🏮 Mabuni Hi to Kane no Matsuri

摩文仁・火と鐘のまつり

Itoman, Okinawa (Okinawa Peace Memorial Hall) · Every year on 31 December

Traditional performing arts

108 days to go
Rooms around Itoman, Okinawa fill up while the festival is on.

The Mabuni Hi to Kane no Matsuri is held every year on December 31 at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Hall in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture. The event is intended to console the war dead at the site where the Battle of Okinawa ended and to welcome the new year with wishes for lasting peace; in 2024 it was held for the 47th time. On the day, children's karate demonstrations, a brass ensemble performance by the Peace Memorial Hall brass ensemble, and screenings of footage of the Battle of Okinawa take place, and all participants offer a moment of silence. Participants then each raise the flame of a torch and move to the plaza, forming a circle with the memorial hall behind them. At the signal announcing the new year, representatives such as the Boy Scouts light the large sacred flame at the center of the circle, and the flame of repose is lit.

Getting there

The venue is the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Hall in Itoman. There is no nearest station, so access is by bus or car. By bus, take route 89 from Naha Bus Terminal and get off at Heiwa Kinen Do Mae, which is right there.