Tenjin Matsuri

Overview

The Tenjin Matsuri is the festival of Osaka Tenmangu Shrine in Osaka City, counted as one of the Three Great Festivals of Japan together with the Gion Matsuri of Kyoto and the Kanda Matsuri of Tokyo, boasting a tradition of more than a thousand years. It is the summer festival of Osaka Tenmangu, which enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, known as the deity of learning, and has been held to ward off epidemic and to pray for good health and peace in the city. As an event representing the summer of Osaka, it is said to draw more than one million visitors during its period.

The festival period extends over about a month, but its greatest highlights are the yoimiya (eve festival) on July 24 and the honmiya (main festival) on July 25. On the night of the honmiya, the funatogyo boat procession is held, in which many boats travel back and forth along the Okawa River (the old Yodo River). Bonfires and lantern lights flicker on the surface of the river, and dedicatory fireworks rise above them. From the splendid scene woven by flames, light, and fireworks reflected on the water, the Tenjin Matsuri is also called the festival of fire and water.

History and Origins

The origins of the Tenjin Matsuri go back to the year 951 (Tenryaku 5), in the middle of the Heian period. In this year, two years after the enshrinement of Osaka Tenmangu, a sacred pike was set adrift from the beach in front of the shrine, and a ritual ground was established on the shore where it drifted ashore to perform the misogi-harai purification. At this time, the people of the shrine's domain fitted out boats to welcome the deity, and this is said to be the beginning of the Tenjin Matsuri. In other words, the hoko-nagashi shinji rite, still handed down today, lies at the very origin of this festival.

The reason the festival is staged on the river and by boat derives from this hoko-nagashi rite. The idea of welcoming the deity to the place where the sacred pike drifted ashore gradually developed into the funatogyo, in which the spirit of the deity is placed on a boat and travels around the districts of the parishioners. This ancient form of faith, welcoming the deity by boat, combined with the geography of Osaka, a city of water, and grew into a distinctive festival.

Thereafter, the number of boats increased, and by the time Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle, the form of the boat procession had taken shape. From the Genroku era (late 17th century), when Osaka was called the kitchen of the nation, the Tenjin Matsuri flourished as a festival symbolizing the prosperity of Naniwa, and in the Kyoho era (early 18th century), organizations called ko that supported the festival were born, and splendid welcoming dolls appeared, so that its magnificence became famous throughout the country.

There were periods of interruption due to the political upheavals at the end of the Edo period and the two World Wars, but each time the festival was revived through the spirit of the people of Osaka. After the Second World War, the boat procession was revived in 1949 (Showa 24), and because land subsidence made it impossible to pass under the bridges, the present form of traveling up the river began in 1953 (Showa 28). That it has been protected through so many crises speaks to the weight of this festival's history.

Highlights

The Hoko-nagashi Rite That Opens the Festival　On the morning of July 24, a procession of about 200 people, with a sacred child carrying the sacred pike, sets out from Osaka Tenmangu. From a ritual boat rowed out onto the Dojima River, the child sets the pike adrift, praying for the good health of the parishioners and the peace of the city. This rite, conveying its thousand-year-old origin just as it was, announces the solemn opening of the Tenjin Matsuri.

The Spirited Rikutogyo Land Procession　On the evening of the 25th, the rikutogyo, with about 3,000 participants, sets out from Osaka Tenmangu. Led by the moyoshi-daiko drums, the gohoren palanquin crowned with a phoenix and people in festival costume parade through the town. It is a procession carrying the meaning of letting the spirit of Sugawara no Michizane look upon the peace of the region once a year.

The Funatogyo Water Scroll　Following the land procession, the boat procession begins in the evening. Many boats, such as the boat bearing the portable shrine and the drum boats, travel back and forth along the Okawa, joined by stage boats performing dance and Noh, coloring the water. This event of welcoming the deity with the river as its stage is the very heart of the Tenjin Matsuri and a highlight without parallel.

The Finale of Dedicatory Fireworks　As the boat procession reaches its climax, dedicatory fireworks color the night sky to close the festival. The scene in which the bonfires and lantern lights on the river overlap with the fireworks in the night sky is dreamlike, forming a climax worthy of the name festival of fire and water.

The Moyoshi-daiko and Gal Mikoshi Heralding the Osaka Summer　The spirited sound of danjiri-bayashi music and the moyoshi-daiko drums, and the woman-centered gal mikoshi held ahead of the honmiya, are among the varied events that enliven the festival and herald the arrival of the Osaka summer.

Event Information and Access

Period　About one month each year, from an auspicious day in late June to July 25. The center is the yoimiya on July 24 and the honmiya on July 25.

Main Rites and Events　The hoko-nagashi rite and yoimiya-sai (24th), and the rikutogyo, funatogyo, and dedicatory fireworks (25th). The gal mikoshi and other events are also held ahead of the honmiya.

Venue　The precincts of Osaka Tenmangu in Kita Ward, Osaka City, and its surroundings, and the stretch of the Okawa River (old Yodo River) between Tenjin Bridge and Hisho Bridge.

Scale　The land procession has about 3,000 participants. Dedicatory fireworks are launched on the night of the honmiya, and the festival draws crowds of more than one million over the two days.

Cultural Standing　One of the Three Great Festivals of Japan. Together with the Ikutama Summer Festival of Ikukunitama Shrine and the Sumiyoshi Festival of Sumiyoshi Taisha, it is one of the Three Great Summer Festivals of Osaka.

Access　Osaka Tenmangu is conveniently reached from Minamimorimachi Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi and Sakaisuji lines, and Osaka-Tenmangu Station on the JR Tozai Line. Because the surroundings are very crowded during the festival, use of public transportation is recommended. As it is a hot season, measures against heatstroke, such as frequent hydration, are essential.

Surrounding Area

Osaka City, where the Tenjin Matsuri takes place, has long been called the city of water and developed as a town crisscrossed by rivers and canals, including the Okawa (old Yodo River). Behind the birth of the funatogyo, a festival on the water, lies the geography unique to this city of water. Osaka Tenmangu, the center of the festival, sits in a corner of the Tenjinbashi-suji shopping street in Kita Ward and enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning, drawing many worshippers, including students preparing for exams.

The Tenjinbashi-suji shopping street, extending south of Osaka Tenmangu, is known as one of Japan's longest arcade shopping streets and is full of life not only during the festival but at all times. Combined with a visit to the shrine, one can enjoy the food culture unique to Osaka and the atmosphere of its old downtown.

Along the Okawa spread waterside places of rest such as Nakanoshima Park, which also serves as the stage for the boat procession. Combining a visit to the festival with a tour of the riverside scenery and the bustle of the water city of Osaka allows one to savor more deeply the culture of faith and commerce that lives on in this town.

Related Information

• Name: Tenjin Matsuri
• Location: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture (Osaka Tenmangu and the Okawa River area)
• Period: Late June to July 25 each year (centered on the yoimiya on July 24 and the honmiya on July 25)
• Origin: The hoko-nagashi rite of 951 (Tenryaku 5)
• Enshrined Deity: Sugawara no Michizane (Osaka Tenmangu)
• Character: One of the Three Great Festivals of Japan; one of the Three Great Summer Festivals of Osaka; the festival of fire and water
• Main Highlights: The hoko-nagashi rite, the rikutogyo land procession (about 3,000 people), the funatogyo boat procession, and dedicatory fireworks

← Explore More Festivals