murmurNachi Ogi Matsuri (Nachi Fire Festival)
Nachikatsuura Town · Kumano Nachi Taisha and Hiro Shrine (Nachi Falls)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Wakayama Prefecture (press release on PR TIMES; organized by Kumano Nachi Taisha) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Tue, Jul 14, 2026 （Ended） 10:00–15:30 (fire procession from around 14:00)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid July
- How the date is set
- Every year on July 14
- Venue
- Kumano Nachi Taisha and Hiro Shrine (Nachi Falls)
- City
- Nachikatsuura Town, Wakayama
About
Every July 14, Kumano Nachi Taisha holds its grand festival, the Nachi Fire Festival, also known as the Ogi (Fan) Festival and counted among Japan's three great fire festivals. On this one day of the year, the shrine's deities go home to Hiro Shrine, where Nachi Falls itself is worshipped. They travel in twelve portable shrines about 6 meters tall, covered in fans and shaped like the falls, carried down the stone stairway. On the approach to Hiro Shrine, twelve giant pine torches meet them and purify the way, so that the white plunge of water and roaring flames appear side by side: a festival of water and fire. On a special stage, performances include the Nachi no Dengaku, inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The twelve deities are said to have descended on the falls in ancient times and to have been enshrined halfway up Mount Nachi in 317. No reservation is needed, and anyone can come.
Sources
- OfficialWakayama Prefecture (press release on PR TIMES; organized by Kumano Nachi Taisha) prtimes.jp
- OfficialKumano Nachi Taisha kumanonachitaisha.or.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.