Greater Tokyo · Kanagawa · Kamakura

Annual Grand Festival at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū

鶴岡八幡宮例大祭

The most important festival of the year at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū in Kamakura. On the 15th three portable shrines are carried down Wakamiya-ōji avenue, and on the last day, the 16th, archers in hunting dress shoot at targets from galloping horses. Held every year from 14 to 16 September.

14–16 September 2027

319 days away

Every year, 14 September, for 3 days

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

Origin

According to the Azuma Kagami, a chronicle of the Kamakura shogunate, a rite of releasing living creatures and a display of mounted archery were first held here on the 15th day of the 8th month of 1187, and the festival has continued for more than 800 years since the time of Minamoto no Yoritomo. It once followed the lunar calendar and has been moved to fixed dates in September. The release of bell crickets, offered at the altar during the festival, was added in 2004.

What to look for

The draw is the mounted archery, yabusame, at 1 p.m. on the 16th. Archers dressed as Kamakura-period warriors gallop flat out along a track of about 250 metres that crosses the shrine grounds, shooting at three targets as they go. The archers come from the Ogasawara school of horsemanship and etiquette. At 1 p.m. on the 15th, three portable shrines, followed by priests, banners and sacred horses, process down Wakamiya-ōji to the second torii gate, where shrine maidens dance at the resting place.

How to watch

This is a religious festival, and the main rite on the morning of the 15th is a solemn ceremony led by priests and shrine maidens. There is no charge to watch, and the archery is seen from both sides of the track. It goes ahead in light rain (2026).

If you go

The festival is held at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, a 10-minute walk from Kamakura Station (JR and Enoden). In 2025 the eve rite was at 6 p.m. on the 14th; the main rite at 10 a.m. and the procession at 1 p.m. on the 15th; and the archery at 1 p.m. and the cricket release at 5 p.m. on the 16th.

Where

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū

Kamakura, Kanagawa

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Sources

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