murmurMatsue Castle Festival (Oshiro Matsuri)
Matsue City · Matsue Castle and Jozan Park
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Matsue Castle (Jozan Park) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late March
- How the date is set
- Announced each year Timed to the cherry blossoms, usually from late March to mid-April
- Venue
- Matsue Castle and Jozan Park
- City
- Matsue City, Shimane
About
When the cherry trees bloom, Jozan Park around Matsue Castle, a National Treasure, holds its spring festival. After dark the keep, the blossoms and paper lanterns are lit, the inner grounds of the castle stay open into the evening, and food stalls set up. A special stage presents local performing arts and a Yasugi-bushi folk song contest, and the Matsue Samurai Procession, re-enacting the arrival of Horio Yoshiharu at the castle, is held during the festival. The 2026 stage also included samurai drama, kagura and taiko. The festival usually lasts from late March to around mid-April. The park is free to enter; take a bus from JR Matsue Station for about 10 minutes to Otemae.
Sources
- OfficialMatsue Castle (Jozan Park) www.matsue-castle.jp
- OfficialMatsue Samurai Procession Executive Committee www.musha-gyoretsu.jp
- OfficialShimane Tourism Association (Shimane Tourism Navi) www.kankou-shimane.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.
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.