Gishisai (Festival of the Loyal Retainers)

About

On the anniversary of the Forty-Seven Ronin's raid, Chotokuji Temple in Shibata holds its annual winter memorial. One of the ronin who stormed Lord Kira's mansion in the fifteenth year of the Genroku era, Horibe Yasubei, was a native of Shibata, and this temple, his grandfather's family temple, remembers him every year. The hall in front of the gate holds wooden statues of all the Forty-Seven Ronin and is open to the public on this day only. Raid soba is served free in the grounds, and the main hall hosts martial arts displays, poetry chanting, sword dances, a memorial service and Yasubei drumming by pupils of Gomen-machi Elementary School. In the late afternoon young kendo students dressed as the ronin parade from Chotokuji to the Sannomachi shopping street and Fudanotsuji Square, where the raid's declaration is recited.

Sources

• OfficialShibata City Tourism Association shibata-info.jp
• OfficialNiigata Prefectural Tourism Association (Niigata Kanko Navi) niigata-kankou.or.jp
• Reference新発田出身の赤穂義士 堀部安兵衛を偲ぶ「義士祭」｜おしらせ｜しばた町めぐり shibata-machi-meguri.com

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.