Owari Tsushima Tenno Matsuri尾張津島天王祭 · Owari Tsushima Tennō Matsuri

When it is held

The Owari Tsushima Tennō Festival (尾張津島天王祭, Owari Tsushima Tennō Matsuri) is the summer festival of Tsushima Shrine (津島神社) in Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture. It once followed the lunar calendar and is now held on the fourth Saturday of July and the Sunday after it, at Tenno River Park (天王川公園). In 2026 those were July 25 and 26. If the rule holds, the 2027 festival falls on July 24 and 25.

The festival has been held for close to 600 years and is counted among Japan's three great river festivals (日本三大川まつり).

Yoi-matsuri: the lantern boats

The highlight is the yoi-matsuri (宵祭) on Saturday evening. Five makiwara-bune (まきわら船), boats from Tsushima's five districts, each carry more than 500 lanterns on a frame above the deck. From 6:30 pm the lanterns are lit at the boat basin (車河戸, kurumakōdo) in a ceremony called nyoi-tenka (如意点火), and at 8:15 pm the boats set off across the Tenno River toward the otabisho (temporary shrine), playing Tsushima flutes as they go. Lanterns swaying on the dark water are the image the festival is known for, and the yoi-matsuri draws close to 200,000 people.

Asa-matsuri: the danjiri boats

After the yoi-matsuri, the five boats are worked on through the night: the lanterns come off and the boats are redecorated as danjiri-bune (車楽舟), topped with figures modeled on scenes from Noh plays. On Sunday morning (from 9:10 am in 2026) the Ichie boat from neighboring Aisai leads them, and the six boats cross the river to music. Ten hoko-mochi (鉾持) on the Ichie boat leap into the water carrying cloth halberds, swim across and run to the shrine.

Designations

The danjiri boat event was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1980, and the danjiri themselves an Aichi Prefectural Tangible Folk Cultural Property in 1984. In December 2016 the festival was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of 33 float festivals in Japan, alongside Aichi's Inuyama Festival.

The festival weekend

The festival weekend begins on Friday night, when children carried by adults are taken around the front of the worship hall at Tsushima Shrine (chigo uchimawashi, 稚児打廻). Before the yoi-matsuri on Saturday, the city has held a welcome event, TenAgeFes, mainly at the Tsushima Culture Hall.

Tips

• Both the yoi-matsuri and the asa-matsuri go ahead in light rain.
• The best moment of the evening is the lighting at the boat basin and the departure at 8:15 pm; arrive early for a place by the water.
• If you cannot attend, local channel Clover TV has streamed both days on YouTube, with recordings kept online afterwards.
• For questions about the rites, the festival's support association is based at Tsushima Shrine; for events, contact the Tsushima Tourism Association.