Tenjin Matsuri
天神祭
24–25 July 2027
Osaka
These dates repeat every year, so they are what to expect in 2027 rather than dates the organiser has announced yet — this page is updated as soon as it confirms them. Last held 24–25 July 2026.
Tenjin Matsuri is the festival of Osaka Tenmangu, the shrine of the scholar-deity Sugawara no Michizane, and one of the three great festivals of Japan alongside Kyoto's Gion and Tokyo's Kanda. It has been held for over a thousand years and it retains a very Osaka character: exuberant, crowded and centred on the river that made the city's fortune.
The 24th, the Yoimiya, is the eve, with rites at the shrine and drumming in the streets. The 25th, the Honmiya, is the day to plan for. In the afternoon the land procession, with its distinctive red-hatted drummers, costumed attendants and the deity's portable shrine, makes its way from the shrine to the river. There the procession boards boats, and around a hundred vessels, lit with lanterns and carrying musicians, dancers and bonfires, sail the Okawa between Tenjinbashi and Sakuranomiya while the dedication fireworks are launched from 19:30 to 20:50. The reflections of fire and lanterns on the water are the festival's signature image.
The shrine is a short walk from Minami-Morimachi or Osaka Tenmangu stations, and the riverbanks are reached from Sakuranomiya or Temmabashi. Free viewing along the Sakuranomiya bank fills hours ahead of the fireworks, so arrive in the late afternoon with something to sit on, or watch the boats from one of the bridges. It is a hot, humid, densely packed evening, and the trains afterwards are slow; treat that as part of the experience.