murmurAma-no-Iwato Kagura (Matsuo Shrine)
Tsurugi Town · Matsuo Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Tsurugi Town · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Thu, Jan 1, 2026 （Ended） From 0:00 to about 0:15, as the new year begins
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 1
- Venue
- Matsuo Shrine
- City
- Tsurugi Town, Tokushima
About
As the new year begins at midnight on New Year's Day, kagura is offered at Matsuo Shrine in Sadamitsu, Tsurugi Town. The dance tells the myth of Amaterasu, the sun goddess, shutting herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave until the other gods lure her out with prayers, music and dance, all set to flute and drum. Masked kagura is unusual in Tokushima, and the noble masks of the gods, elegant movements and brilliant costumes are what draw the eye. The tradition is thought to date to the early Edo period, when it was performed on a great single rock called the Kagura Stone. Ise and Izumo kagura styles were absorbed in the mid-Meiji era; after a break during World War II, a preservation society brought it back in 1987. Many people watch as part of their first shrine visit of the year, and year-crossing soba and sacred sake are served.
Sources
- OfficialTsurugi Town www.town.tokushima-tsurugi.lg.jp
- OfficialTokushima Prefecture Tourism Association (Awanavi) www.awanavi.jp
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.