murmurNagai Black Lion Festival
Nagai City · Nagai's main street and Shirotsutsuji Park plaza
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yamagata Prefecture official tourism site · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sat, May 23, 2026 （Ended） Opening ceremony 12:30; lion dances by 3 shrines from 15:00 and by 10 shrines from 17:30
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late May
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held in late May, rain or shine
- Venue
- Nagai's main street and Shirotsutsuji Park plaza
- City
- Nagai City, Yamagata
About
Nagai's shrines each keep their own black lion dance, a sacred tradition said to date back about a thousand years and still handed down at more than 40 shrines in the city. Once a year in late May, lions from several of these shrines gather to dance down the main street, praying for good harvests, safe roads and family well-being. The jet-black lion heads, called jagashira or "serpent heads", differ in expression from shrine to shrine. Behind each head trails a long cloth depicting waves, with a large team of dancers inside, so the lion moves like a giant centipede. Watch for the tug-of-strength between the lion and its escorts.
Sources
- OfficialYamagata Prefecture official tourism site yamagatakanko.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.