In Japan, thousands of festivals and events take place during the year. There are several festivals that take place in a certain province at various times of the year. These festivals are most often called matsuri.
Ever wondered how to name these festivals in Japanese? In this article we will share a small table with the name of the Japanese festivals and the date of some. Unfortunately the list doesn’t have all the festivals, it’s thousands…
List of Festivals and Events of Japan
The list below in addition to the festivals and their names in Japanese also shares other events that may fall into the category beyond the date of some festivals.
| Kanji | Japanese | Romaji |
| Festival | 祭り | matsuri |
| Event | 行事 | gyouji |
| Spring Festival | 春祭り | haru matsuri |
| Summer festival | 夏祭り | natsu matsuri |
| Fall Festival | 秋祭り | aki matsuri |
| Snow festival | 雪祭り | yuki matsuri |
| Culture and art festival | 文化祭 | bunkasai |
| New Year | 正月 | shou gatsu |
| Hanami – Flower Festival | 花見 | hanami |
| Hanabi – Festival of Fires | 花火 | hanabi |
| Valentine’s Day | バレンタインデー | barentain de- |
| Doll Festival (March 3) | 雛祭り | hina matsuri |
| Buddha’s Birthday (April 08) | 花祭り | hana matsuri |
| Green Day (April 29) | 緑の日 | midori no hi |
| Golden week | ゴールデンウイーク | go-ruden ui-ku |
| Children’s Day (May 5th) | 子供の日 | kodomo no hi |
| Mothers Day | 母の日 | haha no hi |
| Father’s Day | 父の日 | chichi no hi |
| The Festival of the Stars (July 7) | 七夕 | tanabata |
| The Festival of the Stars (July 7) | 星祭り | hoshi matsuri |
| Bon Festival (mid-August) | お盆 | obon |
| Ceremony in which paper lanterns are floating in a river (August 15/16) | 灯篭流し | tourou nagashi |
| Festival for 3,5 and 7 year olds (November 15) | 七五三 | shichi go san |
| Culture Day (November 3rd) | 文化の日 | bunka no hi |
| Christmas | クリスマス | kurisumasu |
| New Year’s Eve (December 31) | 大晦日 | oomisoka |
| Summer holidays | 夏休み | natsu yasumi |
| Winter break | 冬休み | fuyu yasumi |
| Birthday | 誕生日 | tanjoubi |
| Entrance Ceremony (School) | 入学式 | nyuugaku shiki |
| Adulthood day | 成人式 | seijin shiki |
| Adulthood day | 成年式 | seinen shiki |
| Graduation ceremony | 卒業式 | sotsugyou shiki |
| Wedding | 結婚式 | kekkon shiki |
| Funeral | 葬式 | sou shiki |
| Election | 選挙 | senkyo |
| Halloween | ハロウィーン | haroui-n |
I hope you enjoyed this list of Japanese festivals. If you liked it, share it and leave your comments. There are thousands of festivals, so if you remember one you don’t have on the list, just leave it in the comments.