Central Japan · Niigata · Murakami

Murakami Taisai Festival

村上大祭

The grand festival of Senami Haguro Shrine in Murakami, Niigata. Nineteen oshagiri, lacquered festival carts decorated with carved red lacquerware, roll through the old castle town to the music of the children riding them. Held every year with the eve festival on 6 July and the main festival on 7 July.

6–7 July 2027

247 days away

Every year, 6 July, for 2 days

Future dates: 6 July 2027 · 6 July 2028 · 6 July 2029

Origin

Senami Haguro Shrine is said to have been founded as the guardian shrine of the castle town when the lord of Murakami Castle, Honjō Shigenaga, brought in the god of Mount Haguro in thanks for his conquest of the Shōnai region in the age of the warring states. In 1633, when the lord Hori Naoyori moved the shrine to its present site, the people of Ōmachi borrowed carts from the castle and paraded through town beating drums to celebrate, and this is held to be the origin of the festival. The festival day, once the 7th of the sixth lunar month, became 7 July in 1873 with the new calendar. The cart rite was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2018, and in 2025 it was added to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list as one of the yama, hoko, yatai float festivals.

What to look for

On the main day, 7 July, the nineteen oshagiri form a procession from the morning and make their way round the castle town. Each is a two-storey cart on two wheels: on the lower level children play the festival music on flutes and drums, and on the upper level stands a figure such as Ebisu or Daikoku. The carts creak round the corners of the narrow streets on wheels some 2 metres across, and weave from side to side along the straight stretches. At the head of the procession come the lead drum, the parasol float of Shōnaimachi and fourteen carved wooden horses recalling Honjō Shigenaga’s victorious return, led forward to the children’s cries and the jingle of bits, guiding the nineteen carts behind them. At dusk the lanterns on the carts are lit. On the eve, 6 July, each neighbourhood’s cart follows its own route.

How to watch

The festival is the grand festival of Senami Haguro Shrine, guardian of the castle town; holding it in the rainy season is said to be a prayer for just enough rain and a good harvest. The cart procession covers a long distance over many hours and does not stay long in any one place, so get to the spot where you want to watch in good time. Roads around the route are closed at certain times.

If you go

If you go, go on the main day, 7 July, when all nineteen carts process together from morning to night. Central Murakami is a 20 to 30-minute walk from Murakami Station on the JR Uetsu Line. Temporary car parks and shuttle buses are laid on during the festival. The live location of each cart is shown on the Matsuri NOW web map, and the route and timetable are in the procession timetable handed out at the city office and the tourist information centre by Murakami Station. On other days, carts can be seen at the Oshagiri Kaikan (Murakami City Local History Museum).

Where

Senami Haguro Shrine and central Murakami

Murakami, Niigata

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Sources

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