murmurShimonoseki Kaikyo Festival (Sentei-sai)
Shimonoseki City · Sister City Plaza, Akama Shrine and other sites
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
- May 2–4, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early May
- How the date is set
- Every year, May 2 – May 4
- Venue
- Sister City Plaza, Akama Shrine and other sites
- City
- Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi
About
This big festival, held at venues along Shimonoseki's Kanmon Strait shore, looks back on the Genpei War. Its core is Akama Shrine's Sentei-sai, which consoles the spirits of the Heike clan and Emperor Antoku, lost at the Battle of Dan-no-ura; rites are held at the emperor's tomb and worshippers in recreated period dress pay a formal visit. The star moments are the joro procession, where participants dressed as joro move through town with the soto-hachimonji step, and the joro visit across the shrine's heavenly bridge. Out on the water, dozens of boats flying the red and white banners of the two clans stage the Genpei boat battle, while on land there are warrior processions, the Hatchohama mass dance, Genpei Matsuri stage shows at Sister City Plaza and a jumbo fugu hotpot. The program runs for 3 days.
Sources
- OfficialYamaguchi Prefectural Tourism Federation (Oidemase Yamaguchi) yamaguchi-tourism.jp
- OfficialShimonoseki City Tourism Policy Division shimonoseki.travel
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.