murmurUzue Festival at Itakiso Shrine
Wakayama City · Itakiso Shrine
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
- Jan 14–15, 2026 （Ended） Jan 14 from 20:00 porridge divination; Jan 15 from 10:00 main rite
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid January
- How the date is set
- Every year, January 14 – January 15 Rice-porridge divination on the night of the 14th; main rite on the 15th
- Venue
- Itakiso Shrine
- City
- Wakayama City, Wakayama
About
In January, Itakiso Shrine in Wakayama City holds the Uzue Festival, a rite against misfortune in which ceremonial staffs called uzue are believed to drive evil away. The most intriguing part comes on the night of January 14: bamboo tubes are sunk into freshly cooked rice porridge with azuki beans, and how much porridge seeps into each tube foretells whether the year's rice and crops will do well or poorly. After the main ceremony on January 15, that same porridge is served to worshippers, and eating it is said to keep evil away and bring a year of good health.
Sources
- OfficialWakayama Prefecture Tourism Federation www.wakayama-kanko.or.jp
- OfficialItakiso Shrine itakiso-jinja.net
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.