Nezu Shrine's Reitaisai Brings a Once-Every-Four-Years Mikoshi Procession on September 27

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Nezu Shrine, in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, holds its annual Reitaisai across several dates in September — but 2026 specifically is the shrine's once-every-four-years Shinkōsai year, when its portable shrine is carried through the surrounding neighborhood rather than staying on the shrine grounds.

The festival unfolds across three distinct dates, each with a different function, rather than as a single event.

The Three Dates

September 21 (a national holiday) hosts the Reisai-shiki — the core religious ceremony itself, with no accompanying festival activities. The main festival atmosphere — performances and food stalls — happens September 26 and 27.

The Shinkōsai (神幸祭), the mikoshi procession, takes place specifically on September 27, departing at 9:00 a.m. and returning at 4:00 p.m. This year, the "Ni-no-Miya" of the shrine's three portable shrines is the one that goes out.

What Else Is Happening on the Grounds

On September 26: Nedu Koren taiko drumming, Gongen Daiko performances at noon and 3 p.m., and Urayasu-no-Mai dance at 7 p.m. On September 27: Sanza-no-Mai dance at 2 p.m. Food stalls are set up on the shrine grounds both days.

For a shrine festival this size, the four-year cycle is the specific reason this year is worth planning around rather than treating it as routine annual programming.

What To Know

This isn't an annual repeat — 2026 specifically is Nezu Shrine's quadrennial year for the full mikoshi procession, so anyone interested in seeing an actual sacred-object procession through a real neighborhood, rather than a stationary shrine festival, has a genuinely rare window here.

Nezu-Sendagi is a quieter, more residential part of Tokyo than Asakusa or Shibuya, so a festival like this draws a more local, less tourist-oriented crowd — worth knowing if you're expecting the scale of a headline city festival.

What Fans Are Saying

Original Japanese

Easy Japanese

根津神社のお祭りが9月にあります。2026年は4年に一度の特別な年です。