murmurNyu Matsuri (Warai Matsuri, the Laughing Festival)
Hidakagawa Town · Nyu Shrine (Egawa, Hidakagawa Town)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hidakagawa 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 mid October
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held every year on the Sunday just before Sports Day (second Monday of October)
- Venue
- Nyu Shrine (Egawa, Hidakagawa Town)
- City
- Hidakagawa Town, Wakayama
About
The annual Nyu Matsuri at Nyu Shrine in Hidakagawa goes by a better-known name, the Warai Matsuri or Laughing Festival. Its star is the Suzufuri, a clown in outlandish costume and makeup who appears around 11:00 and steers the portable shrine back to the shrine while urging everyone, "Laugh, laugh!" Earlier, at around 9:00, the Oni no Deai (meeting of the demons) starts near the otabisho, followed by a lion dance. Onlookers are expected to join in with their own laughter. The story goes that the goddess Niutsuhime overslept and missed the gods' gathering in Izumo, and villagers lifted her spirits by telling her to laugh. Handed down since the Edo period, the festival is a designated intangible folk performing art of Wakayama Prefecture.
Sources
- OfficialHidakagawa Tourism Association hidakagawa-kanko.jp
- OfficialWakayama Prefecture Tourism Federation www.wakayama-kanko.or.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.