murmurTubarama Folk Song Contest
Ishigaki City · Shinei Park (Ishigaki Civic Hall main hall if it rains)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Ishigaki City (Tubarama Contest Executive Committee) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Wed, Sep 23, 2026 （Ended） Starts at 18:10
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid September
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held each year on day thirteen of the eighth month of the lunar calendar
- Venue
- Shinei Park (Ishigaki Civic Hall main hall if it rains)
- City
- Ishigaki City, Okinawa
About
This contest celebrates tubarama, regarded as the pinnacle of Yaeyama folk song, and takes place every year on the thirteenth day of the eighth lunar month in Shinei Park, Ishigaki. Tubarama songs set the joys and sorrows of love and life to a distinctive melody. There are two divisions: in the singing division, entrants perform verses of their own choosing, while the lyrics division judges new, unpublished verses written in the Yaeyama dialect. The singing finalists in 2026 included one representative each from the Kanto and Kansai regions. Held since 1947, the contest aims to hand the song down, help it grow and share it widely as part of what the islands offer visitors. If it rains, the event moves to the main hall of Ishigaki Civic Hall.
Sources
- OfficialIshigaki City (Tubarama Contest Executive Committee) www.city.ishigaki.okinawa.jp
- OfficialOkinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau (Okinawa Story) www.okinawastory.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.