Kyoto & Osaka · Hyōgo · Himeji

Nada Kenka Matsuri

灘のけんか祭り

The “fighting festival” of Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in Himeji, held every 14 and 15 October: seven districts parade ornate floats, and three portable shrines are rammed into one another.

14–15 October 2027

350 days away

Every year, 14 October, for 2 days

Future dates: 14 October 2027 · 14 October 2028 · 14 October 2029

Origin

Its formal name is the autumn grand festival of Matsubara Hachiman Shrine, and it is carried by the shrine’s seven old Nada villages: Higashiyama, Kiba, Matsubara, Yaka, Usazaki, Nakamura and Mega. According to the Kobe Shimbun, the present form of the festival took shape in the early Meiji era, and the paper was already calling it the Kenka Matsuri, the “fighting festival”, in 1905 — the “fight” being the collision of the portable shrines. The clashing of the shrines is said to recall a legend of Empress Jingū knocking the shellfish off her ships on the way home from war, and the harder the three portable shrines collide, the more they are thought to please the deity. It is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Hyōgo Prefecture.

What to look for

The highlight is the clash of the shrines on the 15th, the main day, when the three portable shrines are driven into one another on the arena at the foot of Otabi-yama hill. They are carried by the village that runs the festival that year, while spectators pack the hillside above. After the clash, the other villages’ floats push into the arena one after another. On the 14th, the eve, the seven villages bring their floats to Matsubara Hachiman Shrine, and in front of the tower gate they hoist them high and shake them in fierce displays. Early on the morning of the 15th, the men of the village in charge purify themselves in the sea in the Shiokaki rite.

How to watch

As the Kobe Shimbun puts it, floats are rammed together and sometimes slammed to the ground, and the bearers work close to danger, so keep a safe distance from the floats and shrines and follow the marshals’ directions. Local people stress that, for all its roughness, this is a religious rite.

If you go

The nearest station is Shirahama-no-miya on the Sanyo Electric Railway, a short walk from Matsubara Hachiman Shrine. On both days the surrounding streets are closed to traffic and turned over to pedestrians, and the police ask visitors to use public transport. In recent years the railway has had its limited express trains make extra stops at Shirahama-no-miya during the daytime on both days. For a close look at the floats, a local guide recommends the path up to the top of Otabi-yama.

Where

Matsubara Hachiman Shrine

Himeji, Hyōgo

Open in maps

Sources

← All festivals