murmurAll Japan Kokeshi Festival
Osaki City · Naruko Onsen (sales and exhibition hall: Osaki City Naruko Branch Office / Naruko Community Center)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
All Japan Kokeshi Festival (Osaki City Naruko Branch Office / Naruko Onsen Tourism Association) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sep 5–6, 2026 （Ended） Sales and exhibition from 10:00; kokeshi memorial rite on the eve, September 4, from 18:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early September
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year A September weekend, with a kokeshi memorial rite at Naruko Onsen Shrine the evening before
- Venue
- Naruko Onsen (sales and exhibition hall: Osaki City Naruko Branch Office / Naruko Community Center)
- City
- Osaki City, Miyagi
About
Traditional kokeshi dolls from all over Japan gather in Naruko Onsen, the hot-spring town famous for its own Naruko kokeshi. The festival began in 1948 as the Naruko Kokeshi Festival, reached its 71st edition in 2026, and runs together with an exhibition of Naruko lacquerware. On the eve, a memorial rite at Naruko Onsen Shrine gives thanks to dolls that have cracked or been damaged, and the first morning opens with craftspeople offering kokeshi at the shrine. In the sales hall, artisans from each kokeshi-making region paint and sell dolls in front of visitors, and you can try painting one yourself or see the prize-winners of the national kokeshi competition. Lines form early in the morning. On Saturday night, a parade of giant papier-mache kokeshi and Naruko dancers winds through the hot-spring streets.
Sources
- OfficialAll Japan Kokeshi Festival (Osaki City Naruko Branch Office / Naruko Onsen Tourism Association) kokeshimatsuri.com
- OfficialOsaki City www.city.osaki.miyagi.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.