murmurTakekoma Shrine Hatsuuma Grand Festival
Iwanuma City · Takekoma Shrine and the streets of Iwanuma
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Takekoma Shrine · Last checked: Oct 10, 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 March
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Seven days from the first Day of the Horse in the second lunar month; the mikoshi procession falls on a Saturday or Sunday and the main rite on the fifth day
- Venue
- Takekoma Shrine and the streets of Iwanuma
- City
- Iwanuma City, Miyagi
About
The biggest event of the year at Takekoma Shrine in Iwanuma, counted among Japan's three great Inari shrines, this festival runs for seven days from the first Day of the Horse in the second month of the old lunar calendar and has long been regarded as the herald of spring in northern Japan. Visiting during the festival is known as a 'fortune pilgrimage', believed to bring the blessings and prosperity of the Inari deity. Once a horse market was held here for as long as 100 days, and as a festival preparing for the year's farming and silkworm raising, it drew people from all six Tohoku prefectures to pray for a good harvest. Today the portable shrine is carried through the city on a Saturday or Sunday, and the festival period also includes the main rite and an offering of fine confectionery from around Japan. Leading the procession are the Takekoma Yakko, footmen whose performance is a designated intangible cultural property of Iwanuma.
Sources
- OfficialTakekoma Shrine takekomajinja.jp
- OfficialTakekoma Shrine takekomajinja.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.