Japan Festivals - May

May Japan Festivals ５月の祭り

Exact dates may change year by year - please check in advance.

Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa, Tokyo

Yotaka Matsuri

1-2 May

Fukuno, Toyama Prefecture

Night festival of colourful floats consisting of giant, decorative paper lanterns. At around midnight, the lanterns begin to be paraded around town with local men hanging from them who start battles whenever other floats come close.

Nembutsu Kyogen

1-4 May

Senbon Emmado, Kyoto

One of the three main nembutsu kyogen (comic drama) performances in Kyoto. May 1 & 2 from 7 pm; May 3 & 4 1 pm and 6 pm.

Kakeuma Shinji / Fukakusa Matsuri

1 - 5 May

Fujimori Shrine, Fukakusatoriizaki-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto

This five-day long festival of shrine processions, drumming performances and more climaxes on the final day, May 5, with the Kakeuma Shinji event: a demonstration of cavalry techniques from the old days, with riders performing daredevil stunts.

Nozaka Mairi

1-10 May

Daito City, Osaka Prefecture

Thousands gather on the approach to Nozaka Kannon Temple to enjoy puppet plays, storytelling and a range of other classical arts and festival amusements.

Fujiwara Festival

1-5 May

Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture

The main event is a period dress parade on the 3rd recreating the arrival of Minamoto Yoshitsune and his entourage when he came to Hiraizumi in northern Japan to seek the protection of Fujiwara Hidehira.

Kamogawa Odori

1-24 May

Pontocho Kaburenjo Theater

Maiko and geisha perform their annual spring dances with show times at 12.30 pm, 2.20 pm and 4.10 pm.

Tarui Hikiyama Matsuri

2-4 May

Tarui, Gifu Prefecture

This festival features floats known as Hikiyama. Children in full make up and costume perform Kabuki plays on stages built in to these lavishly decorated three-storied festival floats.

Shinsen-en Kyogen

2-4 May

Shinsen-en Temple, Kyoto

Kyogen, taiko drumming, traditional dances, gagaku court music and Buddhist chanting at Shinsen-en Temple in Kyoto.

Shimonoseki Straits Festival

3 May

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Many colourful events in the port town of Shimonoseki including recreations of a samurai era sea battle involving about 200 boats, the famous duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro and a colourful parade of courtesans.

Yokohama Port Festival

3 May

Yokohama Port

Parades, dances and entertainments all with an international flavour. Features dragon dances, baton twirlers and decorated festival floats in the port area of Yokohama.

Odawara Hojo Godai Matsuri

3 May

Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture

Shinto ceremony, parades of warriors in full period dress, traditional music and mikoshi parades.

Inari Kanko-sai Festival

3 May

Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto

A mikoshi procession in the surrounding streets precedes a festival beginning at 4 pm.

Kamezaki Shiohi Matsuri

3-4 May

Handa, Aichi Prefecture

A gathering of 31 antique dashi, (drawn festival floats). These remarkable wooden constructions are towed around town and then down to the beach where they are pulled through the shallows at low tide.

Japan Festivals in May

Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa, Tokyo

Hakata Dontaku

3-4 May

Hakata (Fukuoka), Fukuoka Prefecture

Large scale festival with history going back nearly 800 years. Colourful and musical parades and events all over the downtown area of Fukuoka city. Attracts 2 million people annually.

Giant Kite Festival

3-5 May

Showa, Saitama Prefecture

Giant decorated kites (up to 15 meters in length) are flown on the banks of the dry riverbed of the Edo River.

Togyu Taikai

3-5 May (and 27 April)

Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture

Traditional bullfighting event in which two bulls are pitted against each other in a test of strength. Unlike Spanish bullfighting, the animals are not wounded and are not killed.

Hamamatsu Festival

3-5 May

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture

Local teams fly huge decorated kites, attempting to bring kites of other teams to the ground. Accompanied by assorted events, traditional and otherwise, including sacred dances, parades and taiko drumming.

Hamamatsu Festival

Hiroshima Flower Festival

3-5 May

Hiroshima

Festival for peace featuring flowers, music and a wide range of fun and entertainments in Hiroshima. Attracts visitors from all over the world.

Kutani Chawan Matsuri

3-5 May

Terai, Ishikawa Prefecture

Dozens of stalls selling kutani pottery set up in the grounds of Terai Town Hall and the Sano Kutani Museum. Many events related to kutani pottery also take place.

Seihakusai

3-5 May

Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture

Features a parade of three enormous dashi, (drawn festival floats) each around 20m in height and weighing around 20 tons. Known locally as dekayama (giant mountains), these floats are built entirely from wood, bamboo and rope and without the use of nails.

Shio no Michi Festival

3-5 May

Omachi, Nagano Prefecture

A procession of local people, dressed in traditional costumes, visit historical spots on the route of the Shio no Michi (Salt Route), a historical road that was once an important trade route.

Okinohata Suitengu Festival

3-5 May

Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture

Three days of festival music and ceremonies are held on a floating stage made from canal boats tied together with stalls and other festivities on the banks of the canals in Yanagawa.

Sea Bream Netting Festival

3-31 May

Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture

See demonstrations of this centuries old method of fishing on specially prepared tourist boats during the period.

Iba no Sakakudashi Matsuri

4 May

Sanposan Shrine, Iba-cho, Hibashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture

Young men roll and guide three shrines from the mountaintop Sanposan Shrine 500 meters down to Otori Shrine at the foot of the mountain, over a precipitous, rocky passageway, in a risk-filled procession that takes up to four hours to complete.

Ageuma Shinji

4-5 May

Tado Shrine, Kuwana, Mie Prefecture

The ageuma (rising horse) ritual involves young horseback riders in samurai armor riding horses up a steep 3m high cliff. It is traditionally believed to predict the success of the coming year's harvest. The festival also includes a procession of a boy on horseback and retainers in period costume. Access to Tado Station from Kuwana on the Kintetsu Yoro Line, then bus or a 20 minute walk.

Yabusame Matsuri

4-6 May

Sengen Taisha Shrine, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture

Demonstrations of yabusame, traditional Japanese horseback archery.

Sagami Giant Kite Festival

5 May

Sagami, Kanagawa Prefecture

Held on the banks of the Sagami River, this is an annual event at which a giant (14m long) kite is flown by a team of nearly 100 people.

Kotohira-gu Shugiku

5 May

Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture

Kemari, a ritual game of kick-ups played by priests in Heian Period (794-1192) robes, is played in the grounds of this famous shrine in Kagawa, west of Takamatsu.

Nihon Dowasai

5 May

Kusu, Oita Prefecture

An event held in the memory of Takehiko Kurushima, a writer of children's stories who lived in this town. Various events for children to participate in such as a festival parade and kids' sumo wrestling.

Nagashino Kassen Nobori Festival

5 May

Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture

The festival features a parade by participants in samurai costume, taiko drum performances and demonstrations of matchlock muskets commemorating the 1575 Battle of Nagashino. The parade takes place from 9.30am. The venue is a short walk from JR Nagashinojo Station on the JR Iida Line.

Yamakage Shrine Festival

8 May

Yoshida Jinja, Kyoto

Prayers to the kami of cooking, eating and drinking. Raw fish is cut with chopsticks and knives.

Uesaku Festival

Full Moon in May

Kurama Temple, Kyoto

Prayers to the kami for world peace at 7 pm with fires lit in the temple grounds.

Kanda Festival

The Saturday and Sunday closest to 15 May

Kanda Myojin Shrine, Tokyo

Floats, wagons filled with dancers, and around 200 mikoshi are paraded through a large area of downtown Tokyo in honour of the deities of the Kanda Shrine, shinto priests on horseback accompany the parade. The main Kanda matsuri is held once every two years in odd-numbered years, while festivals held in even-numbered years are on a smaller scale.

Takigi Noh Performance

11 & 12 May, 4-9 pm

Kofuku-ji Temple and Kasuga Shrine, Nara

Performance of traditional noh theatre held outdoors lit only by torchlight at Kofukuji Temple and Kasuga Jinja in Nara.

Matsuno-o Kanko-sai Festival

14 May

Matsuno-o Taisha, Kyoto

An aoi (hollyhock) festival with a mikoshi procession beginning at noon.

Johana Hikiyama Festival

14-15 May

Johana, Toyama Prefecture

A parade of six intricately carved and lacquered floats, each the work of skilled local craftsmen. These are joined by Iori yatai floats that carry musicians playing folk tunes.

Otabi Festival

14-18 May

Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture

Kabuki is performed by children on eight festival floats parading around the town led by children performing lion dances.

Read more on the Otabi Festival

Sanjo Matsuri

15 May

Sanjo Niigata Prefecture

Features a parade of hundreds of local people dressed as warriors and attendants. Recreating the clan lord's journeys to Edo Castle during the Edo Period (1603-1867).

Aoi Festival

15 May

Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto

The Aoi (hollyhock) Festival is a solemn and formal parade dating back over 1,000 years, involving 500 people in full Heian Period court dress. An ox drawn cart is led to Kamigamo Shrine from the Imperial Palace (Gosho) in Kyoto where Shinto rituals take place. Sacred dances and music are performed on the way. Known as the world's oldest festival, dating from the mid 6th century.

Read more about the Aoi Matsuri

Kurofune Matsuri

16-18 May

Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture

Many events of both a traditional and an international flavour as this is a festival to mark the coming of the kurofune (black ships) led by Commodore Matthew Perry who arrived in Shimoda in 1854 to demand that Japanese ports be opened to American trade.

Sanja Matsuri

13 - 15 May

Asakusa, Tokyo

One of the largest mikoshi parades of all Japanese festivals. A parade of about 100 portable shrines centered on Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Many geisha as well as others dressed in traditional costumes also take part. Attracts 2 million spectators every year. One spectacle is the tattooed yakuza mobsters who have traditionally been a significant presence at the Sanja Matsuri.

The Sanja Matsuri courts controversy with the participation of gang members

The Sanja Matsuri is one of Tokyo's most lively and riotous festivals

Kobe Matsuri

16-18 May

Kobe

Citizens' festival featuring parades during the day and in the evening, samba dancing and a fireworks display held out over the harbour in Kobe.

Tosho-gu Grand Festival

16-18 May

Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture

Nikko's most important annual festival, featuring yabusame (horseback archery) and a 1000 strong costumed re-enactment of the delivery of Tokugawa Ieyasu's remains to Nikko.

Aoba Festival

3rd weekend in May

Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture

2-day people's festival in Sendai packed with events such as mikoshi parades, a flea market, warrior processions, taiko drumming and street dancing.

Kawawatari Jinkosai

17-18 May

Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture

Thrilling traditional festival during which ten teams carrying richly-decorated mikoshi participate in races, ending in a hectic crossing of the Hikosan River in the afternoon of both days. Tagawa is east of Fukuoka city.

Mifune Boat Festival

3rd Sunday

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Thirty boats carrying participants in court dress of the Heian Period (794-1192) travel upstream on the Oi River in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Leading the way are three boats carrying players performing noh dramas, gagaku musicians and shrine maidens respectively. A group of poets, dressed in ancient ceremonial robes, compose and recite symbolic verses of 17 syllables (haiku). Offerings of any impromptu poem to the deity of Kurumazaki Shrine (075 861 0039) will be welcomed.

Uchiwa Maki

19 May

Toshodai-ji Temple, Nara

Buddhist ceremonies and performances of court music and dance held before the main event when thousands of specially prepared paper fans are thrown into the crowd at Toshodaiji Temple in Nara. The fans are kept as good luck charms for the coming year.

Mikawa Okaeri Matsuri

3rd weekend in May

Fujitsuka Shrine, Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture

A festival that takes place over two days, with 13 omikoshi portable shrines leaving Fujitsuka Shrine on the early morning of the first day and reaching a temporary shrine that evening. Later that night, the journey is made back to Fujitsuka Shrine. This festival involves the whole town and attracts many outside visitors.

Mikuni Festival

19-21 May

Mikuni, Fukui Prefecture

One of the largest festivals in the Hokuriku region. Features a parade unique festival floats each decorated with ornately decorated, giant effigies of famous samurai warriors.

Saga Festival

21 May & 28 May

Nonomiya & Atago Shrines, Arashiyama, Kyoto

Mikoshi portable shrines at Seiryo-ji Temple on the 21st; children's procession from Otabisho via Daikakuji, Arashiyama and then back to Otabisho.

Aioi Peiron Festival

24-25 May

Aioi, Hyogo Prefecture

Harbor festival with teams of oarsmen and women competing in longboat races. Also features street parades, dancing and fireworks.

Hanazono Shrine Festival

24-26 May

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The highlight of this 3-day festival at Hanazono Shrine is the shinkosai procession of floats and mikoshi on the 25th along Yasukuni Dori, Meiji Dori and Shinjuku Dori from 9.30 am-7.30 pm. Food stalls are set up along the way in places. Go to Shinjuku-Sanchome Station on the Toei Shinjuku, Marunouchi or Fukutoshin lines.

Nanko Matsuri

24-26 May

Minatogawa Jinja Shrine, Kobe

A memorial service for the spirit of Masashige Kusunoki, the enshrined deity of Minatogawa Jinja. Many visitors come for the shigin contest (recitation of Chinese-style poems), and for the rice-cake scattering event.

Bakemono Matsuri

25 May

Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture

Participants wearing costumes and hats which hide their faces wander around downtown Tsuruoka giving out sake to passers by. It's said that if you participate for three years without being recognized then your wishes will come true. Properly known as the Tenjin Festival.

Yushima Tenjin Matsuri

24-25 May

Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

There is a float (horen) procession on the 24th as mikoshi circulate around Yushima Tenjin Shrine from 10 am-4.30 pm. There is similar activity the next day from 8 am-6 pm. Take the Chiyoda Line subway to Yushima Station.

Soga no Kasayaki

28 May

Jyozen-ji Temple, Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture

Various ceremonies and attractions including sumo wrestlers scattering rice cakes and money, a ritual burning of old paper umbrellas, a children's parade, a warriors parade and a children's sumo wrestling competition.

DISCLAIMER Festivals may be cancelled or postponed without much warning. Check with your local tourist office for confirmation.

Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa, Tokyo

Books on Japanese Festivals