murmurMaro Susa Shrine Festival (Maro Lion Dance)
Tanabe City · Maro Susa Shrine (Nakamaro, Tanabe City)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Wakayama Prefecture Tourism Federation · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Mon, Nov 23, 2026 Main festival from 14:00 (eve festival on Nov 22 from 18:30)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late November
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Eve festival (yoimiya) the day before
- Venue
- Maro Susa Shrine (Nakamaro, Tanabe City)
- City
- Tanabe City, Wakayama
About
At the festival of Maro Susa Shrine in Tanabe's Nakamaro district, a lion dance designated an intangible folk cultural property of Tanabe City is offered to the deity. What sets it apart is a comic pair who turn up in the "sleeping lion" and "flower dance" sections: a tengu goblin with a bamboo wand called hana and Otafuku, a round-cheeked woman, carrying a stick shaped like a phallus. They hop and dance around the lion and throw in some suggestive gestures. The festival runs over two days, with the eve in the evening and the main day from the afternoon. Walk about 30 minutes from Kii-Tanabe Station, or ride the Nagano Line bus to the Nakamaro stop, right by the shrine (check the days it runs); by car it is about 5 minutes from the Nanki-Tanabe IC on the Hanwa Expressway.
Sources
- 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.