murmurDaiko-daki Radish Offering at Senbon Shakado (Daihoonji Temple)
Kyoto City · Senbon Shakado (Daihoonji Temple)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kyoto City Tourism Association (Kyoto Travel Navi) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dec 7–8, 2026 10:00–16:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early December
- How the date is set
- Every year, December 7 – December 8
- Venue
- Senbon Shakado (Daihoonji Temple)
- City
- Kyoto City, Kyoto
About
Every December, Daihoonji, better known as Senbon Shakado, marks the day the Buddha attained enlightenment with a memorial service and a big pot of simmered daikon radish. The custom is said to date to the Kamakura period, when Sanskrit characters were written on cut radishes as a prayer against illness. Today the inscribed radishes are blessed after the service, sliced into rounds and simmered with fried tofu in huge pots, then served to visitors (1,000 yen). Eating it is believed to ward off strokes and other ailments, and the crowds of worshippers are a classic sight of December in Kyoto. The temple was founded in 1220, and its main hall is the oldest in central Kyoto. It is about a 3-minute walk from the Kamishichiken city bus stop.
Sources
- OfficialKyoto City Tourism Association (Kyoto Travel Navi) ja.kyoto.travel
- OfficialDaihoonji Temple (Senbon Shakado) daihoonji.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.