murmurKasedori Folk Festival of Kaminoyama
Kaminoyama City · Kaminoyama Castle main gate plaza (opening rite) and the streets of Kaminoyama
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yamagata Prefecture Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Wed, Feb 11, 2026 （Ended） Prayer rite at 10:00; procession through town from about 11:00 to 15:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid February
- How the date is set
- Every year on February 11
- Venue
- Kaminoyama Castle main gate plaza (opening rite) and the streets of Kaminoyama
- City
- Kaminoyama City, Yamagata
About
Young men cloaked head to toe in straw capes called kendai dance through Kaminoyama while townspeople douse them with buckets of water, praying for good harvests, thriving business and protection from fire. The rite is thought to stem from the belief in a New Year deity who visits from afar to bless the coming year, and it was performed before the lord of Kaminoyama Castle as early as the Kan’ei era. Abolished in the Meiji era, it was revived by volunteers in 1959, and a preservation society has kept it going since 1986. After a prayer rite and dance in front of Kaminoyama Castle, two groups parade through the hot spring districts and shopping streets. Straw that falls from the capes is considered lucky — take home what drops, but please do not pull it off.
Sources
- OfficialYamagata Prefecture Tourism Association yamagatakanko.com
- OfficialKaminoyama Tourism and Products Association kaminoyama-spa.com
Last checked: Oct 10, 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.