murmurShinjo Matsuri
Shinjo City · Central Shinjo and the Abies plaza in front of Shinjo Station
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Shinjo Matsuri Executive Committee (Shinjo City) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates not confirmed
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late August
- How the date is set
- Every year, August 24 – August 26
- Venue
- Central Shinjo and the Abies plaza in front of Shinjo Station
- City
- Shinjo City, Yamagata
About
Every year from August 24 to 26, Shinjo celebrates a festival said to date back to 1756, when the local lord, Tozawa Masanobu, held a grand festival for the Tozawa clan's guardian shrine to lift the spirits of people suffering after a disastrous harvest and to pray for better crops. The highlight is a parade of 20 floats built by hand by neighborhood youth groups, each recreating a scene from kabuki or history, rolling through town to the sound of Shinjo festival music. On the evening of the 24th the floats are lit up after dark; on the 25th a costumed portable-shrine procession sets out from Tozawa Shrine; and on the 26th traditional deer dances are offered. The float festival is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and part of the UNESCO-listed Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals of Japan.
Sources
- OfficialShinjo Matsuri Executive Committee (Shinjo City) www.shinjo-matsuri.jp
- OfficialYamagata Prefecture Tourism Association 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.