murmurAkutai Matsuri “Insult Festival” (Oiwasan Bishamonten)
Ashikaga City · Oiwasan Saishoji Temple (Oiwasan Bishamonten)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Tochigi Prefectural Tourism & Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Thu, Dec 31, 2026 Shouting contest from 22:00; festival and lantern procession from 23:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late December
- How the date is set
- Every year on December 31 Every year from New Year’s Eve night into the early hours of New Year’s Day
- Venue
- Oiwasan Saishoji Temple (Oiwasan Bishamonten)
- City
- Ashikaga City, Tochigi
About
On New Year's Eve, Oiwasan Bishamonten in Ashikaga, one of Japan's three great Bishamonten temples along with Kurama in Kyoto and Shigisan in Nara, stages one of the country's odder festivals. Handed down since the Edo period, it lets people unload a year's worth of bad luck and frustration so they can start the new year feeling refreshed. Late at night and into the small hours, a mountain ascetic's conch shell leads the way as participants climb under the stars to the main hall on the summit, yelling insults such as "baka yaro!" at each other. One rule: no words ending in "bo," such as binbo (poor) or dorobo (thief). Entry to the loud-insult shouting contest is free, and a waterfall ceremony is held once the festival is over.
Sources
- OfficialTochigi Prefectural Tourism & Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) www.tochigiji.or.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.