murmurKamo Kurabeuma (Horse Race Ritual) at Kamigamo Shrine
Kyoto City · Kamigamo Shrine (Kamowakeikazuchi Jinja)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kamigamo Shrine (Kamowakeikazuchi Jinja) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Tue, May 5, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early May
- How the date is set
- Every year on May 5 Rites begin at 10 a.m.; the races start around 2 p.m.
- Venue
- Kamigamo Shrine (Kamowakeikazuchi Jinja)
- City
- Kyoto City, Kyoto
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About
Kamigamo Shrine's horse race ritual dates back to 1093, when a race held at the imperial palace to pray for peace and good harvests was moved to the shrine. On May 5 the riders, called norijiri, split into two teams wearing bugaku court-dance costumes, one dressed for dakyu (a polo-like game) and the other for komaboko, and ride up to the shrine for a series of formal rites. Then they race in pairs along the shrine's riding ground. The spectacle even appears in the classic essay collection Tsurezuregusa, and the ritual is registered as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Kyoto City. A preliminary trial on May 1 sets the racing order. Viewing requires a fee.
Sources
- OfficialKamigamo Shrine (Kamowakeikazuchi Jinja) www.kamigamojinja.jp
- OfficialKamigamo Shrine (Kamowakeikazuchi Jinja) www.kamigamojinja.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.
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.