murmurYamaguchi Gion Matsuri
Yamaguchi City · Yasaka Shrine, Ōdono Tatekoji and central Yamaguchi shopping streets
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
- Jul 20–27, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late July
- How the date is set
- Every year, July 20 – July 27
- Venue
- Yasaka Shrine, Ōdono Tatekoji and central Yamaguchi shopping streets
- City
- Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi
About
Counted among Yamaguchi's three great festivals, this has been kept alive by local people for roughly 600 years, since the Muromachi period. Ouchi Hiroyo, who shaped Yamaguchi after Kyoto, brought the deity of Kyoto's Gion Shrine (now Yasaka Shrine) here in 1369, and in 1459 a festival modeled on Kyoto's Gion Matsuri was held, which is regarded as the start. On day one, a dancer wearing a heron's head and wings performs the Sagi-no-Mai at Yasaka Shrine, after which the mikoshi travels to its otabisho. A citywide mass dance takes place during the festival, and on the last day the deity is carried from the otabisho back to Yasaka Shrine.
Sources
- OfficialYamaguchi Prefectural Tourism Federation (Oidemase Yamaguchi) yamaguchi-tourism.jp
- OfficialYamaguchi Tourism and Convention Association www.yamaguchi-city.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.