Osaka’s Oldest Festival
Event Dates:
July 24th – July 25th
Event Location:
Osaka Tenmangu Shrine
Access:
To reach Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, take the JR Tozai Line to “Osaka Tenmangu Station,” and it’s just a 1-minute walk from there.
Event Info.:
Tenjin Matsuri iis one of Japan’s three major festivals and has a history of over a thousand years. It celebrates the birth of Sugawara no Michizane, the guardian deity of Osaka. Held annually on July 24th and 25th, the festival attracts 1.3 million visitors, making it the oldest and most representative festival in Osaka.
The festival features various events, including a grand procession of large portable shrines (mikoshi), a boat procession along the waterways of Osaka, and spectacular fireworks displays.
The portable shrines are traditional palanquins carried by local residents, parading through the streets of Osaka. The boat procession showcases elaborately decorated boats sailing through the waterways, accompanied by music and dance.
On July 23rd, the “Tenjin Festival Women’s Mikoshi” (commonly known as the “Gal Mikoshi”) is held as a prelude to the main festival. Eighty women carry a 200-kilogram mikoshi, parading through the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street with an impressive display of power.
For more information about the event, please visit the official Tenjin Festival website (https://osakatemmangu.or.jp/saijireki/tjm).
