murmurYagami Lion Dance Ritual
Tamaki Town · Yamada Zen Temple, Yagami, Tamaki
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Mie 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 late January
- How the date is set
- The last Sunday of January The last Sunday of January each year
- Venue
- Yamada Zen Temple, Yagami, Tamaki
- City
- Tamaki Town, Mie
About
On the last Sunday of January in most years, Yamada Zen Temple in the Yamagami district of Tamaki holds a ritual featuring tengu and a lion. When tengu in black and red masks begin to dance, spectators pelt them with pine cones, and the angry tengu chase people around and give children and onlookers light taps with their fans. In the end, the tengu are defeated with the help of the lion. Said to date back to the Muromachi period, it reportedly began with prayers to drive off disease when smallpox was spreading. A Shinto-style ritual held at a Buddhist temple, and one that links the lion with the Great Wisdom Sutra, it is considered a rare folk performing art and became an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Mie Prefecture in 1965.
Sources
- 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.