murmurSetsubun Yoroi Toshikoshi (Armored Warrior Procession to Bannaji Temple)
Ashikaga City · From Orihime Community Center (Tori 6-chome) to Bannaji Temple (Ietomi-cho), Ashikaga
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Ashikaga City Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, Jan 31, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Sat, Jan 30, 2027
- Usual timing
- Usually early February
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Traditionally held on the night of Setsubun. In 2026 it was moved to Saturday, January 31 as a special arrangement during the Nakabashi Bridge reconstruction, and the 2027 edition is announced for Saturday, January 30
- Venue
- From Orihime Community Center (Tori 6-chome) to Bannaji Temple (Ietomi-cho), Ashikaga
- City
- Ashikaga City, Tochigi
About
Around Setsubun, the turn of the season toward spring, armored warriors march through Ashikaga in a tradition meant to welcome spring. More than 200 residents in the armor and helmets of medieval Bando samurai blow conch shells and beat war drums as they cover about 1.3 km from the Orihime Community Center to Bannaji, a National Treasure temple, a walk of about 60 minutes. The mayor leads them as commanding general. At Bannaji, once the residence of the Ashikaga clan, he reads a prayer for the clan's generations and the city's prosperity; the warriors then throw beans in the main hall to chase away evil, and a victory cry ends the evening. The event looks back to the mid-Kamakura period, when Ashikaga Yasuuji assembled 500 mounted Bando warriors at the temple's south gate as a show of clan unity. It lapsed for a time and was revived in 1915, led by the city's textile businesses.
Sources
- OfficialAshikaga City Tourism Association www.ashikaga-kankou.jp
- OfficialTochigi Prefectural Tourism and 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.