Exploring the Spiritual Significance of Major Festivals in Japan
In Japan, various festivals are hold throughout the year. These festivals range from large-scale ones that tourists can participate in to small, family-held events. Spiritual Festivals in Japan article briefly introduces the meaning behind these family festivals also provides suggestions for tourists and travelers to experience a part of them.
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Contact Jasumo Now →New Year’s Day (January 1)
For many Japanese people, New Year’s Day is very important. The New Year holidays typically last from around December 30 to January 3, when businesses close and families gather to eat special traditional dishes called “osechi.” The origins of New Year’s Day lie in the belief that gods descended from high mountains to bring happiness to each household. “Osechi” meals are offerings to the gods, symbolizing prayers for a bountiful harvest, the prosperity of descendants, and the family’s safety also health. Additionally, decorations called “kadomatsu” are placed at home entrances to guide the gods. These decorations, along with “shimekazar” (a decorative rope), signify sacred places, like the “shimenawa” found at shrines and large trees in forests. These traditions reflect the spiritual significance of Spiritual Festivals in Japan.
Little New Year (January 15)
On Little New Year, people eat porridge made from azuki beans to wish for good health. The red color of the azuki beans is believe to ward off evil spirits. Thus, even the torii gates at shrines are often painte red. Spiritual Festivals in Japan. On this day, “kadomatsu” and “shimenawa” are brought to shrines and temples, where they are burn in a bonfire known as “Dondo-yaki.” It is believe that the gods who visited households during the New Year return to the heavens with the smoke.
In some regions, Dondo-yaki is celebrat on a large scale, and tourists can witness this event.
Katsuyama Sagicho Festival (Fukui Prefecture, Katsuyama City)
Event Period: Last Saturday and Sunday of February
Website: https://www.city.katsuyama.fukui.jp/kankou/sagityo/
The “Sagicho” festival in Katsuyama City has a history of over 300 years. It was traditionally hold on the 14th day of the lunar New Year, but now it takes place on the last week of February. The festival features 12 yagura (platforms) decorated by local communities. Where participants dance to the lively sounds of shamisen, flute, and gong.
Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Festival (Nagano Prefecture, Nozawa Onsen Village)
Event Period: Around January 15
Website: https://nozawakanko.jp/
The Dosojin Festival in Nozawa Onsen is one of Japan’s three great fire festivals. It is famous for its large 18-meter-high shrine and the dramatic battle between young men who try to burn it and the men responsible for protecting it. Many tourists visit this festival every year.
Itsukushima Shrine Tondo Festival (Hiroshima Prefecture, Hatsukaichi City)
Event Period: Early January (Little New Year)
Website: https://www.miyajima.or.jp/
The Tondo Festival at Itsukushima Shrine involves burning New Year’s decorations and calligraphy to pray for good health. A large bonfire is lit on the shrine grounds, attracting many visitors.
Oiso Sagicho (Kanagawa Prefecture, Oiso Town)
Event Period: January 14 or 15
Website: https://www.town.oiso.kanagawa.jp/
Oiso Sagicho is a traditional event designate as an intangible folk cultural asset in Kanagawa Prefecture. At this fire festival on the beach, New Year’s decorations and calligraphy are burn to pray for good health and a bountiful harvest.
Spiritual Festivals in Japan: Setsubun (February 4)
Setsubun originally referred to the changing of the seasons, and there were four setsubun events each year. Today, Setsubun specifically refers to the event held in February. During Setsubun, people eat roasted soybeans, chanting “Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi” (Out with the demons, in with good fortune). It is believed that during seasonal transitions, evil spirits can enter, bringing misfortune or illness, so the ritual was created to drive these spirits away. Today, this ritual is especially popular in homes with strong faith, or among families with young children, and is also common in kindergartens.
Asakusa Temple Setsubun Festival (Tokyo, Taito Ward)
Event Period: February 2, 2025
The Setsubun Festival at Asakusa Temple features a ceremonial ritual for warding off evil spirits and inviting good fortune. The event includes the “Seven Gods of Fortune” dance and a procession around the temple grounds. Many famous entertainers and sports figures participate in the bean-throwing ceremony.
Fukagawa Shrine Setsubun Festival (Aichi Prefecture, Seto City)
Event Period: February 1 and 2, 2025
The Setsubun Festival at Fukagawa Shrine includes rituals for purging misfortune, and offerings are provided to attendees as part of the prayers for good fortune.
Spiritual Festivals in Japan: Hina Matsuri (March 3)
Hina Matsuri, also known as Doll Festival or Girls’ Day, celebrates the healthy growth of girls. Families display beautiful hina dolls, often received as gifts from the maternal grandparents. These dolls range from simple ones costing a few thousand yen to traditional handcrafted ones worth tens of thousands of yen. Families often gather for a meal of chirashi sushi and other delicacies.
The festival originates from a Shinto tradition where dolls made of grass or straw were used to carry away impurities and misfortunes by floating them down rivers or into the sea.
Spiritual Festivals in Japan: Tanabata (July 7)
Tanabata is a festival that originated in China and is based on the legend of the weaving princess (Orihime) and the cowherd (Hikoboshi). People write their wishes on small strips of paper, called tanzaku, and hang them on bamboo trees, believing their prayers will reach the heavens. This tradition is connected to Shinto beliefs that nature and celestial bodies are sacred.
Spiritual Festivals in Japan: Obon (August 15)
Obon, held in mid-August, is a time to honor the spirits of deceased ancestors. Families light lanterns, perform Bon dances to comfort the spirits, and guide them back to the other world. This festival blends Shinto ancestral worship with Buddhist concepts of karma and reincarnation.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are traditional celebrations connected to Shinto, Buddhism, family customs, and ancestral beliefs.
Yes. Many public festivals, fire rituals, shrine events, and seasonal celebrations welcome tourists.
Hatsumode is the first shrine or temple visit of the New Year to pray for good fortune.
Obon honors deceased ancestors and is believed to welcome their spirits back home temporarily.
People throw roasted soybeans while chanting to drive away evil spirits and invite good fortune.
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