murmurKebesu Fire Festival
Kunisaki City · Kushiku Shrine (Iwakura Hachimansha), Kunimi-machi, Kunisaki
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kunisaki City Board of Education · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Wed, Oct 14, 2026 From around 18:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- Every year on October 14
- Venue
- Kushiku Shrine (Iwakura Hachimansha), Kunimi-machi, Kunisaki
- City
- Kunisaki City, Oita
About
Every October 14, at the autumn festival of Kushiku Shrine (Iwakura Hachimansha) in Kunimi, Kunisaki City, a fire rite takes place whose origins nobody knows, earning it fame as one of Japan's strangest festivals. At dusk, the toba, men in white who have purified themselves in the nearby sea, walk in procession through the grounds with the Kebesu, who wears an eerie mask. Once a heap of ferns is lit, the Kebesu dances and keeps trying to rush into the fire while the toba push him back. After this tussle he drives his pole into the blaze and sparks fly up. Then the toba tie burning ferns to their poles and race around inside and outside the grounds, sending spectators running. Catching the sparks is said to keep you healthy.
Sources
- OfficialKunisaki City Board of Education www.city.kunisaki.oita.jp
- OfficialTourism Oita (official Oita Prefecture tourism site) www.visit-oita.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.