murmurOwase Yaya Matsuri
Owase City · Central Owase and Owase Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Owase Tourism and Products Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Feb 1–5, 2027
- Usual timing
- Usually early February
- How the date is set
- Every year, February 1 – February 5 Held every year from February 1 to 5; the events of the 5th move to the 6th if it rains
- Venue
- Central Owase and Owase Shrine
- City
- Owase City, Mie
About
From February 1 to 5, Owase Shrine's annual festival takes over the whole town of Owase. Its name comes from "Yaa, yaa! Ware koso wa," the cry with which Sengoku-era warriors announced themselves. It opens in the small hours of the 1st with a rite to open the doors of the main hall. On the nights of the 2nd through the 4th, men in white from the 18 old neighborhoods crash into each other under lantern light, shouting "Chousa ja! Chousa ja!" in the fierce clash called neri. On the final day, the 5th, a daimyo procession and dancers, children among them, move through town from early afternoon into the evening, and at night a great-bow archery offering and other rites take place in the bonfire-lit shrine grounds. Traffic is restricted during the festival.
Sources
- OfficialOwase Tourism and Products Association owasekankou.com
- OfficialMie 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.