Taga Taisha Grand Festival (Taga Matsuri)

多賀大社古例大祭(多賀まつり)

The most important festival of the year at Taga Taisha in Taga, Shiga, held on 22 April. A procession of about five hundred people, centred on the two lead roles, the batōnin and the otsukaiden, with some forty riders on horseback and the shrine’s mikoshi and phoenix palanquin, crosses the town, and the day ends at dusk with the sunset rite, in which everyone circles the main hall three times. It is also called the horse festival. 22 April every year.

22 April 2027

ExpectedWorked out from past dates. We update it once the organiser announces the dates.

170 days away

Every year, 22 April

Future dates: 22 April 2027 · 22 April 2028 · 22 April 2029

Origin

The grand festival is the weightiest rite of Taga Taisha’s year and appears in records from the Kamakura period. Because many riders accompany it, it is also called the horse festival. The preparations start early: on 3 January a rite appoints the year’s batōnin and otsukaiden. In April each of them holds a series of rites, welcoming the god into their home, offering food to the god with their own hands and keeping the eve of the festival, before the day itself; afterwards a closing feast rite and a rite sending the god back bring the whole cycle to an end.

What to look for

The procession of about five hundred people, centred on the batōnin and otsukaiden, with some forty riders and the mikoshi and phoenix palanquin. After the morning rite the procession sets out, first for Totonomiya at Kurusu. The batōnin and otsukaiden go separately down to the Inukami River, where on a stretch of riverbank called Hindai they hold a rite of joining the sacred wands, then meet the procession in front of the shrine in the afternoon. After the Tominoki-watashi rite at the Uchikome riding ground in Amago, they all head back to the shrine together; this hon-watari is the high point of the festival. At five in the evening the chief priest, the priests and everyone involved walk three times around the main hall in the sunset rite, closing the day-long festival.

How to watch

The grand festival is a rite praying for abundant harvests and the happiness of all people, in the words of the Taga tourism association. From their appointment in January to the sending-off rite at the end of April, the batōnin and otsukaiden carry out months of rites, welcoming the god into their homes and making offerings, and the festival day is their peak. The drums of Totonomiya Shrine at Kurusu join the procession too (2026).

If you go

On 22 April the procession tours the town after the morning rite, makes the hon-watari in the afternoon and ends with the sunset rite at about five. It goes ahead whatever the weather (2026). The road the procession takes, from the Taga crossing to the Kutoku crossing, is closed to traffic for a while before and after noon. The shrine invites men from inside or outside the town to carry the mikoshi and phoenix palanquin (in 2026 applications closed on 13 April; bearers gather at 9 a.m. and finish around 5 p.m.). Taga Taisha is a ten-minute walk from Taga-taisha-mae Station on the Ōmi Railway.

Where

Taga Taisha

Taga, Shiga

Open in maps

Sources

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