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Toyota-City Tenkasai Festival

Date : 02/11/2023, 02/12/2023

Get directions on Google Maps

The Tenkasai Festival is an exotic and rather thrilling festival held at Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine, located in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Annually in February, legions of local men believed to be in their bad-luck year ("Yakudoshi," the age of 42) and wearing only the "fundoshi" loincloth, gather to brawl, push and shove in order to touch the blessed wooden sphere "Mizutama," or "water ball," and get rid of their bad fortunes. Cold blessed water is constantly thrown at them just to purify them a bit more and keep the excitement within controllable levels.

Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine is the famous birthplace of the Matsudaira Clan, the family that after Tokugawa Ieyasu had its name changed to Tokugawa Clan. There, the clan founder Matsudaira Chikauji is enshrined, which is one of the reasons for the shrine's great popularity. The shrine's premises hold an old well named "Ubuyu-no-ido" ("First Bath Well"), which is believed to be endowed with holy powers from the time of Chikauji. Even at that time, it was a clan's tradition to bath newborns in the well's blessed waters, and so with Tokugawa Ieyasu it was no different and he had his first dipping bath with water from this well, upon his birth in Okazaki Castle. All the water used in this festival comes from this well, including the amount used for purifying the "Mizutama."

All the ceremonies and rituals of this festival take two days to be carried out, and during that time, visitors may enjoy the countless "Yatai" stalls selling food and amusement for kids, and several other unique procedures, such as the one in which the participating men pour blessed water on themselves in a frenetic way. Watch out for the "Senjin Nabe", or "Battlefield Hotpot," Hanamochi Rice Cake Pounding, "Taiko" drum performances and demonstrations of martial "Bo-no-Te" art (lit. "Bar Hand" or "Hand on Stick").

2023 Tenkasai Festival Schedule

Tenkasai Festival

February 11 (Saturday), 2023
• 2:00 PM - Mizutama Ritual
• 4:30 PM - Great Misogi Purification (Restricted to Authorized Participants Only)

February 12 (Sunday), 2023
• 9:30 AM - Participant Reception (Division of participants into Red and White teams)
• 10:00 AM - Opening
• 10:30 AM - Mochi Making for Purification
• 11:50 AM - Mochi Rice Cake Offering
• 12:30 PM - Waistcloth Preparation
• 2:00 PM - Brawling
• 2:30 PM - Ball Dispute

* Prayers to ward off ill fortune from participants of unlucky age (25, 42, and 61 for men, and 19, 33, and 37 for women) to be offered at Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine, available at any moment between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Visitors willing to participate just need to ask at the shrine.

[Participants] Anyone over the age of 16 and in good health can participate.
Limited to the first 80 visitors

Event Information
・Matsudaira Taiko Japanese Drums Performance
・Bo-no-Te Martial Arts Demonstration
・Vendors and Stalls

EVENT OVERVIEW

Date	: February 11 (Saturday) and 12 (Sunday), 2023
Holding time	: February 11 (Saturday) - from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM 12 (Sunday) - from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM
Place	: Around the Matsudaira-Go Area
Location	: 〒444-2202 Matsudaira-cho, Toyota-City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Fee	: Participation Fee: 5,000 yen Just watching and sightseeing: free of charge

Parking	: Matsudaira Undo Hiroba (Sports Ground) There are no parking lots near the venue. Please use the free shuttle bus from the parking lot.
Phone number	: 080-5151-8944 (Festival Committee) (weekdays from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, weekends from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM)
Free shuttle bus information	: Available only February 12 (Sunday) Running hours: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (continuous circulation without specific time table) Bus stops: (1) Matsudaira Undo Hiroba (Sports Ground)-Temporary Parking Lot (2) Okazaki Okutono Jinya
Cautionary Notes	: ◎To prevent accidents, please follow the instructions of the staff. ◎We will not be held responsible for any accidents (injury, theft) that occur while participating. ◎Participation will be refused if the organizer deems it unsuitable. ◎Please use the free shuttle bus to the venue on the day of the event. ◎The schedule of participants will be announced separately after the reception.

Note: This page may not be current due to update time differences between site databases.
Should accuracy be critical, please verify this information using a direct source, whenever possible.

LINK

ACCESS

Access by public transport

From Meitetsu Toyotashi Station, take the Toyota Oiden Bus bound to Shimoyama and get off at Matsudaira-Go.
Or look for the free shuttle bus (see details above).
Access by car

From the New Tomei Expressway, enter the Tokai-Kanjo Expressway at the Toyota-Higashi Junction and exit at Toyota-Matsudaira. When exiting, take the leftmost lane to enter Route 301 heading eastwards. After 13.6km, turn right to enter the Matsudaira Sports Grounds (松平運動広場 Matsudaira Undo Hiroba) on the Yamanota district. Free shuttle bus provided from the parking lot.