List of Festivals in Japan – Matsuri in Japanese

In Japan thousands of festivals and events take place throughout the year. There are several festivals that take place in a given province in various times of year. In this article, we will share a list of festivals in Japan and describe the most popular ones.

Have you ever wondered how to say the name of these festivals in Japanese? In the matsuri list, we will also share the name of the festivals in Japanese and the dates of some. Unfortunately, the list does not have all the festivals, there are thousands of local matsuri...

The list of festivals with their date and location can be found at the end of this article. To help you get around, we'll leave a summary or index below. I hope you like this great Japan festival guide I prepared for you:

If you want a list of festivals with their dates in 2022, we recommend accessing the Japanoscope and its festival list.

Local Festivals in Japan

We can't list all of Japan's festivals in the article because thousands are held exclusively in certain cities. Virtually every city has some regional, seasonal or unique festival to celebrate something like a temple or event.

Schools in Japan also hold festivals. Every year, events called Culture Festival and several others, on different dates and organized by each school in the country. So it becomes impossible to list all the festivals in Japan.

There are even foreign festivals in some locations. For example, in the Asakusa neighborhood, the Carnival every year. Cities like Nagoya, Hamamatsu and with many foreigners also hold cultural events about countries.

List of festivals in Japanese - matsuri of Japan
Cultural Event in Kakegawa City

Japan's Bizarre Festivals

Japan is also very successful for its many bizarre festivals in the eyes of the West. There are festivals like the Navel Festival, the penis festival, the festival where men get naked behind an amulet and so on.

There is also a festival where sumo wrestlers try to make babies cry. Another bizarre festival where people go out in costumes with sticks in hand to scare others and more.

We have our own article that shows the most bizarre festivals in japan, we recommend reading this article to know the unusual things that you can only find in the land of the rising sun.

List of festivals in Japan - matsuri in Japanese
Japan's Bizarre Festivals

Tanabata Matsuri – Festival of the Stars

The Tanabata Matsuri, which is also known as the Festival of the Stars is one of the most anticipated of the summer, famous for the legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi and their decorations. tanzaku. The festival can take place between July and August depending on year and location.

The legend of the Tanabata festival consists of the love story of two stars, Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Festival's tradition is found in small notes tied to a bamboo ornament.

At the end of the celebration, the tickets are burned, with the intention that the wishes reach the heavens. To learn more about the Tanabata festival, we recommend reading our article on Tanabata Matsuri - The Festival of the Stars.

List of festivals in Japan - matsuri in Japanese
Legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi no Tanabata Matsuri

The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:

Children's Festivals in Japan

There are 3 festivals dedicated to children in Japan, we have Children's Day Children's Day which takes place during Golden Week on May 5th. We have the Hina Matsuri or Girls Day which takes place on March 3rd. It's the Shichi-go-san which takes place on the 15th of November.

Each of these festivals has its traditions and peculiarities, during the girls' day there is the famous tradition of dolls, on the boys' day we have the fish ornaments, on the shichi-go-san children of certain ages are taken to the temple.

We have a special article that talks about these three festivals, their peculiarities and songs. You can find the article by clicking or searching for Kodomo No Hi, 753 and Hina Matsuri - Children's Day In Japan at Suki Desu.

List of festivals in Japan - matsuri in Japanese

Hanami, Hanabi and Tsukimi - Festivals of Appreciation

Some festivals are dedicated to the appreciation of flowers like Hanami or appreciation of the moon like Tsukimi. Hanami is one of the most famous festivals in Japan, where we enjoy cherry blossoms during spring.

Hanabi takai is a fireworks festival that takes place throughout the summer across Japan on different dates. At this festival people visit a kind of stall fair using their Strawhatz - Kimono to enjoy the fireworks at night.

These aren't the only festivals where you visit a certain place to enjoy nature or art, there are many more. We recommend reading our guide on Hanami - See Flowers and our guide on Hanabi Taikai.

List of festivals in Japan - matsuri in Japanese
Hanami - Enjoying Sakura in Japan

Takayama Matsuri - Festival of Floats

The Takayama Festival is considered one of the three most beautiful in Japan, started in the 16th century and attracts visitors from all over the country. The attractions of the festival are the floats (yatai), which are cultural heritage of Japan.

The cars on the streets are really fantastic: all carved in wood or metal, lacquered, painted to the smallest detail and with gold-plated ornaments. They are truly mobile treasures, each one is hundreds of years old and the pride of this artisan city.

Some of the cars have their own music, others have flute shows, there is also a parade, puppet shows and many other things on these two days of festival. To learn more read our article on Takayama Matsuri.

List of festivals in Japan - matsuri in Japanese
Takayama Matsuri

Sapporo Snow Festival - Snow Festival

Em Hokkaido [北海道] in the city of Sapporo [札幌] one of the biggest winter festival in Japan takes place. Sapporo City's big snow festival called Festival de Neve de Sapporo [さっぽろ雪まつり]. The event usually takes place in February.

In this festival there are ice and snow sculpture competitions. Some sculptures are gigantic and require machines and a base to make. In addition, the festival has several attractions such as skating rink, SKI, AIR Jumping, walking, slide tube and others.

This is the perfect opportunity to see gigantic snow and ice sculptures in Odori Park and along Susukino Main Street. This freezing event has been going on for 7 days since 1950. To learn more about the event read the article about Festival de Neve de Sapporo.

Sapporo snow festival - snow festival
Sapporo Snow Festival - Snow Festival

List of top festivals in Japan

The list below, in addition to the festivals and their Japanese names, also shares other events that might fit the category, as well as words to improve your vocabulary. Some dates and holidays are also listed below:

KanjiJapaneseRomaji
Festival祭りmatsuri
Event行事gyouji
spring festival春祭りharu matsuri
Summer festival夏祭りnatsu matsuri
autumn festival秋祭りaki matsuri
snow festival雪祭りyuki matsuri
Festival of culture and art文化祭bunkasai
New Year正月shou gatsu
Hanami - Festival of Flowers花見hanami
Hanabi - Fire Festival花火fireworks
Valentine's Dayバレンタインデーbarentain de-
Doll Festival (March 3rd)雛祭りhina matsuri
Buddha's Birthday (April 8)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Children's Day
Mothers Day母の日haha no hi
Father's Day父の日pee no hi
The Festival of the Stars (7th of July)七夕Tanabata
The Festival of the Stars (7th of July)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 15th)七五三shichi go san
Culture Day (November 3)文化の日Culture Day
ChristmasクリスマスChristmas
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
coming of age day成人式seijin shiki
coming of age day成年式seinen shiki
Graduation ceremony卒業式sotsugyou shiki
Wedding結婚式kekkon shiki
Funeral葬式I'm shiki
Election選挙senkyo
Halloweenハロウィーンharoui-n
List of festivals in Japanese - matsuri of Japan

List of famous traditional matsuri

MatsuriPlaceNote
AoiKyotoheld at Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrine in May
attutaNagoyaheld at Atsuta Shrine in June
Awa OdoriTokushima, Tokushimaheld in Tokushima in August
DontakuFukuokaheld from May 3rd to May
GionKyotoheld in july
Hadakaokamaheld in february
Hakata Gion YamakasaFukuokaheld in Kushida-jinja in July
HōnenKomakiheld at Tagata Shrine in March
JidaiKyotoheld in october
KanamaraKawasakiheld at Kanayama Shrine in April
KandaTokyoheld at Kanda Myojin Shrine in May
KantoAkitaheld from August 3rd to August
Kishiwada DanjiriKishiwadaheld in september
Kumagaya Uchiwa FestivalSaitamaheld from the 19th to the 3rd of July
Nagasaki KunchiNagasakiheld from the 9th of October
Miki Autumn Harvest FestivalMikiheld at Ōmiya Hachiman shrine in October
Nothing in KenkaHimejiheld at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine on October 1 and 1
NagoyaNagoyaheld at Hisaya Ōdori Park in Sakae Nagoya
NebutaAomoriheld from august
Neputa (Hirosaki)Hirosakiheld in the first week of August
Ojima Neputa FestivalGunmaheld from 1st to 1st of August
SanjaTokyoheld at Asakusa Shrine in May
SannōTokyoheld at the Hie shrine in June
TanabataSendaiheld from 6th to 8th of August
TenjinOsakaheld in Akasaka Tenman-gū in July
Wakakusa YamayakiNaraheld in Nara on the fourth Saturday of January
Yosakoi MatsuriKochiheld in Kochi in August
YotakaToyamaheld in Tonami Toyama in June
List of festivals in Japanese - matsuri of Japan

Japan music and film festivals

Festival nameTypeCity
Asian Queer Film FestivalFilm FestivalTokyo
B-Boy Parkhip hop festival
CON-CAN Movie FestivalFilm FestivalTokyo
Concert on the RockRock Festival
Cosquín in Japanfolk festival
Firefox Rock FestivalRock Festival
Fuji Rock FestivalRock Festival
Heart-Aid ShisenRock Festival
Hiroshima International Animation FestivalFilm FestivalHiroshima
Image Forum FestivalFilm FestivalTokyo
Live under the skyRock Festival
Loud Park Festivalheavy metal festival
Mainichi Film AwardsFilm FestivalTokyo
Mount Fuji Jazz Festivaljazz festival
Festival de Jazz de Newport em Madaraojazz festival
Okinawa International Movie FestivalFilm FestivalGinowan & Naha,
Okinawa Island

Rising Sun Rock FestivalRock Festival
Rock in Japan FestivalRock Festival
Saito Kinen Festival Matsumotoclassical music festival
Songs Daypop festival
Summer Sonic FestivalRock Festival
Tokyo FilmexFilm FestivalTokyo
Tokyo International Film Festival[1]Film FestivalTokyo
Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film FestivalFilm FestivalTokyo
Tokyo Music Festivalpop festival
Yamagata International Documentary Film FestivalFilm FestivalYamagata
Yamaha Music Festivalclassical music festival
Yamaha Popular Song Contestpop festivalKakegawa
Yokohama Film FestivalFilm FestivalYokohama
Yubari International Fantastic Film FestivalFilm FestivalYūbari, Hokkaido

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