murmurUsa Jingu Chushusai (Hojoe Festival)
Usa City · Usa Jingu Shrine and Wama Shrine (Ukidono)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Usa Jingu Shrine · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Oct 10–12, 2026
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid October
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Three days in October; dates vary by year
- Venue
- Usa Jingu Shrine and Wama Shrine (Ukidono)
- City
- Usa City, Oita
About
In this autumn festival at Usa Jingu, the shrine's portable shrines travel to Ukidono, a hall standing over the sea. On the first day, after rites at the upper shrine, they leave the main sanctuary and are carried about 8 km to Ukidono (Wama Shrine) on Wama beach. On the second day, rites are held at several nearby shrines, then the main ceremony at Wama Shrine, followed by the release of small river snails on the beach. On the final day the procession carries the portable shrines back to the main sanctuary. Until 1880 the festival was called Hojoe. It is said to have begun after a rebellion in southern Kyushu in 720, when the deity Hachiman, mourning the many lives lost, called for a yearly rite of releasing living creatures.
Sources
- OfficialUsa Jingu Shrine www.usajinguu.com
- 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.