retainers, hobby horses, eight kasaboko floats, mounted archers, decorated horses and the Game, a mythical creature that is half turtle and half snake. In the afternoon, performances and galloping decorated horses take over the Tozaki riverbank. In 2026 the procession and related events were cancelled because of the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake.
Sources
- OfficialYatsushiro Myoken Festival Preservation Society myouken.com
- Reference九州三大祭 - 八代妙見祭 myouken.com
- Reference八代妙見祭の開催日時 myouken.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.