murmurNiino Snow Festival
Anan Town · Izu Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Anan Town · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Jan 14–15, 2026 （Ended） From the evening into the next morning; the great torch is lit around 1:00 am (times are approximate)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid January
- How the date is set
- Every year, January 14 – January 15 Runs overnight into the next morning; the date may change in some years
- Venue
- Izu Shrine
- City
- Anan Town, Nagano
About
Through one long winter night at Izu Shrine in the Niino district of Anan, masked performers bring the gods to life until morning. Snow is taken as a promise of a rich harvest, so in a year without any, villagers climb to the mountain pass to bring back a handful for the altar. Dengaku, bugaku, kagura, sarugaku and rice-planting rites follow one after another, and the festival is often described as a living ancestor of Noh and Kyogen. There are 19 simple masks, colored only with ink, white shell powder and red ochre, and whoever wears one becomes a deity. Things get going when the crowd bangs sticks on the walls of the dressing hut and shouts "ranjo." After the giant torch is lit deep in the night, figures such as Saiho, Modoki and the horse and ox dances appear until dawn. The name was given by the folklorist Shinobu Origuchi, and the festival is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Sources
- OfficialAnan Town www.town.anan.nagano.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.