murmurMorotabune Shinji (Twin-Hulled Boat Rite) at Miho Shrine
Matsue City · Miho Shrine and Mihonoseki Harbor, Mihonoseki-cho, Matsue
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Shimane Tourism Association · 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 early December
- How the date is set
- Every year on December 3 Rites begin on Dec 1, with an eve festival on the 2nd and the boat rite on the afternoon of the 3rd
- Venue
- Miho Shrine and Mihonoseki Harbor, Mihonoseki-cho, Matsue
- City
- Matsue City, Shimane
About
On the afternoon of December 3, two morotabune boats with crews of nine each row out into Mihonoseki Harbor and circle it, splashing water at one another. Afterward the crews grab the makatsu ornaments from the bows and run to the main sanctuary, competing to be first to present them, and the rite closes with a set exchange of words with the chief priest. The boats are made of two hollowed-out timbers joined together, much like ancient dugouts, and are an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan. The observances start on December 1; the eve festival on December 2 brings offerings of sweet sake and the Tsukasa and shrine maiden dances, and a harvest rite is held on the morning of December 3. Like the Aofushigaki rite, it relates to the myth of Kotoshironushi handing over the land, recorded in the Kojiki and elsewhere, and it was once held on a day of the horse in the eleventh lunar month.
Sources
- OfficialShimane Tourism Association 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.
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.