murmurSetsubun Mantoro Lantern Festival (Kasuga Taisha)
Nara City · Kasuga Taisha Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Nara City Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Wed, Feb 3, 2027 From around 18:00
- Usual timing
- Usually early February
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held on the day of Setsubun
- Venue
- Kasuga Taisha Shrine
- City
- Nara City, Nara
About
On the night of Setsubun, every one of Kasuga Taisha's roughly 3,000 lanterns is lit, and the winter grounds take on a soft glow. About 2,000 are stone lanterns and about 1,000 are hanging lanterns, all donated from the late Heian period onward by followers of the Kasuga deities seeking family safety, good business, fortune in battle or peace for their ancestors; tonight they burn with prayers for every kind of wish. Lighting runs from around 6 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m. The shrine repeats the spectacle in August with the Chugen Mantoro, if you want to compare seasons.
Sources
- OfficialNara City Tourism Association narashikanko.or.jp
- OfficialKasuga Taisha www.kasugataisha.or.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.