🏮 Tenjin Matsuri

天神祭

Tsuruoka, Yamagata (Tsurugaoka Tenmangu Shrine) · Every year on 25 May

MikoshiTraditional performing arts

253 days to go
Rooms around Tsuruoka, Yamagata fill up while the festival is on.

The Tsuruoka Tenjin Festival is held every year in late May, centered on Tsuruoka Tenjin Shrine in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, and is known by its common name, the Bakemono Festival, a curious celebration. The central part of Tsuruoka City serves as the venue, and among the many Tenjin festivals across the country, it carries on customs that can be seen only here in Tsuruoka. The characteristic of the festival is that people of all ages, men and women, wear flashy floral-patterned long underkimono with an obi sash, and conceal their faces with a tenugui (hand towel) and a woven sedge hat as "bakemono" (monsters), silently serving sake. This custom is said to originate in the belief that if one can visit the shrine as a bakemono for three years without being recognized by anyone, one's wish will be granted. In addition, at Tsuruoka Tenjin Shrine, which enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning, tengu dances and lion dances with about 300 years of history are offered. The highlight is the Tenjin Festival Parade, in which the Tsuruoka Tenjin Shrine mikoshi (portable shrine), the Sugawara no Michizane procession, and parent-child bakemono, among others, march through the streets. Along the parade route, the bakemono serve sake, and at the Mini Tenjin Festival, there is also an experience where you can try dressing in bakemono costume. A limited-period "Bakeben" lunch and related events in each shopping street are also held.