murmurHana-no-Iwaya Shrine Grand Festival (Otsunakake Rope Ceremony)
Kumano City · Hana-no-Iwaya Shrine, Arima-cho
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Mie Prefecture Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early February
- How the date is set
- Every year on February 2 The spring festival is held every year on February 2; the rope ceremony is also held at the autumn festival on October 2
- Venue
- Hana-no-Iwaya Shrine, Arima-cho
- City
- Kumano City, Mie
About
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, the grand festival of Hana-no-Iwaya Shrine stretches a great rope of about 170 m from the top of a giant rock down to the beach. The shrine has no hall: its object of worship is the rock itself, some 45 m high, said in the Nihon Shoki to be the burial place of the goddess Izanami, and part of the Kii Mountains World Heritage Site. In this rope-hanging rite, an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Mie Prefecture, three banners tied with seasonal flowers and fans hang from the rope, one end fixed atop the sacred rock and the other at a sacred pine in the south corner of the grounds. Parishioners climb the rock to tie it, and visitors pass the rope hand to hand across the main road to Shichiri-mihama Beach. After rites and a shrine-maiden dance, the day ends with a rice-cake scatter. Custom says to duck under the rope, never step over it. It is about 2 minutes by bus (bound for Shingu) from JR Kumanoshi Station to the Hana-no-Iwaya stop.
Sources
- OfficialMie Prefecture Tourism Federation (Kanko Mie) www.kankomie.or.jp
Last checked: Oct 11, 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.