murmurWaraiko (Laughing Ritual)
Hofu City · Omata Hachimangu Shrine
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hofu Tourism and Convention Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sun, Dec 6, 2026 From 11:00 (the laughing ritual starts around 13:00)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early December
- How the date is set
- The 1st Sunday of December
- Venue
- Omata Hachimangu Shrine
- City
- Hofu City, Yamaguchi
About
In the Omata area of Daido in Hofu, this laughing ritual is said to have been handed down since the Kamakura period, and it is designated an intangible folk cultural property of Hofu City. At Omata Hachimangu Shrine, association members in formal crested kimono and hakama hold up sakaki branches and laugh out loud together three times: "Wahhahha!" The laughter carries thanks for this year's harvest, a wish for a good crop next year, and a way to let go of the year's hardships and sorrows. Sometimes called an unusual year-end festival for laughing off the year's troubles, it is one of very few rituals in Japan built around laughter.
Sources
- OfficialHofu Tourism and Convention Association visit-hofu.jp
- OfficialYamaguchi Prefecture Tourism Federation (Oidemase Yamaguchi) yamaguchi-tourism.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.