murmurIwakuni Domain Matchlock Gun Corps New Year Firing
Iwakuni City · Riverbed below Kintaikyo Bridge
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Yamaguchi Prefectural Tourism Federation (Oidemase Yamaguchi) · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- 2027
- Fri, Jan 1, 2027 From 13:30
- Usual timing
- Usually early January
- How the date is set
- Every year on January 1
- Venue
- Riverbed below Kintaikyo Bridge
- City
- Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi
About
On the afternoon of New Year's Day, the Iwakuni Domain Matchlock Gun Corps fires the year's first shots on the riverbed below Kintaikyo Bridge. The corps practices the Ishida school, regarded as one of Japan's oldest and most respected styles of gunnery. Kikkawa Hiroie, first lord of the Iwakuni domain and grandson of Mori Motonari, was moved to Iwakuni from Izumo after the Battle of Sekigahara, and the domain's register of retainers lists 250 men in four musket units among its 1,500 vassals. The corps carries that history into a thunderous display beside the bridge. Watching is free.
Sources
- OfficialYamaguchi Prefectural 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
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