murmurIwashimizu Matsuri (Imperial Festival of Iwashimizu Hachimangu)
Yawata City · Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine (from the main hall on Mt. Otokoyama down to the Ton-gu hall at its foot)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Tue, Sep 15, 2026 （Ended） Procession leaves the mountaintop at 3:00 a.m.; offering rite at the Ton-gu hall at 5:30 a.m.; return rite at 5:00 p.m.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid September
- How the date is set
- Every year on September 15
- Venue
- Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine (from the main hall on Mt. Otokoyama down to the Ton-gu hall at its foot)
- City
- Yawata City, Kyoto
About
Iwashimizu Matsuri is the most important of the more than 100 rites held each year at Iwashimizu Hachimangu, and one of Japan's three great imperial festivals held in the ancient manner, alongside Kyoto's Aoi Matsuri and Nara's Kasuga Matsuri. An envoy of the Emperor attends and presents offerings. The festival began in 863 as a ceremony of releasing living fish and birds, praying for the peace and happiness of all living things. In the dead of night on September 15, three sacred palanquins carrying the deities descend from the main hall on Mt. Otokoyama to the hall at its foot, lit only by torches and lanterns and escorted by about 500 attendants. The offering rite takes place as day begins to break, fish and birds are released at the Hojo River, and the palanquins return to the mountaintop in the evening.
Sources
- OfficialIwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine iwashimizu.or.jp
- OfficialIwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine iwashimizu.or.jp
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.
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.