murmurGohanshiki Rice-Forcing Ceremony at Rinnoji Temple, Nikko
Nikko City · Sanbutsudo (Main Hall), Rinnoji Temple, Nikko
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Tochigi Prefectural Tourism and Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Fri, Apr 2, 2027 First session 11:00, second session 14:00 (about 50 minutes each)
- Usual timing
- Usually early April
- How the date is set
- Every year on April 2
- Venue
- Sanbutsudo (Main Hall), Rinnoji Temple, Nikko
- City
- Nikko City, Tochigi
About
The Gohanshiki, a forced-feasting rite unique to Nikko's sacred mountain temples, is said to have started when ascetics who trained in the mountains carried offerings made to the principal deity back down and shared them with villagers; it settled into roughly its current shape in the Edo period. Conch shells sound as monks, mountain ascetics and the honored guests file into the hall. With the doors shut and lights out, sutras rise around the blaze of the goma fire. Then ascetic monks loom over the guests, who wear formal kamishimo, pushing mountains of rice at them and barking that every grain must be eaten, much to the audience's amusement. To finish, in garamaki, the guests toss the good fortune they have received out to the worshippers. Watching requires a special prayer fee, and applications close 20 minutes before each session.
Sources
- OfficialTochigi Prefectural Tourism and Local Products Association (Tochigi Tabi Net) www.tochigiji.or.jp
- OfficialRinnoji Temple www.rinnoji.or.jp
- OfficialNikko City Tourism Association (Nikko Tabi Navi) www.nikko-kankou.org
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.