murmurKitsune no Yomeiri (Fox Wedding Procession, Inaho Festival)
Kudamatsu City · Around Hojoji Temple and Hanaoka Fukutoku Inari Shrine (old Sanyo-do road, Hanaoka)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kudamatsu Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 11, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Tue, Nov 3, 2026 Procession departs at 14:00 (ends at 16:30)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early November
- How the date is set
- Every year on November 3
- Venue
- Around Hojoji Temple and Hanaoka Fukutoku Inari Shrine (old Sanyo-do road, Hanaoka)
- City
- Kudamatsu City, Yamaguchi
About
Born from a local legend about white foxes, this festival in the Hanaoka area of Kudamatsu is one of a kind. According to the tale, in 1724 the priest of Hojoji Temple lost his prayer beads and a white fox couple returned them; the foxes were later buried with care and enshrined in the grounds as Fukutoku Inari. The Inaho Festival held every November 3 brings worshippers from many places, and in autumn 1950 the fox wedding procession was added to its program. A bride and groom in fox masks sit side by side in a rickshaw, trailed by relatives and attendants in formal kimono, and move slowly along the old highway to JR Suo-Hanaoka Station. The identity of the fox couple is never revealed, and the young woman who plays the bride is said to be lucky in finding a good match.
Sources
- OfficialKudamatsu Tourism Association kudamatsu-kanko.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.